Instructional Time: 180 minutes

Module 3: Models of Communication

Start up
At the end of the lesson, you
will be able to: If you were to buy a gadget for online
schooling, which do you prefer, and why?
a) differentiate the various
models of communication; Telephone laptop cellphone tablet TV
b) analyze the elements
included in each of the
communication models; In the context of online schooling, we use
c) explain why there is a these different tools in order to communicate
breakdown of with our teachers and classmates. They may be
communication and how different in terms of features; however, they
to overcome it; and perform only one common function – to help you
communicate.
d) present conversations that
employ any of the In the
communication models. previous module,
you were able to
create your own
visual presentation of the basic flow of the
communication process as shown on the right. The
diagram shows that the flow starts with the sender
sending a message to the receiver who shares the
feedback with the source.

Is this the only model we follow in all communication situations? The

answer is no. Just like the different gadgets presented above, the different
communication models, though having different unique features, will direct us to
only one understanding – that any form of communication involves a process.

How does knowing how to distinguish communication

models from each other help us become good
communicators?

Work it out
 Module 3: Models of Communication

Several communication theorists devised models for a better understanding

of the process of communication. These different models help people understand
how communication works, how messages are transmitted, how it is received by the
other party, and how the message is eventually interpreted and understood.

Let’s Discuss | Time Allotment: 20 min.

The Different Models of Communication

1. Aristotle’s Model
Aristotle (384-322 B.C) was a Greek philosopher and writer born in
Stagira, Northern Greece. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great. He
studied physics, logic, mathematics, etc.

While exploring the human nature scientifically, Aristotle developed a

linear model of communication for oral communication known as Aristotle’s
Model of Communication. This is considered as the first model of
communication and was proposed before 300 B.C. It is also the is most widely
accepted among all communication models.

Aristotle Model is mainly focused on speaker and speech. It can be

broadly divided into 5 primary elements: Speaker, Speech, Occasion, Audience
and Effect.

The Aristotle’s communication model is a speaker centered model as the

speaker has the most important role in it and is the only one active. It is the
speaker’s role to deliver a speech to the audience. The role of the audience is
passive, influenced by the speech. This makes the communication process one
way, from speaker to receiver.

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

The speaker must organize the speech beforehand, according to the

target audience and situation (occasion). The speech must be prepared so that
the audience be persuaded or influenced from the speech.

He believed “Rhetoric” is the study of communication and persuasion

and different message or speech should be made for different audiences at
different situations to get desired effects or to establish a propaganda. This
model was highly used to develop public speaking skills and create a
propaganda at that time so, it is less focused on intrapersonal or interpersonal
communication.

2. Lasswell’s Model (1948)

Lasswell’s communication
model was developed by
communication theorist Harold
D. Lasswell (1902-1978) in 1948.
Lasswell’s model of
communication (also known as
action model or linear model or
one-way model of
communication) is regarded as
one the most influential
communication models.

Though Lasswell’s model

was developed to analyze mass
communication, this model is
used for interpersonal
communication or group communication to be disseminated message to various
groups in various situations.

Lasswell’s model was developed to study the media propaganda of

countries and businesses at that time. Only rich people used to have
communication mediums such as televisions and radios back them. It was made
to show the mass media culture.

Lasswell also brought the concept of Effective Communication Process.

He talked about the relation between presentation of facts and how it generates

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

different effects. The use of the concept of effect makes Lasswell’s model non-
linear unlike its name. It’s because effect can also be taken as feedback.

3. Shannon and Weaver’s Communication Model (1949)

Shannon-Weaver model of communication was created in 1948 when
Claude Elwood Shannon wrote an article “A Mathematical Theory of
Communication” in Bell System Technical Journal with Warren Weaver.

Shannon was an American mathematician whereas Weaver was a scientist.

The Mathematical theory later came to be known as Shannon Weaver model of
communication or “mother of all models.” This model is more technological
than other linear models.

Shannon's model, as shown in Figure 1, breaks the process of communication down

into eight discrete components:

a. An information source is presumably a person who creates a message.

b. The message is both sent by the information source and received by the
destination.
c. Transmitter. For Shannon's immediate purpose a telephone instrument
that captures an audio signal, converts it into an electronic signal, and
amplifies it for transmission through the telephone network. Transmission
is readily generalized within Shannon's information theory to encompass a
wide range of transmitters. The simplest transmission system, that
associated with face-to-face communication, has at least two layers of
transmission. The first, the mouth (sound) and body (gesture), create and
modulate a signal. The second layer, which might also be described as a

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

channel, is built of the air (sound) and light (gesture) that enable the
transmission of those signals from one person to another. A television
broadcast would obviously include many more layers, with the addition of
cameras and microphones, editing and filtering systems, a national signal
distribution network (often satellite), and a local radio wave broadcast
antenna.
d. The signal flows through a channel. There may be multiple parallel signals,
as is the case in face-to-face interaction where sound and gesture involve
different signal systems that depend on different channels and modes of
transmission. There may be multiple serial signals, with sound and/or
gesture turned into electronic signals, radio waves, or words and pictures in
a book.
e. A carrier or channel is represented by the small unlabeled box in the
middle of the model. The most commonly used channels include air, light,
electricity, radio waves, paper, and postal systems. Note that there may be
multiple channels associated with the multiple layers of transmission, as
described above.
f. Noise, in the form of secondary signals that obscure or confuse the signal
carried. Given Shannon's focus on telephone transmission, carriers, and
reception, it should not be surprising that noise is restricted to noise that
obscures or obliterates some portion of the signal within the channel. This
is a fairly restrictive notion of noise, by current standards, and a somewhat
misleading one. Today we have at least some media which are so noise-free
that compressed signals and are constructed with an absolutely minimal
amount of information and little likelihood of signal loss. In the process,
Shannon's solution to noise, redundancy, has been largely replaced by a
minimally redundant solution: error detection and correction. Today we
use noise more as a metaphor for problems associated with effective
listening.
g. A receiver in Shannon's conception is the receiving telephone instrument.
In face to face communication a set of ears (sound) and eyes (gesture). In
television, several layers of receiver, including an antenna and a television
set.
h. A destination is presumably a person who consumes and processes the
message.

4. Interactive Model

The interactive model elaborates Shannon's model with the cybernetic

concept of feedback (Weiner, 1948, 1986), often without changing any other

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

element of Shannon's model. The key concept associated with this elaboration is
that destinations provide feedback on the messages they receive such that the
information sources can adapt their messages, in real time.

What makes
Weiner’s model
interactive?

5. Schramm’s Communication Model (1954)

The Schramm’s model of communication seeks to explain how meaning is

transferred between individuals, corporations, and others. Its process is circular
because each communicator rakes on both roles of sender and receiver.

In this model, the sender encodes a message, which is transmitted in the

form of signal to the receiver who decodes the message and responds by
encoding another signal even before the sender has completely sent the
message. Communication is therefore fluid since the sending and the receiving
of messages are simultaneous.

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

Why is the overlap of the sender’s and receiver’s fields of

experience called the shared area?
The fields of experience are defined as “life experiences, attitudes,
values, and beliefs that each communicator brings to an interaction and that
shape how messages are sent and received.” (McCornack, 2010, p.10 as cited in
Osgood-Schramm model)

The overlap of the sender’s and receiver’s fields of experience is the

shared area, where the transmitted signal must fall to make both
communicators share the same meaning of the message.

Since the model is based on the convergence or network approach,

various kinds of noise can possibly distort the message at any point in the
process until it reaches the receiver.

The feedback helps solve the problem because it allows the sender to
modify the information from what he observes or hears from the receiver, thus
ensuring that the information reaches the receiver in the same manner as
desired by the sender.

6. Berlo’s Model of Communication (1960)

David Berlo emphasized the relationship between the sender and the
receiver of the message. According to this model, for the message to be
accurately encoded and decoded, the communication skills of both the sender
and the receiver must be at their best. The communication will be remarkably
successful only if the two individuals possess the necessary skills.

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

7. Helical Model of Communication (1967)

The Helical model of communication was

proposed by Frank Dance, an American
Communication professor to better
understand how communication works. He
designed this model having in mind the helix
which is nothing but a smooth curve just like
a spring that goes upward and comes
downward. The name helical comes from
“helix” which means an object having a
three-dimensional shape like that of a wire
wound uniformly around a cylinder or cone.

This model can be clearly understood with this example. A child by the
time he is born in this world starts to communicate by crying. As he grows up,
he cries to tell his parents he is hungry, not feeling well, his diaper is wet or he
wants his mother’s attention. When he starts talking and going to school, he
learns new words which he uses to interact with others. As he grows, his ability
to communicate also improves because he enriches his vocabulary. However, he
uses the same pronunciations and use of words or facial expressions that he
learned when he was a child. Communication is directly dependent on his/her
past behavior as a child but can also modify as the person grows.

8. The Gatekeeper/ Intermediary Model of Communication

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

This model is frequently used in Mass Communication. It focuses on the

role of the intermediaries or gatekeepers in the communication process, giving
communication a two-step flow.

The intermediaries are editors of books, magazines, newspapers, or any

other kind of publication, moderators of internet discussion group, reviewers of
peer-reviewed publication, or aggregators of clipping services.

They can decide any or all of the following: (a) what messages they want
others to see, (b) in which context they want the messages to be seen, and (c)
when they want the messages to be seen.

They have the ability to alter messages or to prevent them from reaching
a particular audience. Gatekeepers act as censors.

Who are other examples of the

intermediaries or gatekeepers? How can
they affect the message?

Integrate

Getting integrated: How might knowing the various models of the communication
process help you in your academic life, your professional life, and your civic life?

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

academic life

professional life

civic life

Try These
A. MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE – In the blank, write True if the idea in the
statement is correct; otherwise, underline the erroneous word/s and write
the correct word/s that will make the idea in the statement true.

________________1. The Berlo’s Communication Model is a speaker-centered model

as the speaker has the most important role that is to deliver
a speech to the audience members who are passive;
therefore, this makes the communication process one way,
from speaker to receiver.
________________2. Aristotle’s Model was highly used to develop public speaking
skills and create a propaganda at that time so, it is more
focused on interpersonal communication.
________________3. Frank Dance proposed a communication model inspired by a
helix in 1967, known as Helical Model of Communication.
________________4. Communication is taken as a dynamic process in Lasswell’s
Model of Communication and it progresses with age as our
experience and vocabulary increases.
________________5. The major criticism of Lasswell’s Model is that it does not
include feedback and it ignores the possibility of noise.
________________6. Shannon and Weaver’s Model postulates that proper encoding
or decoding is possible only if both the sender and receiver
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 Module 3: Models of Communication

respectively possess the qualities required of the best

communicators such as communication skills, attitudes,
knowledge, social system, and culture.
________________7. Shannon and Weaver suggested that communication is a two-
way process where both sender and receiver take turns to
send and receive a message.
________________8. Schramm’s Field of Experience includes the things that
influences the understanding and interpretation of message
like culture, social background, beliefs, experiences, values
and rules.
________________9. Revealing too little or too much information is a receiver-
oriented barrier to effective communication.
________________10. In the Intermediary Communication Model, the Channel acts
as a censor who has the ability to alter messages or to
prevent them from reaching a particular audience.

B. Identifying Examples | Time Allotment: 15 min.

For each model of communication, write your own example of a
communication situation that best characterize the model. Your example
should not be an example given in class discussions or in the discussion under
Work It Out.

1. Aristotle’s
Model

2. Lasswell’s
Model

3. Shannon and
Weaver’s
Communication
Model
4. Interactive
Model

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

5. Schramm’s
Communication
Model

6. Berlo’s Model
of
Communication

7. Helical Model
of
Communication

8. The Gatekeeper/
Intermediary
Model of
Communication

Challenge Yourself
Group Activity: Short Skit/ Camera Roll

Write a short script showing a situation applying a specific communication model.

Be able to present it through a radio drama during synchronous sessions.

Communication Models
Group 1. Lasswell’s Model
Group 2. Shannon & Weaver’s Model
Group 3. Schramm’s Model
Group 4. Berlo’s Model
Group 5. Helical Model of Communication
Group 6. The Gatekeeper Model

Note: Groupings will be determined by the teacher.

Short Skit Expectations (20 points)

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

EXPECTATIONS
Content of the Skit Presentation/ short skit indicates a clear understanding of the
(5 points) communication model assigned to the group.
Clarity (5 points) Communicators speak clearly and distinctly (100-95%) all the
time, and mispronounce no words.
Volume (5 points) Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members
throughout the presentation.
Preparedness The group is completely prepared and has obviously
(5 points) rehearsed.

High Five!
You are
evaluate your success, assess your emotions toward the
lesson on communication models. At this point, identify the emotion/
emotions (may be more than one emotion) about the thoughts
you have after the discussion of the lesson. Write a description
that will illustrate your clear understanding, appreciation,
reflection, satisfaction, confusion, or frustration in the
appropriate box/es next to the emoticons.

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

REFERENCES
TEXTBOOKS

 Constantino, G., & Menoy, J. (2016). Oral Communication in Context (For

Senior High School. Manadaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

 Antonino, M.T., Ferida, H., Ibones, J., Iñigo M.E., Salvosa, A.A., & Sarte, M.
(2016). Oral Communication in Context for Senior High School. Malabon City:
Mutya Publishing House, Inc.

 Redoblado, V. (2016). Exploring Literature and Grammar, Oral

Communication in Context. Quezon City: Brillian Creations Publishing, Inc.

 Paulson, J. The Models of Communication. (2013). Retrieved May 5, 2017,

from http://thecommunicationprocess.com/models-of-communication/

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 Module 3: Models of Communication

WEB LINKS

The Elements of Communication: A Theoretical Approach. (2013). Retrieved

May 5, 2016, from https://blog.udemy.com/elements-of-communication/

Bajracharya (2018), "Communication Models," in Businesstopia,

https://www.businesstopia.net/category/communication

Paulson, J. The Models of Communication. (2013). Retrieved May 5, 2017, from

http://thecommunicationprocess.com/models-of-communication/

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