Decoding, meaning and encoding are the processes that the individual uses to interpret the messages of others, and to formulate messages themselves. Decoding is the process of translating messages from their symbolic form into interpretations that we can understand.
If the parties speak the same language, or use the same common nonverbal gestures to communicate messages, the process is reasonably simple and error-free; if they do not, decoding is prone to contribute a high degree of error. While “translators” may help to decode the other’s messages, full translation may not be possible, i.e., understanding the other’s meaning or tone, as well as the words –or may introduce additional error into the communication.
Meanings are the facts, ideas, feelings, reactions, or thoughts that exist within individuals, and act as a set of “filters” through which the decoded messages are interpreted. If a party has asked the other to “please pass me that pencil,” and the other party has said “no,” the encoded “no” back to us is likely to stimulate a variety of reactions in the search for “meaning.” Did the other hear the message? Was the “no” a direct refusal to the request? Why did the other say “no”? Does he need the pencil too? Is he being obstinate and intentionally blocking me? Answers to these questions will vary depending upon a variety of other aspects of the communication sequence and the relationship between the parties, and will lead to different ascription of “meaning” to the word “no.”
Finally, encoding is the process by which messages are put into symbolic form. The encoding process will be affected by varying degrees of skills in encoding, e.g., fluency in language, skill at expression in written and verbal form, etc. It will also be affected by the meaning attached to earlier communication- what we want to communicate, how we have reacted to earlier communications, etc. Senders are likely to choose to encode messages in a preferred form; this form may not be the same preferred by receivers. Two managers may need to distinguish a negotiated contract; while one may prefer to “get together and discuss it over lunch,” the other may prefer to have each one prepare a written draft that they can exchange and revise individually. How this contract will eventually be prepared may thus be the subject of the negotiation itself.
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