Welcome to Day 1 of learning communication skills. This is a lot of information to take in with 19 hours of study time but do not let all the text overwhelm you. At its core this first unit is just setting the stage for learning about communication skills. It defines what communication is breaks down how a single message travels and shows how communication expands from a thought to global media.
Here is your simple "cheat sheet" of the important core concepts for COMM001: Unit 1.
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## 1. The Core Definition
Remember this definition:
Communication is the process of creating, sharing, receiving and interpreting messages between people to achieve meaning. If shared meaning is not achieved it was just noise. Communication is about creating shared meaning between people.
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## 2. The 9 Core Elements of Communication
Think of this as the parts of a conversation. If any of these parts fail the communication breaks down. The 9 core elements of communication are important to understand.
| Element | What It Actually Is | Everyday Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
Sender | The person who starts the interaction. | A manager at a company.
| Encoding Turning a thought into words or gestures. | Thinking of the words to say in an email.
| Message | The content or idea being sent. | "The project deadline is Friday at 5 PM."
| Channel | The way the message is sent. | Email, WhatsApp face-to-face or Zoom.
| Receiver | The person who gets the message. | The employee reading the email.
| Decoding | How the receiver understands the message. | Understanding that they need to finish the project by Friday.
| Feedback | The receivers response. | Replying "Got it will do!". A simple nod.
| Noise | Anything that disrupts the message. | See the types of noise
| Context | The situation or environment. | A formal workplace setting or a bar.
### The 4 Types of "Noise"
Noise is not a loud room. It can be anything that disrupts the message. There are four types of noise:
* Physical Noise: distractions like construction outside or a bad Zoom connection.
* Psychological Noise: emotional states like being stressed or anxious.
* Semantic Noise: Language barriers like using jargon or words with different meanings.
* Physiological Noise: conditions like being tired, sick or having a hearing impairment.
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## 3. The Communication Pyramid
Communication starts inside your head and expands to global society. It is like a pyramid with 6 levels.
```
[ 6. Societal / Mass ] -> TV, News, Social Media campaigns
[ 5. Community ] -> Local town halls, neighborhood seminars
[ 4. Organizational ] -> Corporate emails, workplace staff meetings
[ 3. Group / Team ] -> A 4-person school project group meeting
[ 2. -> A 1-on-1 chat with a friend or doctor
[ 1. Intrapersonal ] -> Self-talk inner reflections, your thoughts
```
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## 4. Verbal vs. Nonverbal Communication
There are two types of communication: nonverbal.
* Verbal: Communication that uses words like spoken words or written words.
* Nonverbal: Communication without words, like expressions or body language. Nonverbal communication carries a lot of weight.
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## 5.. Ethics
* Perception is subjective meaning we interpret messages based on our experiences and biases.
* Ethical communication is about being honest, respectful and accountable, for the impact of our words.
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### Ready to test your knowledge of communication skills?
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