The Communication Definition

The Communication Definition

Based on the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication, this is the defin­i­tion of com­mu­nic­a­tion: ¹Silfwer, J. (2022, February 18). The Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​h​a​n​n​o​n​-​w​e​a​v​e​r​-​m​o​d​e​l​-​o​f​-​c​o​m​m​u​n​i​c​a​t​i​on/

Communication = the pro­cess of encod­ing a mes­sage by the inform­a­tion source, trans­mit­ting it through a selec­ted chan­nel, and ensur­ing it is decoded by the receiv­er to con­vey inform­a­tion or achieve understanding.

From a pub­lic rela­tions (PR) per­spect­ive, the inten­tion­al dis­sem­in­a­tion of inform­a­tion to influ­ence and per­suade is added to the con­text, provid­ing us with this defin­i­tion of stra­tegic communication:

Strategic Communication = the stra­tegic pro­cess of encod­ing a tailored mes­sage by the inform­a­tion source, trans­mit­ting it through an optim­al chan­nel to effect­ively over­come noise, and ensur­ing it is accur­ately decoded by the receiv­er to achieve the desired impact on the destination.

As a stark remind­er of the import­ance of con­text, and the fact that “no com­mu­nic­a­tion” also tells us some­thing, PR pro­fes­sion­als often repeat this pop­u­lar mantra:

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