The word communication is derived from the Latin word "Communis", which means "common" (cf. municipal), and communicate then means "make common". When it comes to performing communication between people, it is precisely the meaning of the word that is important. Communication is talking to each other, television, spreading information, our hairstyle, literary criticism: the list is endless.
When a person has a thought content that they want to convey to another person and, for example, asks "Excuse me, what time is it?" a communication process arises with the defendant if he hears the question. The communication process is characterized first and foremost by the fact that there are two parties involved, a sender and a receiver. Between them, a signal or a message consisting of spoken words is moved by sound waves. The transmitter has a thought content that is transformed into words with meanings via speech. A corresponding transformation is made by the recipient when he registers the words. The message is interpreted and also becomes a thought content of the recipient.
Transfer of meaning
The important thing in this situation is (in the present moment) that what is moved between transmitter and receiver is not just a signal, a set of sounds, but a thought content that can thus become common to transmitter and receiver. It is this "transfer of meaning" that is called communication between people.
The actual thought content of the transmitter was with the question regarding the clock, the receiver does not know at this stage. It is possible that the transmitter's purpose with the question was that it would act as an "icebreaker" for a possible further communication. The transmitter in this case could possibly be a watchmaker or a seller of wristwatches and is out on the town with a market research to get answers on how different recipient groups look at the watch and how they use it. The overall purpose may therefore be to find their market.
Transfer of thought content.
The goal for those who work with communication (regardless of an internal or external communication) is that you should succeed in reaching out with your thought content. By focusing on understanding, it is hoped that when the communication takes place, the recipient understands what the message means (more or less correctly). Communication is thus something more than just the transmission of a sentence. If this is to succeed, the transmitter and receiver must interpret the signal in the same way.
The recipient decides.
In all communication, it is the recipient who decides what will be the final perceived message. It is a matter of all messages being filtered through the recipient's frames of reference, prejudices and experiences. He can, for various reasons - for example due to all kinds of prejudices - perceive what you convey in a completely different way than what you intended. A recipient who does not think young people about much, can choose not to listen at all when he meets one.
Sometimes the receiver's filter is so fine that the only thing left is: I hear what I want to hear and I see what I want to see.
You cannot redo the receiver.
It can feel a little depressing to have so little control over what the recipient perceives. But of course, you can also see this as a challenge. There is not much you can do for the recipient. You can do more for your own message. You can also pave the way for communication well by making the recipient friendly and interested in taking in what you have to say.
Without touching on it too much for you, I will now try to explain the thoughts about semiotics, its basic elements and how they are useful to the graphic designer. I chose to study pedagogy as a complement to my studies in marketing and graphic communication. The main reason was that I wanted to try to get answers to the questions that apply to how we as individuals perceive different messages and then how we take a position on different messages in our decisions and buying processes. In my pedagogical studies I got to immerse myself in a lot of other subjects but still, four years later I have a burning interest in these parts.
Comments