Models of Communication

• A model, is “a structure of symbols and operating rules which is supposed to match a set of relevant points in an existing structure or process.”
• Models of communication refers to the conceptual model used to explain the human communication process.
• The first major model for communication came in 1949 by Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver following the basic concept of communication, the process of sending and receiving messages or transferring information from one part (sender) to another (receiver).

Types of Models of Communication

1. Mental models: Represent internal mental process of communication
2. Symbolic models: Representation of symbols as mathematical symbols, words as a symbol in verbal communication
3. Physical model: Representation of the physical process of communication

From the interaction point of view communication models are broadly classified into three categories

1. Linear
2. Interactive
3. Transactional