Week 01 - What is Communication?

People generally associate communication with the mechanics of sharing ideas. 

Radford (2005) uses the Conduit Metaphor to describe how people deconstruct ideas to signals, and then transmit them to receivers who then reconstruct the signals to form meaning (p. 8-9).  Although this is the prevailing approach, this model serves only as a vehicle of communication, and it does not answer why or how we communicate. 

Radford (2005) cites cultural views, linguistics, and the difficulties with grasping the inner workings of the mind as inhibitors to alternate models of communication (p. 6-7).  These forces limit our ability to speak to communication, and they are responsible for communication’s modern discourse. Radford is patient with conventional notions, but he is clear that we have to transcend powerful cultural views to gain deeper insights into communication. 

Perception – The Reality Beyond Matter (2007) presents alternate views to the experience of reality.  It stresses that perceptions of our environments are constructs of the mind, and that they have been shaped by culture. The film describes that formation of meaning is derived from signals entering our brains as collected by the senses.  If this is the case, then we are   continually communicating relative to our environment and with ourselves.  In this context communication broadens to reflect how we take in experiences, our responses to them, and how we convey those experiences with others.

  

If our mental framework consists of cultural constructs, then we have the capacity to expand, inform and change our views.  The implication is that we have choices as to how we approach and interact with our environment, or how we respond when the environment acts on us.  Expanding our worldview becomes just as important as developing our presentation skills.

At this point, I think communication is how we approach, interact and respond to perceptions of our environment.  I imagine the why of communication is motivated from our wants and desires relative to how we feel about those perceptions.  I haven’t thought of communication in this fashion before, but it is a natural fit.  I’m also finding strong themes that resonate with my previous studies into art and creativity.

References

Perception - The Reality Beyond Matter. (2007, February 21). YouTube. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqnEGu8VF8Y

Radford, G. P. (2005). On the Philosophy of Communication. South Bank, Vic., Australia: Thomson Wadsworth.