The communication process describes how a message moves from sender to receiver: the sender encodes an idea into a message, sends it through a channel (email, meeting, report, phone), the receiver decodes it and sends feedback. Noise is anything that distorts the message at any stage. This is the basis of the Shannon–Weaver model and later two-way models.
| Barrier | Example | How to reduce it |
|---|
| Physical | Poor connection on a video call, a noisy office | Choose a better channel or setting; send a written summary |
| Semantic (language) | Jargon or abbreviations the reader does not know | Use plain English and define technical terms |
| Psychological | Stress, distrust or assumptions about the sender | Build trust, check understanding, choose timing carefully |
| Cultural | Direct versus indirect styles, different meeting norms | Learn the audience's norms; confirm meaning in writing |
| Organisational | Too many levels of management, unclear responsibilities | Shorter reporting lines and clear owners for each message |
| Information overload | Long emails with several unrelated requests | One topic per email; key point and action in the first lines |
Types of communication you may be asked to compare: formal and informal; verbal, written and non-verbal; internal and external; and the direction of flow, which is downward (manager to staff), upward (staff to manager), horizontal (between peers) and the informal grapevine.