Channel
Pathway through which messages are conveyed.
Channel-lean context
Communication context involving few channels at once.
Channel-rich context
Communication context involving many channels at once
Cognitive complexity
Ability to understand a given situation in multiple ways.
Communication competence
Communication in ways that are effective and appropriate for a given situation.
Content dimension
Literal information that is communicated by a message.
Context
Physical or psychological environment in which communication occurs.
Decode
Interpret or give meaning to a message.
Dyad
A pair of people.
Empathy
Ability to think and feel as others do
Encode
Putting an idea into language or gesture.
Ethics
A code of morality or a set of ideas about what is right.
Explicit rule
Rule about behavior that has been clearly articulated.
Feedback
Verbal and nonverbal responses to a message.
Implicit rule
Rule about behavior that has not been clearly articulated but is nonetheless understood.
Instrumental needs
Practical, everyday needs.
Interpersonal communication
Communication that occurs between two people within the context of their relationship and that, as it evolves, helps them to negotiate and define their relationship.
Intrapersonal communication
Communication that occurs with oneself.
Mass communication
Communication in which one source speaks to a large audience
Message
Verbal and nonverbal elements of communication to which people give meaning.
Metacommunication
Communication about communication.
Model
Formal description of a process.
Noise
Anything that interferes with the encoding or decoding of a message.
Receiver
The party who interprets a message.
Relational dimension
Signals about the relationship in which a message is being communicated.
Self-monitoring
Awareness of one's behavior and how it affects others.
Small group communication
: Communication occurring within small groups of three or more people.
Source
: Originator of a thought or idea.
Stigma:
A characteristic that discredits a person, making him or her be seen as abnormal or undesirable
Symbol
A representation of an idea.