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Message The message is the information that is being sent and received. Messages

can take many forms, including written, verbal, nonverbal, formal, informal, internal,
external, horizontal, and vertical. Horizontal communications are messages sent and
received between peers. Vertical communications are messages sent and received
between subordinates and executive management.

The message should be appropriate and relevant to the receiver. Information that isn’t
needed or isn’t pertinent to the intended audience is considered noise and will likely be
discarded before it’s read or heard.

Receiver The receiver is the person for whom the message is intended. They are
responsible for understanding the information correctly and making sure they’ve
received all the information.

Keep in mind that receivers filter the information they receive through their knowledge
of the subject, cultural influences, language, emotions, attitudes, and geographic
locations. The sender should take these filters into consideration when sending

messages so that the receiver will clearly understand the message that was sent.

The sender-message-receiver model, also known as the basic communication model, is
how all communication exchange occurs, no matter what format it takes. The sender
encodes the information (typically in written or verbal format) and transmits it, via a
message, to the receiver.

Transmitting is the way the information gets from the sender to the receiver. Spoken
words, written documentation, memos, email, and voicemail are all transmitting
methods.

Decoding is what the receiver does with the information when they get it. They convert
it into an understandable format. Usually, this means they read the memo, listen to the
speaker, read the book, and so on. The receiver decodes the message by reading it,
listening to the speaker, and so on. Both the sender and the receiver have responsibility
in this process. The sender must make sure the message is clear and understandable
and in a format that the receiver can use. The receiver must make certain they
understand what was communicated and ask for clarification where needed.

Project communication always involves more than one person. Communication
network models are a way to explain the relationship between the number of people
engaged in communicating and the actual number of interactions taking place between
participants. For example, if you have five people in a meeting exchanging ideas, there
are actually ten lines of communication among all the participants. Figure 8.1 shows a
network model showing the lines of communication among the members.

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