[MUSIC] Welcome to the first session of this MOOC. We are going to start together with this short video where I will introduce you to the communication cycle. The purpose of this presentation is to show you that any communication has to be understood as a process. To be effective when you communicate, you should always think of your communication as a whole and not only about you or your message. As you see with this figure, communication is a process. It is divided in four steps, which we will see together. Keep in mind that every type of communication, even a simple face to face conversation, is based on the principle of a sender. You, sending a message, an information, through a channel, verbal communication, in this case your mouth, to a receiver, the person in front of you. Communication is nothing if it isn't meant for a receiver or if it has no message to give. Let's first talk about the sender. The sender is the communicator. It can be a person, a group, or an organization that has a message to give. The sender has a precise idea of what he means, of what he wants to say. Generally, the sender already has a receiver in mind. But sometimes the receiver has to be Identified or specified. The sender will then have to create and frame his message in the best way so it is understood by the receiver. And he will have to identify the right channel so it is well-received by the receiver. The second step is the message itself. The message can be oral, written, or visual. In whatever way you choose to send your message, it has to contain minimum information. You have to think precisely of the purpose of your message. What do you want to tell? Is it to promote? To inform? To warn about? To educate? To raise awareness? By fixing the objectives of your communication, it will be more precise and targeted. A message is always associated with a channel. A channel is a means of delivering a message from a point A, a sender, to a point B, a receiver. A channel can be a technological tool like a telephone, a media like radio or television, or simply an attitude like the body language. This channel is very important because it has to be adapted to the message. If you think your message is more influential with images, then you won't use radio. But if the only way to access your receiver is through radio, then you have to adapt the message providing only verbal information. The target of your communication is the receiver. Again, the receiver can be a person, a group, an organization, even the public in general. You have to precisely identify who you are talking to, the receiver you are trying to reach, and why you want to reach him. You have to adapt the message to this receiver. This is why you have to learn as much as possible about how this receiver is getting informed, where he lives, if he access to media, what is his level of education, and so on. A message not adapted to the receiver will never reach its target and goals. To make sure the receiver acknowledged your message, you will have to give him space for a feedback, a message back. As a consequence, let's see one last important point. Every communication can be summarized as an encoding and decoding process. Encoding means to put some codes in a message. We do this every day when we communicate by using specific words, a certain level of language, very intellectual or very popular, by making some references to events or people or habits. We also use images or symbols that are culturally relevant for ourselves. But we then have to make sure that the message is well decoded by the receiver. To decode is simply to understand the same codes that were encoded by the sender. Therefore, a good communication process happens when the encoding and decoding processes perfectly match, when the receiver understood perfectly what the sender meant. But sometimes it doesn't work. This is why you always have to make sure that you and your receiver have at least some codes in common. You will have to adapt your message to the cultural, social, political, or economic background of your receiver. You have to be prepared when you communicate by keeping this process in mind at every step. Thank you for your attention. [MUSIC]
