A linear, or “one way,” model represents interpersonal communication in its most basic form. It basically states that communication is a process in which one stage must be finished before proceeding to the next. It is one way communication, meaning that the sender (or speaker) is always acting towards a receiver (or listener) and there is no reaction or response from the receiver until the sender has completed the transmission of the message, keeping them in separate stages of the model. The way this could best be described is if two people are trying to communicate through a glass wall and they have to hold down a button to have the other person hear them. When the button is pressed, the window between them goes black and the person on the other side cannot communicate or even see the speaker. Once the transmission from sender to receiver has ended, they can once again see one another and the next transmission may begin. Noise, which is anything that inhibits the interception of a full message, is represented by the black screen which in this case prevents the receiver from interpreting the non-verbal cues the sender may be sending.
An interactive model of interpersonal communication differs from the linear model in that it incorporates the idea of feedback into the model. The idea of this model is that each person holds a particular field of experience unique to their own history of communication. When a sender and receiver communicate, each personal experience meshes and overlaps to help create an open line of communication between two people. As communication between two parties increases, the field of experience between the two also increases; turning what may have once been a narrow alley into an 8 lane freeway. An example of this interactive model in play may be two people newly immigrated to the United States both speaking American English to one another, however, one person is from Scotland, and the other from Japan. While they are both speaking the same language, they will most likely have trouble understanding one another through the accents they both carry. They may not be comfortable speaking at first due to the barriers represented by the accents, but after recurrent communication occurs, they will slowly begin to understand one another and find it easier to send and receive messages.
Many of you reading this will never respond to this discussion post. If this is the case, it represents more of a linear transaction as I have presented the message via my blog and you have received it by taking the time to read it. However, if you respond to this blog and we begin open lines of communication by posting and responding and becoming the best of online blog reading buddies, we will eventually find areas where our field of experience overlap, which is better represented by an interactive model of communication.
Thank you for taking the time to read my interpretation of linear and interactive models of communication. I hope that you have found this read interesting and helpful as you continue on your search to find blogs that trigger your thought processes or an un-named instructor’s grade book! J
