2.1 What Is a Communication Situation?
Suzan Last and Candice Neveu and Nancy Bray
Learning Objectives
- Define communication situation.
- Identify the components of a communication analysis.
Communication is always shaped by the participants and contexts in which it takes place. The communication situation is a term used to describe the components of any situation in which you may want to communicate, whether in written or oral form. To begin to understand a communication situation, ask yourself: “Who is talking to whom about what, how, and why?”
A communication situation may also be called a rhetorical situation–a term that goes back to the Ancient Greeks. Our modern understanding of strategic communication is built on the Ancient Greek’s understanding of persuasion (called rhetoric).
In order to analyze a communication situation, you should examine six key components. They are:
- Purpose
- You and Your Audience
- Context
- Channel
- Messages
- Evaluation
To remember these elements, you can use the mnemonic PYCCME (pronounced “pick me”).
When you conduct a communication analysis, you are making sure that you thoroughly understand the communication situation. Understanding the communication situation before you communicate will help you to plan your communication strategically and to monitor your success.
In the next section of this chapter, each of the six components of a communication situation will be defined in more depth.
