What Factors Affect the Communication Process?

There are various factors that can affect the communication process, like stress, the usage of nonverbal signs and whether the parties are listening to each other. Communication can be a very important tool, especially in a business setting where people must collaborate with each other to reach their shared interest or parties must come to agreements by communicating their needs to each other.

A very important factor in communication is the idea of stress. It’s a natural feeling that people have, especially when they are operating in a high-pressure environment or situation and, in some cases, stress can actually enable them to communicate more effectively. However, stress can often be a factor that influences bad communication. When people are suffering from too much stress, they are more likely to misread other people, act inappropriately or fall into bad behaviors that end up diminishing the quality of communication with other people.

People’s perceptions are also very important to the communication process. How people interpret the messages given to them by other parties can greatly influence what is actually communicated and where a relationship leads. It’s very important that people listen closely to one another when communicating because if people don’t do this, the communication can be totally ineffective.

Nonverbal communication is another big factor in how communication arises and proceeds. When people use nonverbal communication like facial expressions and gestures, they can often greatly influence the message behind their verbal communication. Sometimes, nonverbal communication is the only kind of communication used, which can determine what is communicated in a conversation.