Answer to Question 1
Answer: The first step in the communication process occurs when the sender has an idea and decides to share it. Second, the sender encodes the idea as a message that the receiver will understand. Third, the sender produces the message in a transmittable medium. Fourth, the sender transmits the message through a channel (such as a face-to-face conversation or an email). Fifth, the audience receives the message. Sixth, the audience decodes the message by extracting the idea from it. Seventh, the audience responds to the message. Eighth, the audience provides feedback that helps the sender evaluate the effectiveness of the communication effort.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: Four common types of communication barriers are noise and distractions, competing messages, filters, and channel breakdowns. Noise and distractions can be both physical and emotional and are especially common due to the widespread habit of multitasking. Competing messages make it difficult to gain and keep your audience's attention and can result in information overload, which makes it difficult to distinguish between useful and useless information and increases workplace stress. Messages can be blocked or distorted by filters: any human or technological intervention between the sender and the receiver. Filtering can be intentional or unintentional. Finally, channel breakdowns occur when the channel you select fails to deliver your message at all.