What are the three parts of communication?

What are the three parts of communication?

• A. Speaker, Message, Recipient
• B. Source, Content, Receiver
• C. Sender, Message, Audience
• D. Signal, Message, Audience

Answer: (C)

The three parts of communication are the sender, the message, and the audience. The sender is the person who starts the exchange by encoding their thoughts into a message. The message is the content being conveyed—the idea, information, or instruction being sent. The audience is the intended receiver who interprets (decodes) the message. This framing captures who is initiating, what is being transmitted, and who it’s meant for, which is essential in public health messaging where you tailor content to the audience. Think of a nurse giving a health tip: the nurse (sender) creates and shares the tip (message) with the community (audience). The reason this set fits best is that it clearly identifies the roles involved in the communication transaction, rather than focusing on the delivery method. Options using terms like speaker/recipient or source/receiver are similar concepts, but the common model emphasizes sender, message, and audience. The idea of a signal points more to the delivery channel than to the core components of the communication itself.

The three parts of communication are the sender, the message, and the audience. The sender is the person who starts the exchange by encoding their thoughts into a message. The message is the content being conveyed—the idea, information, or instruction being sent. The audience is the intended receiver who interprets (decodes) the message. This framing captures who is initiating, what is being transmitted, and who it’s meant for, which is essential in public health messaging where you tailor content to the audience.

Think of a nurse giving a health tip: the nurse (sender) creates and shares the tip (message) with the community (audience). The reason this set fits best is that it clearly identifies the roles involved in the communication transaction, rather than focusing on the delivery method.

Options using terms like speaker/recipient or source/receiver are similar concepts, but the common model emphasizes sender, message, and audience. The idea of a signal points more to the delivery channel than to the core components of the communication itself.