Miscommunication

The clip above is a very clear-cut example of miscommunication in the communication model. In this example, the initial sender is the man, while the woman is the receiver. However, they both also assume the opposite rules throughout the course of the dialogue. The channel is the telephone through which they are speaking to each other. The message changes throughout the discourse but the original message is the man asking to speak to "Michael."

The most significant element to the ineffectiveness of this particular communication situation is the sender and receiver’s incorporation of their personal experience and knowledge in the conversation. The man assumed that he had dialed the correct number and that the woman should know who he and his business partner are. However, the woman does not understand who the man is or whom he is talking about because she has had no personal experience with either of the two men in question. Because of this, the feedback she supplies him with, such as offering a different man’s name, further confuses and frustrates him.

Without the conscious realization that other people's experiences are different from one’s own, people will apply their own opinions and meanings to messages and may jump to incorrect conclusions. Jumping to conclusions will lead to anger and frustration, which will, in turn, perplex and offend the receiver of that anger and create a vicious cycle of misunderstanding.