Essential Factors of Mass communication
Mass communication is usually one-way flow of information. The effectiveness of this communication primarily depends on the sender of the message. In order to make mass communication effective, the sender should fulfill the following prerequisites:
Appropriate planning: Successful mass communication requires appropriate planning about what, how, whom and when to be communicated. This will guide the whole communication process.
Clear idea about the message: Clear idea about the message is an essential requirement of any communication. But this is more important in mass communication due to its large number of audiences. If the sender lacks sufficient knowledge on the message, he is unlikely to communicate successfully.
Understandability: Success of mass communication mostly depends on the receivers’ understanding. Hence, the message of mass communication should be simple so that target audiences can understand it easily. Moreover, the message should be attractive to draw people’s attention to it.
Use of appropriate channel: There are numerous channels of mass communication like radio, television, newspaper, magazine etc. However, not all the channels are suitable for every message. Therefore, an appropriate channel should be selected to convey the message to the intended audiences. For example, radio is suitable for advertising mini pack shampoo rather than English dailies.
Arranging feedback system: Arranging feedback system is another factor for enhancing the efficacy of mass communication. Feedback helps to know the receivers’ attitudes, feelings, and responses. Although the audiences of mass communication stay far away from the source of information, sender should seek feedback to make the communication effective.
From the above discussion, we can conclude that the preconditions of effective mass communication are related to the skills and knowledge of the senders quality and authenticity of the messages and appropriateness of the channel.
