The originator or source of a message is called which term?

• A. Sender/transmitter
• B. Receiver
• C. Message
• D. Feedback

Answer: (A)

In communication, the originator of the message is the sender, or transmitter. This is the person who creates and encodes the idea and then sends it to someone else. The other parts of the process are the receiver (who gets the message), the message itself (the content), and feedback (the response back to the sender to show understanding or reaction). For example, if a manager sends an email about new working hours, the manager is the sender, the staff are the receivers, the email is the message, and any reply or action taken is feedback. So the best term for the originator is the sender/transmitter.