Back to Basics: Why Every Communication—Even with AI—Depends on the Sender, Message, and Receiver

LinkedIn Article: May 27, 2025

Sender - Message - Receiver Activity

In the age of intelligent assistants, AI-generated content, and rapid-fire digital messaging, it’s easy to lose sight of the fundamentals. Yet, beneath every presentation, email, prompt, or AI output lies a classic model that has stood the test of time: Sender → Message → Receiver.

Whether you’re an engineer leading a cross-functional team, an architect presenting design logic to stakeholders, or an educator integrating AI into your classroom, understanding and mastering this model is essential.

The Timeless Triad

1. The Sender: This is the originator of the message—an individual, a team, or even a machine. In traditional settings, the sender is human. In today’s world, the sender might also be an AI model trained on thousands of examples, generating text or visuals on behalf of a person.

Human insight drives effective AI input. The more intentional and clear the prompt, the more aligned the AI’s output.

2. The Message: The content being communicated. It includes tone, structure, medium, and intent. In documentation and presentations, especially those co-created with AI, clarity and context are everything.

Ask yourself: Is the message aligned with the goal? Is it appropriate for the format—technical spec, executive summary, marketing deck?

3. The Receiver: This is your audience—and the most critical variable in the equation. Their background, expectations, and preferred method of understanding determine whether your message lands or misses.

Tailor content to the receiver. Common language is paramount! Translate technical depth into accessible insight when needed. Add visuals. Use data. Or simplify.

AI in the Loop: An Evolving Sender or Tool?

With tools like ChatGPT or generative design platforms, we must reframe our perspective. Is the AI now a co-sender? A filter? Or a smart drafting assistant?

The answer depends on how we use it:

• When we prompt an AI to generate a presentation, we remain the sender, guiding tone and goals.

• When AI replies to a user query, it becomes the sender—but only with the context we’ve given it.

• When used in education or team settings, AI often supports the message—but it doesn’t replace the judgment needed to tailor it to the receiver.

Tips to Communicate with Clarity—Human or AI

Know your audience. Always ask: Who’s receiving this? What do they need to understand or do?

Refine your message. Use AI to iterate, but humanize for impact.

Be intentional as a sender. Communicate with empathy and purpose, especially across cultures, roles, and technologies.

Closing Thought

In all communication—especially in technical, educational, or high-stakes environments—the human element is irreplaceable. Technology can amplify, support, and even help us compose better messages. But it’s still our responsibility to send the right signal to the right people at the right time.

Sender → Message → Receiver

Master the chain. Empower your communication.