THE HUMAN COMMUNICATION PROCESS IN CONTEXT

- Communication is an integral aspect of living - of being human.

- Occupies a large chunk of your day.
- The ability to communicate effectively enables one to establish connections and rapport
with other people.
- Mastering the skill of getting across the ideas will allow them to be shared clearly to the
interlocutor (audience).
- “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” -
George Bernard Shaw
- Better to strive to enhance this talent of communicating effectively.

- Studying communication will enable you to discover more and better ways of expressing
your thoughts clearly and interacting with others meaningfully.
- It is better to review the communication’s definition to realize what effective
communication requires and to know how complex the process you are involved in when
communicating with others.
- Etymologically, communication comes from a Latin word communicare which archaically
means “to share”. This was used in 1529.
- Specifically the sense of that Latin word is “to make common to many” or “to impart”

Elements of Communication

- Sender - participant initiating communication; determines the purpose of the message

- Receiver - one for whom the message is intended
- Transceiver - happens when two components consecutively interact with each other;
sending and receiving messages at the same time
- Message - contains message, thought, and feelings that a communicator expresses to
the other participant in the process
- Purpose of the message in three forms: to inform, to persuade, and to take action
- Channel/medium - identifies how the message is delivered
- Examples: air serves as the medium for verbal and face-to-face communication
(messages are transmitted through sound waves);
- It can also be sensory such as how someone holds or shakes hands with
someone
- Any other means: technology (i.e. telephone, cellphone, email, voice mail, video
recording, written memo).
- Feedback - receiver’s response to the message; makes communication a two-way
process
- Indicates how the message is interpreted - how it is seen, heard, understood;
conveys emotions or feelings about the message
- Context - depends on how both participants send and receive messages
- Circumstances such as situation, condition, and environment may affect the
context of the message
 - Environmental factors such as room temperature, lighting, furniture, timing, as
well as climate and relationship that exist between the communicators.
- Depends upon whom one is talking to: siblings, parents, stranger, clique/squad
- Noise - impediment to successful communication
- Classifications of noise: external, internal, and semantic
- External - originates from the communicators surroundings or
environment
- Internal - includes anything self-related – attitude, opinions, beliefs, and
psychological state
- Semantic - refers to understanding a particular word or gesture differently
hampering the effective communication (i.e. jargons)
- Crucial for effective communication to occur, awareness of possible differences
and active listening, coupled with concentration are part of the communication
equation
- Frame of reference - brings interactions to their own value system or culture,
preferences, world views, self-concept, expectations, and experiences.
- This makes every communication unique
- When commonalities are identified, this establishes a springboard for
communication
- Also known as field of experience

Characteristics of Communication

1. Communication is a process - there is a transmission of thoughts, ideas, and emotions

that happens.
- To be viewed as a process, communication must be considered as a nonstatic or
unfixed phenomenon. Communication follows a course and has progression.
- One of the ways to understand the process of communication is to represent it
through a model.
- Three models of communication: linear, interactive, and transactional
- Linear model - earliest and most influential model of communication;
linear model is one-way. Identified components to tell a process is linear
are: sender, message, channel, receiver, and noise. Missing link is
feedback - this could possibly reveal how effectively the message is
transmitted.
- active sender - passive receiver
- Interactive model - two-way process; recognizes the presence of
feedback; message is going both ways
- Sender gives message to the receiver the receiver responds
which automatically converted to becoming a sender
- Although feedback is present, it is not simultaneous
- Added another concept in the form of ‘field of experience’ which
acknowledges that people integrate into the communication
 process their own cultural upbringing or background and general
experiences
- Transactional model - suggests that communication is essentially not a
solo endeavor it should rather have the participants engage in a
transaction to make the process simultaneous
- Emphasizes that there is a conscious interaction between the
sender and the receiver to generate meaning and to arrive at a
common understanding of the information
- Aside from the elements mentioned, this model looks into the
importance of context making communication adapt to the
situation or condition involved in the process.

2. Communication necessitates negotiation of meanings of symbols - communicators use

or negotiate the meanings of verbal and nonverbal symbols. Information that is
exchanged can be a range of feelings, thoughts, wants, needs, and intentions.
- May or may not be explicitly expressed or articulated in words
- Representations are called symbols
- Symbols are images designed to represent ideas, objects, conditions, or
operations
- Symbols have a secret power to those who understand their meaning and to
those who cannot read them
- Symbols originate and become recognized within specific cultures, religion, and
disciplines
- Spoken and written words refer to verbal symbols
- Vocal tones, facial expressions, gestures, body movements, physical
appearance, and manners are examples of nonverbal symbols
- Brantley and Miller (2005) termed nonverbals as signals
- Communicators must bear in mind that each participant has a different frame of
reference (background, assumptions, and culture) that interferes with the
transmission and reception of messages or influence of certain symbols
- Requires negotiation of meaning to arrive at a shared understanding and
perception of symbols and to be able to communicate effectively

- Japanese tend almost to be workaholics, while Filipinos value their leisure very
highly.
- Filipino women enjoy freedom and high status within the framework of bilateral
kinship, while Japan is still a very much male dominated patrilineal society.
- Filipino culture usually has more familial intervention and input into everyday
choices and activities. Americans are usually very open minded.
- Filipinos usually tend to hold onto more traditional values. In America people tend
to want to be independent and be responsible for their own actions.
- Much like how Indians are family oriented, Filipinos are also very dedicated to
their families. They respect their elders, never call someone older than them by
 their first name. They go above and beyond to help their families and always
stand by them in hard times.

3. Communication is contextual - means that communication occurs in a context.

Communication adapts to and is shaped by circumstances.
- Three General Types of Contexts
- Psychosocial context - draws on the interaction among the emotional
history, social relationships, and cultural capital of the participants.
- Variables such as age, sex, gender preference, religion, and
socioeconomic status are all considered in this category
- Communicators should be aware and sensitive of these factors for
it will certainly affect the communication process, particularly the
reception and interpretation of symbols.
- Logistical context - refers to the physical context and is concerned with
the setting (time and place) and occasion.
- Interactional context - various compositions or classifications of
interaction dictate the style of communication that is employed by the
communication participants.
- Six Major Categories of Interactional Context
- Intrapersonal context - reflects on its own self-concept or
the overall understanding of self
- Self-talk or inner speech
- Engleberg and Wynn (2008) states that the self
shares a core with the others at the center of the
communication process
- Interpersonal context - refers to communication between
people, usually dyads: two people interacting to
accomplish a particular task or purpose
- Relationships are classified as occurring in this type
of context
- Group context - communication that transpires when more
than two people, usually three to seven, interact to carry
out a common goal
- Family interactions, study groups, organizational
and club meetings, and neighborhood gatherings
- Organizational context - this relates to workplace
communication which exposes one or more individuals to
several communicative opportunities among individuals,
dyads, and groups.
- Public or presentational context - single speaker creates
meaning with the audience, which can range from literally
few to tremendously large in number who are present at
the delivery of the message
 - May be held formal such as research presentations
at conferences or seminars and campaign
speeches
- May be informal too such as classroom
presentations and reports
- However, classroom activities when structured and
carefully planned become formal
- Mass communication context - contrast to presentational
context, characterized by an individual or a network
sharing a message with an audience that is not directly
present and often unknown.
- More often than not, the sender of the message
cannot see or observe how the audience reacts
- Categories such as newspapers, books,
magazines, television, radio, and any other
forms of computer-mediated or digital
platforms are examples of this
communication
- Context determines the most effective way of creating and
sending messages
- There are different forms of communication based on message
forms, modes of transmission, and systems that will be utilized
depending on the communication context and purpose

Communication Types

Verbal communication
- Spoken and written words refer to verbal symbols
- Use of spoken and written symbols in making and interpreting meanings

Nonverbal communication
- Comprised of signals, characterized as visual, audible, and movement clues
- Vocal tones (and any other paralinguistic features - pitch, stress, intonation patterns, and
juncture) facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, body movements, physical
appearance, and manners are all examples of nonverbal communication

Formal communication
- Based on specific and standardize guidelines, channels, and systems
- Practiced in an organizational, business, and formal environment and includes the
sending and receiving of official, sometimes confidential and sensitive information
- Usually need for a written document as proof of the interaction
Informal communication
- Typical, personal face-to-face communication that happens between friends and family
members
- Free from any guidelines or organizational rules
- Most spoken interaction are informal in which no proof is needed for the communication
that has occurred

Intentional communication
- Words and signals used in communication have their intended meanings
- People communicate out of purpose and motive
- Happens when the communicators are aware of their own purposes and how their words
and actions might impact others

Unintentional communication
- When it is not purposeful, it is not intentional
- Happens in cases where messages are not intended to be sent or have reached the
wrong receiver

4. The goal of communication is shared understanding

- Successful, effective communication entails that the participants in the
communication process have achieved common, mutual, or share understanding
of the matter
- Willing to settle disparities