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Communication
COMMUNICATION PROCESSES,
PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS
 PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
Chapter I: Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics
LESSON 1

A. NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Communication
- comes from the word “communis” which means establishing a commonality or
commonness between two or more participants
- the common field of experience (CFE) may be language, interest, intentions, need,
etc.
Communication as a Process
- two- way process by which information is exchanged between or among individuals
through a common system of symbols, signs and behavior.
- process by w/c a source sends a message to a receiver thru some means to produce
a response from the receiver.

PRINCIPLES
• Communication can take place between people only to the extent that they share
similar experiences.
• The more similar the experiences they share, the wider is the CFE between two
individuals, the greater is the likelihood that they communicate effectively.
• If the CFE is narrow, then understanding or communication that can take place is
limited & may not be effective as expected.

ELEMENTS

1. Context
- knowing where, when and under what circumstances it occurred.
- circumstances surrounding a message

Types

a. Physical Context

- where and what particular objects are present (e.g. furniture and the decors)
 - we are affected by our surroundings and we manipulate objects to suit our
communication needs

- Example: A circular seating pattern elicits more discussion in a classroom

that does a straight- row arrangement

b. Social Context
- combination of people, purposes, and places interacting communicatively.
- People are distinguished from each other by these factors- gender, age,
occupation, power, degree of intimacy, ethnicity and knowledge.
- Purposes or goals- a memorial service is not the context for attacking a political
opponent, a “meet-the-candidates” night is.
- Places- some places are more conducive to certain kinds of exchanges than the
others.

c.Historical Context
- every communication event has a history.
- our communication at any moment is always affected by our previous experiences.
- every communication event adds to the backdrop for future interactions.

d. Psychological Context
- preconceived notions we bring into the conversations- racial stereotypes,
reputations, biases and assumptions

e. Cultural Context
- elements of communication may have different meanings depending upon the
culture or social understanding within which the communication is taking place.
- every society has their own rules in interpreting communication signals- some rules
govern how we use our language, some our nonverbal behavior
- customs, norms and traditions
- communication rules and expectations are important during intercultural contact
and cross- cultural expectations

2. Participants

The main goal of communication is understanding via interaction both on the part of
the source and the receiver
a. SENDER
- also called source, speaker and encoder
- starts the communication process given the fact that he wants to transmit a
message
 b. RECEIVER
- is the recipient of the message who interprets it and in turn responsible to
give feedback.

The effectiveness of the communication depends on the characteristics of both the

sender and receiver:

• Communication Skills
o thinking, writing, and speaking for encoding
o listening for decoding

• Thinking Skills
o How do our thinking skills affect the process?
o They affect our ability to analyze our own purposes and intentions; our ability
to express our ideas and feelings; and our ability to encode and decode
messages which express what we intend

• Writing Skills
o These skills determine our communication fidelity- express ideas better if we
have a wider vocabulary and if know how to arrange our ideas logically and
creatively

• Speaking Skills

o How to pronounce words, gesture, and interpret messages from listeners, and
modify our talk.

• Attitude
o This refers to the person’s biases or predispositions toward something or
someone
o How do our attitudes affect communication? - toward oneself; toward subject
matter; and toward the receiver
o Manner by which the source evaluates/ thinks of himself affects the way he
communicates
o Attitudes toward the subject matter come thru one’s messages
o Attitudes toward the receiver affect the source’s messages
• Knowledge Level
o We cannot communicate/understand what we do not know/understand.
o What should we know/ understand?
o Knowledge about the receivers’ characteristics
o Ways by which the receiver treats messages
o Sources’ attitudes
o Channels that receivers want to choose

• Socio-cultural Systems
Social system is a group which a person belongs, his perceptions of the world, his
position in his own social class, his status, etc.
Cultural system is one’s beliefs, values, ways of making things and ways of behaving
How does that system affect communication?
o Participants’ choice of words
o Their purposes for communicating
o Meanings attached to words

3. Message
- the actual physical product of the source. In oral communication, the speech is the
product, in written communication, the writing is the message; in painting, the picture
is the message.
- there are three factors that affect the message: the message code, content and
treatment.

a. Message Code. Any group or symbols that can be structured in a way that is
meaningful to some persons. These symbols include the verbal and non-verbal
symbols.
o Verbal Codes- messages using language or words

Attributes of an Effective Voice

• Audibility- loudness of the voice

• Pleasantness- free from nasality or hoarseness
• Correctness and Distinctness in Pronunciation
• Flexibility- variation in pitch, force, time and quality
o Nonverbal Codes - wordless cues
*Types of Non-Verbal Communication
• Kinesics- communication via body movements (Emblems: gestures;
Illustrations: accompany speech; affect displays: facial expressions; regulators:
shaking & nodding of head; adoptors: mannerisms)
• Proxemics- unconsciously structuring space to convey meaning
• Haptics- the use of touch
• Oculesics- refers to eye movement
• Olfactics- smell also conveys meaning
• Chronemics- the use of time
• Artifacts- dress and appearance and personal adornments also communicate
information about a person.
• Paralanguage- This includes volume, pitch, speaking rate and voice quality.

b. Message Content. It is the material in the message that was selected by the source
to express its purpose.
c. Message Treatment. It refers to the choice of the communicator on how he could
transmit the message.

4. Channel
- there are three meanings for the word communication channel in communication;
modes of encoding and decoding messages, message vehicles, message carriers.
- this include words, actions or mass media channels such as print, broadcast,
audiovisual, electronic

5. Feedback
- the receiver’s response to the information forwarded by the source. There are two
types: positive and negative feedback.

6. Noise
- anything that interferes in the communication process between the speaker and the
audience. It may take the form of internal, external, semantic and speaker- generated
noise.
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Informative Function- We want to inform other people of what we know—facts,

information, and knowledge. In school, most of our speaking activities are directed to get
and give information to develop or improve our knowledge and skills and to imbibe good
values. In social organizations, information is shared to guide people on the processes
and procedures necessary to operate efficiently and effectively.

2. Instructive Function- Many times, older people, people who hold important
information, and those in the higher rank communicate to instruct people on what to do,
when and where to do them, and on why and how to do them.

3. Persuasive Function- You may find yourself wanting to influence the opinion of
others to believe and accept your stand or claim on an issue or a problem; so you think
of strategies on how to persuade them to change their perspectives or opinion and to
decide accordingly.

4. Entertainment Function - A function of both interpersonal and mass communication

in which the sender seeks to please and the receiver is expected to enjoy. This popular
function of most commonly mass media which refers to the ability of the media to help
relax people and create a means of escape from the stress of everyday life.

5. Therapeutic Function or Emotional Expression- Communication is curative and

serves to maintain good health. Have you found yourself talking to a friend about your
personal problems? Have you consulted your teacher about your academic standing?
Sometimes, talking to a person does not mean asking for his/her help; we talk to another
person merely to vent our feelings. After the talk, we find ourselves in a much better
condition to think over matters that trouble us.

7. Regulation/Control - People use communication to maintain control over other

people’s attitude and behavior. Your parents use it to guide, inspire, or reprimand you
when you seem to lose control over your schedule, studies, and relationships, among
others. In school, your teachers and the administrators use communication to direct your
efforts to positive channels in order to learn new skills, gain more knowledge, develop
competencies, and imbibe good values. In the workplace, leaders and managers use
communication to maintain control over their employees and their work environment or
to encourage them in their work. The media use communication to urge the public to
patronize a new product or service, to support an advocacy or rally against a cause, or
even to remove government officials from office.

8. . Social Interaction- Communication helps us start, maintain, regulate, or even end

relationships with other people. We usually establish a positive climate at home, in school,
and in the workplace by greeting the people around us and by exchanging pleasantries
with them. We also show how we welcome new classmates or colleagues by smiling at
them and conversing with them about any topic with the intention of getting to know
each other and to feel that “we belong.” Likewise, we avoid communicating with a person
when our relationship with him/her turns sour. Our nonverbal language tells the other
person that we are using communication in order to stop communicating with him/her.
 PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

Chapter I: Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics

LESSON 2

MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

Model
- It is a representation of reality, which is presented in a diagram and shows relationships
among elements

Communication Model
- depicts how a proponent conceives or explains the communication process

1. Linear Model
- consists of the sender encoding a message and channeling it to the receiver in the
presence of noise
- assumes that there is a clear-cut beginning and end to communication
- display no feedback from the receiver
- examples are the Aristotle Model, Shannon- Weaver Model, Lasswell and Berlo Model

Aristotle Model

The Aristotle’s communication model is a speaker centered model as the

speaker has the most important role in it and is the only one active. It is the speaker’s
role to deliver a speech to the audience. The role of the audience is
passive, influenced by the speech. This makes the communication process one way,
from speaker to receiver.

The speaker must organize the speech beforehand, according to the target
audience and situation (occasion). The speech must be prepared so that the audience
be persuaded or influenced from the speech.

2. Circular/Interactive/Transactional Model
- The sender channels a message to the receiver and the receiver then becomes the
sender and channels a message to the original sender
- adds the concept of feedback = indicate a two-way communication process
- Interactive = feedback is not simultaneous
- Transactional = feedback could be simultaneously sent
- example is Schramm Model

Schramm Model

Information is of no use unless and until it is carefully put into words and conveyed
to others. Encoding plays a very important role because it initiates the process of
communication by converting the thought into content. When the information reaches
the recipient, his prime responsibility is to understand what the speaker intends to
convey. Unless and until the second party is able to understand or decode the information
what the sender wants to communicate, the message is actually of no use. Thus,
encoding and decoding are two most important factors of an effective communication
without which information can never flow between two individuals.

Schramm’s model also revolves around the above principle. According to the
Schramm’s model, coding and decoding are the two essential processes of an effective
communication. He also emphasizes that the communication is incomplete unless and
until the sender receives feedback from the recipient

3. Spiral Model

- the model is linear as well as circular combined and disagrees the concept of linearity
and circularity individually
- assumes sender and receiver to be interchangeable and makes communication
process to be two-way
- introduces the concept of time where continuousness of the communication process
and relational interactions are very important. Communication is taken as a dynamic
process in helical model of communication and it progresses with age as our
experience and vocabulary increases.
- example is Dance Model

\
Dance Model

As like helix, the communication process starts very slowly and defined small circle.
Communicators share information only with small portion of themselves to their relationships.
Its gradually develops into next level but which will take some time to reach and expanding its
boundaries to the next level. Later the communicators commit more and share more portions
themselves.
 PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

Chapter I: Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics

LESSON 3

LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Intrapersonal Communication
- communication that is expressed through self- talk
- stimuli are received either through the senses or from the thought itself, then they
are sent to the brain as electric signals for further processing.
- Examples are thinking, meditating, and making decisions

2. Interpersonal Communication
- direct one-to-one communication between two or more persons.

Two forms:
a. dyadic – between two persons (mother daughter dialogue)
b. small group – three or more persons (meeting of a study group of five classmates
in a Speech class)
- allows speakers to discuss topics that interest them or they may share a common bond
with each other.
- requirements in order for this type of communication to succeed:
• Openness: willingness to open up
• Empathy: Ability to understand the other person’s feelings
• Supportiveness: Reinforcing the other person's view point
• Optimism: A positive feeling for the other person

3. Public Communication
- communication occurs between a speaker and several listeners
- the speaker delivers the message in a formal setting, giving a topic that is thematic.
- feedback from the audience may be available or not.

4. Mass Communication
- communication that takes place through a technology such as the social
network/internet, television, radio and newspaper
- through these channels, the message is replicated many times, resulting to a
multiplier effect to the receivers
- messages conveyed in mass communication must be screened prior to public
dissemination
- example: senatorial candidates engage themselves in a pre-election debate on a TV
network
5. Organizational Communication
- communication within the workplace between and among members in order to carry
out an organization’s objectives and purposes, defining goal-directed behavior for
efficiency and effectiveness
- example: a manager enunciates the latest policy to his personnel.
-
6. Intercultural Communication
- communication that occurs in verbal and nonverbal ways to promote the
understanding and goodwill between and among cultural communities/nations
- example: symposia among Filipinos and international students in the MMSU Campus

Three forms:
a. international communication
b. inter-ethnic communication
c. contra cultural communication (MILF vs. government)

7. Developmental Communication
- communication that occurs between progressive nation and developing societies of
the world in order to facilitate the total development of individuals and nations
- example: UNESCO experts/workers mobilizing communities among developing
countries to launch educational and livelihood projects