Communication

A. Process and Principles

B. Types of Communication
C. Levels of Communication
D. Barriers of Communication
E. Models of Communication

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Communication
● From the Latin word “Communicare” meaning to share
● Act of conveying meanings from one entity or group to another through mutually
understood signs, symbols, and semiotic rules.

A. Process of communication
THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Sender/Speaker
➢ very foundation of communication process
➢ the person who transmits or sends the message
2. Message
➢ information conveyed by words
➢ heart of communication
3. Encoding
➢ putting the targeted message into appropriate medium
4. Channel
➢ the way or mode the message flows or is transmitted through.
5. Receiver
 ➢ the person or group who the message is meant for.
6. Decoding
➢ to interpreting or converting the sent message into intelligible language or
comprehending the message.
7. Feedback
➢ ultimate aspect of communication process.
➢ refers to the response of the receiver as to the message sent to him/her by the
sender

A.1 Principles of communication

The Seven (7) Cs of Communication

1. Conciseness
➢ stick to the point and keep it brief.
➢ Exact, precise
➢ Avoiding “filler words”
2. Courtesy
➢ being aware not only of the perspective of others, but also their feelings.
➢ The sender should show respect to the audience or receiver.
3. Correctness
➢ proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
➢ right level of language and acceptable writing mechanics
➢ facts, figures, and words.
4. Clarity
➢ short, familiar, and conversational words
➢ Must be clear
5. Completeness
➢ contains all the facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire.
➢ extra or additional information and elaboration if necessary.
6. Coherence
➢ both consistent and logical.
➢ interconnected and relevant to the message being conveyed.
➢ flow of the message should be in order
7. Concreteness
➢ specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general or unclear

B.Types of communication
1. Verbal communication – uses spoken and written words
a. Oral communication – spoken words
 b. Written communication – written words, signs, or symbols
2. Non-verbal communication – gives hints of how people feel, primarily involves
attitudes not ideas, and provides much more information than verbal
communication.
Three (3) elements of non-verbal communication
1. Appearance – appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to
the eye.
a. Speaker – clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics
b. Surrounding – room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings.
2. Body Languages
a. Facial expression/Display
b. Gesture
c. Posture
3. Paralinguistics
a. non-verbal element of speech
b. used to modify meaning and convey emotion such as pitch, volume,
loudness, tone of voice, inflection, and intonation.
4. Proxemics
a. space and territory
b. study of the effects of physical distance between people in different
cultures and societies
5. Eye gaze
6. Haptics – touch
7. Artifacts – objects and images

C. Levels of communication
1. Intrapersonal communication
➢ occurs in your own mind
➢ the basis of your feelings, biases, prejudices, and beliefs
■ Ex. when you make any kind of decision, when you think about something
– what you want to do on the weekend or when you think about another
person.
2. Interpersonal communication
➢ between two people but can involve more in informal conversations.
■ Examples are when you are talking to your friends. A teacher and student
discussing an assignment. A patient and a doctor discussing a treatment.
A manager and a potential employee during an interview.
3. Small group communication
➢ within formal or informal groups or teams
➢ decision making, problem solving and discussion within an organization.
■ Examples would be a group planning a surprise birthday party for
someone. A team working together on a project.
4. One-to-group communication
 ➢ a speaker who seeks to inform, persuade, or motivate an audience.
5. Mass communication
➢ electronic or print transmission of messages to the general public
■ Ex. radio, television, film, printed materials, books, newspapers,
billboards, magazine article

D. Barriers of communication
➢ Environmental noise
➢ Physiological-impairment noise
○ Deafness or blindness
➢ Semantic noise
○ Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words.
➢ Syntactical noise
○ Mistakes in grammar
➢ Organizational noise
○ Poorly structured communication
○ Unclear and badly stated
➢ Cultural noise
○ Stereotypical assumptions
■ Ex. unintentionally offending a non-Christian person by wishing them a
"Merry Christmas".
➢ hysiolPogical noise
○ Certain attitudes
■ Ex. great anger or sadness
■ Disorders such as autism

E. Models of communication

8 major models of communication

❖ Linear models – one-way communication
➢ Aristotle’s communication model
➢ Lasswell’s communication model
➢ The Shannon-Weaver communication model
➢ Berlo’s S-M-C-R communication model
❖ Interactive models – two-way
➢ The Osgood-Schramm communication model
➢ The Westley and Maclean communication model
❖ Transactional models – two-way communication where the message gets more
complex
 ➢ Barnlund’s transactional communication model
➢ Dance’s Helical communication model

Linear communication model

● Straightforward
● Used mainly in marketing, sales, and PR

Main elements are:

➢ Channel
➢ Sender
➢ Receiver

1. Aristotle’s model of communication

● Focuses on the sender (public speaker, professor, etc.) who passes on their message
to the receiver (the audience)
● Sender/speaker – active
● Audience – passive
● For public speaking, seminars, and lectures

3 elements that improve communication within this model:

● Ethos – Defines the credibility of the speaker
● Pathos – Connects the speaker with the audience through different emotions
● Logos – Signifies logic.

Aristotle suggested 5 components of communication:

● Speaker
● Speech
● Occasion
● Target Audience
● Effect

Major drawback of this model: does not pay attention to the feedback in
communication because the audience is passive.

2. Lasswell’s model of communication

● views communication as the transmission of a message with the effect as the result.
○ Effect – measurable and obvious change in the receiver of the message caused
by the elements of the communication
● If any of the elements change, the effect also changes.
5 elements of Lasswell’s communication model, which aims to answer the following 5
questions regarding its elements:
● Who created the message?
● What did they say?
● What channel did they use (TV, radio, blog)?
● To whom did they say it?
● What effect did it have on the receiver?
Answers:
● Communicator
● Message
● Medium
● Audience/Receiver
● Effects

3. The Shannon-Weaver model of communication

● Most popular
● Shannon and Weaver were mathematicians
○ They aimed to discover which channels are most effective for communicating.
○ Shannon and Weaver were also the first to introduce the role of noise in the
communication process
■ John Fiske defines noise as anything that is added to the signal between
its transmission and reception that is not intended by the source.
■ Noise appears in the form of mishearing a conversation, misspelling
an email, or static on a radio broadcast.

5 key concepts or main components of this model:

● Sender – information source
● Encoder – transmitter
● Channel – noise
● Decoder – reception
● Receiver – destination

The trouble in this process was the lack of feedback.

Updated version of the Shannon-Weaver communication model

● the principle of feedback was added to the updated version
○ The concept of feedback was derived from the studies of Norbert Wiener, the
so-called father of cybernetics.
● feedback is the transfer of the receiver’s reaction back to the sender

4. Berlo’s S-M-C-R model of communication

● first defined by David Berlo in his 1960 book The Process of Communication
● unique in the sense that it gives a detailed account of the key elements in each step
4 basic steps or key elements:
● SOURCE
○ Communication skills
○ Attitude
○ Knowledge
■ the clarity of the information that the source wants to transfer to the
receiver.
○ Social system
■ should be familiar with the social system in which the communication
process takes place. That would help the source not to offend anyone.
○ Culture
■ the source needs to be acquainted with the culture in which the
communication encounter is taking place.
● MESSAGE
○ Content
○ Elements
■ gestures, body language, facial expressions, etc.
○ Treatment
■ The way the source treats the message
○ Structure
○ Code
■ All the elements, verbal and nonverbal, need to be accurate
● CHANNEL
○ 5 major senses of the body
● RECEIVER
○ the receiver should involve the same elements as the source

Interactive models of communication – a little more complex

and dynamic
● Used in internet-based and mediated communication
● Two-way communication with feedback
○ Feedback in this case is: not simultaneous but rather slow and indirect

Main elements of this model:

● Transmitters
● Message
● Receiver
● Feedback
● Field of experience
○ represents a person’s culture, past experiences, and personal history
 5. Osgood-Schramm model of communication
● a clear break with the traditional linear/one-way picture of communication.
● circular model of communication
● messages go in two directions between encoding and decoding
● useful for describing synchronous, interpersonal communication, but less suitable
for cases with little or no feedback.

4 main principles of communication in this model:

● Communication is circular.
○ Individuals are changing their roles as encoders and decoders.
● Communication is equal and reciprocal.
● The message requires interpretation.
● communication involves encoding, decoding, and interpreting.

6. The Westley and Maclean model of communication

● primarily used for explaining mass communication
 ● Communication process starts with environmental factors that influence the
speaker
● takes into account the object of the orientation (background, culture, and beliefs) of
the sender and the receiver of messages.

9 crucial components of this model:

● Environment (X)
○ stimulus from the environment motivates a person to create and send a
message.
● Sensory Experience (X1)
○ The sender experiences something in their environment
● Source/Sender (A)
● Object of the orientation of the source or sender (X2)
○ sender’s beliefs or experiences which influences the sender’s message
● Receiver (B)
● Object of the orientation of the receiver (X3)
○ receiver’s beliefs or experiences, which influence how the message is received.
● Feedback (F)
● Gatekeepers (C)
○ usually occurs in mass communication, rather than in interpersonal
communication.
○ editors of the messages
● Opinion leaders
 ○ refers to mass communication situations.
○ These are political leaders, celebrities, or social media influencers.

Transactional models.
● most dynamic communication models
● first introduce a new term for senders and receivers — communicators.
● view communication as a transaction
○ cooperative process in which communicators co-create the process of
communication, thereby influencing its outcome and effectiveness.
● create relationships, form cross-cultural bonds, and shape our opinions
● This model introduced the roles: Social, Relational, and Cultural contexts
● These models acknowledge that there are barriers to effective communication —
noise.

Key components of this model: Encoding, decoding, communicators,message, channel,

and noise.

7. Barnlund’s transactional communication model

● explores interpersonal, immediate-feedback communication.
● communication is a circular process and a multi-layered feedback system between
the sender and receiver
○ Both can affect the message being sent
● The sender and the receiver change their places and are equally important.
● Both communicators provide feedback.
○ Both are responsible for the communication’s effect and effectiveness.

Main components of this model:

● Encoding
● Decoding
 ● Communicators
● The message (including the cues, environment, and noise)
● Channel

This model accentuates the role of cues in impacting our messages.

➢ Public cues or CPU (environmental cues)
○ physical, environmental or artificial and natural or man-made.
➢ Private cues or CPR (person’s personal thoughts and background)
○ private objects of orientation which include senses of a person.
➢ Behavioral cues (person’s behavior, that can be verbal and nonverbal)

Examples of Barnlund’s transactional communication model are face-to-face interactions,

chat sessions, telephone conversations, meetings, etc.

8. Dance’s Helical model of communication

● with every cycle of communication, we expand our circle.
● each communication encounter is different from the previous one because
communication never repeats itself.
● circular process that gets more and more complex as communication progresses.
● the feedback we get from the other party involved influences our next statement and we
become more knowledgeable with every new cycle.

Main components of this model:

● Initiation
● Interpretation
● Response
● Feedback

Dance himself explained his model with the example of a person learning throughout their
life.