COMMUNICATION PROCESSES, PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS, COMMUNICATION AND

GLOBALIZATION
“Real communication occurs ... when we listen with understanding - to see the expressed
idea and attitude from the other person’s point of view, to sense how it feels to him, to achieve his
frame of reference in regard to the things he is talking about.” - Carl Rogers (1952)

What is Communication?
Communication can be defined as a process by which information, meanings and feelings
are shared by persons through a common system of verbal and nonverbal symbols, signs or
behavior.

As a process, communication is characterized as:

 dynamic - it is constantly changing because it relies on human perception that can change
overtime; therefore, it is irreversible and unrepeatable;
 continuous - it is an ongoing exchange of meaning-sharing behaviors between/among
individuals who operate within a frame of experience; it does not have a beginning, an end,
a fixed sequence of events;
 adaptive - it adjusts to the changes that occur in its physical and psychological
environment;
 systemic -
 transactional - every communication is a unique combination of people, messages and
events; it consists of unending sharing (transmission and reception) of messages
between/among people on some occasion.

A. FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Intrapersonal Communication is talking to oneself (self-talk) through internal vocalization or
reflective thinking due to some internal or external stimulus. In other words, this type of
communication takes place within the person. For example, you may talk to yourself about what
you want to drink because of the internal stimulus of thirst, or you may think about a car accident
you have witnessed. In contrast with other forms of communication, intrapersonal communication
takes place only inside a person’s head.
2. Interpersonal Communication is form of communication wherein individuals are engaging
actively in the overt and covert transmission and reception of messages.
a. Dyadic Communication is a two-person communication such as telephone
conversation, job interview and doctor-patient conversation.
b. Small Group Communication ideally consists of three to six persons such as
committee meeting, buzz session and brainstorming activity.
3. Public Communication is conveying information to a large audience. It is more sender-
focused than intrapersonal forms of communication.
a. Speaker-Audience Communication is talking to a large number of people who are
gathered for some occasion. The speaker centers the communication event on the audience. He
analyzes the audience to determine the content, language usage and listener expectations.
Effective communication occurs because the speaker can tailor messages to the needs of the
listeners.
b. Mass Communication is “process whereby media organizations produce and transmit
messages to large publics and the process by which those messages are sought, used,
understood, and influenced by audience” (Littlejohn and Foss, 2011)

B. MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
The following material is based on the book Communication in the Real World:
 Transmission Model considers communication as a one-directional exchange in which
the message is purposely conveyed by a speaker to a listener (Ellis & McClintock, 1990).
This model centers on the sender and information present in a communication
environment. Despite the inclusion of the receiver in this communication model, this
function is regarded merely as target or destination and not a part of a continuous
exchange of meanings. Therefore, communication is considered simply as source and
destination of messages.
 Interaction Model describes communication as a process in which communicators change
roles as sender and receive and produce meaning by exchanging messages illustrating
communication as a liner, unidirectional method, the interaction model incorporates
 feedback that makes communication significantly collaborative, two-way method.
Feedback is conveyed as a response to receive messages. From this standpoint,
communication can be described as producing exchanges of meanings within physical and
behavioral settings.
 Transaction Model explains communication as a way of creating realities based on our
social, relational and cultural backgrounds. This model shows that communication is not a
mere exchange of experiences. It rather shows that we intend to build relationships, create
intercultural understanding, form our self-identity, and interact with others to engender
societies. In other words, transactional communication aims towards creating experiences
instead of merely talking about them. It considers communication as an amalgam of our
constant engagements with other people to not only construct experiences but modify them
as well.

Social Context - can be described as the declared rules or undeclared norms that guide
communication. As we get integrated with different communities, we become acquianted with
rules and indirectly get along norms for sharing experiences. Some common rules that influence
social contexts include don’t lie to people, don’t interrupt people, don’t pass people in line, greet
people when they greet you, thank people when they you a compliment, and so on. These rules
are often overtly taught to children or students by their parents or teachers. Rules may be stated
over and over, and there may be punishment for not following them.
Relational context - involves our erstwhile socializations and type of association we have
forged with other people. We communicate differently with someone we just met versus someone
we’ve known for a long time. First time encounters with individuals are inclined to be dictated by
established rules and norms; however, once we have a strong relational context, we tend to
disregard or alter social norms and rules more easily.
Cultural context - consists of an individuals self-concept and self-perception in relation to
nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, race, gender and sexual orientation. We have not just
one but multiple identities that influence our communication. Our awareness of these identitis
adversely impact the way we interact with others, especially when we feel inferior to other
cultures. Similarly, people with identities that are dominant or in the majority -who think highly of
their culture - show more confidence in the way they communicate with others particularly those
have been historically oppressed and downgraded.

C. VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Verbal communication can be defined as the exchange of ideas that occurs through words. This
can be both written and oral.
 Verbal communication allows individuals to exchange ideas, opinions, values and
suggestions, and creates an atmosphere where an individual can connect with another.
 Verbal communication may take place face-to-face or through some media such as the
telephone.
 When a person engages in a conversation with a friend, this is verbal communication
because it allows them to use words to communicate with each other. Through letters,
various documents, memos, text messages, and bills, people communicate with others.
Both situations exemplify verbal communication in oral and written form, respectively.
 Since words are man's primary symbols, verbal communication creates a condition where
transferring information becomes very clear.
Nonverbal communication is wordless exchange of information, thoughts, feelings, etc.
between or among individuals.
 People communicate a lot nonverbally through intonation and stress, gross bodily
movements such as gestures and facial expressions, material things such as hair style and
jewelry, and touching, kissing and hugging.
 These nonverbal elements give deeper meaning and intention to words.
 Nonverbal signals can give clues and additional information and meaning over and above
verbal communication.
 Nonverbal signals are more vulnerable to misunderstanding.
It includes the following types:
 (1) Paralanguage (Vocalics) refers to vocal qualities that go along with verbal message,
such as pitch, volume, rate, vocal quality, and verbal fillers (Andersen, 1999).
 (2) Action Language (Kinesics) refers to gross bodily movements such as walking and
eating. It consists of (a) gesture, (b) facial expression, (c) eye contact and (d) posture.
  (3) Sign Language consists of body movements that are used as substitute for letters,
words, numbers, phrases and even sentences
 (4) Object Language (Objectics) refers to the intentional or unintentional display of
material things such as the clothes you wear, hair style, the decoration of a room, jewelry,
implements, machines, the human body, etc.
 (5) Tactile Language (Haptics) is communication by touch such as a kiss or a tap on the
back. It is the most elementary mode of communication and the first an infant experiences.
 (6) Space/Distance (Proxemics) expresses certain types of messages. In America, there
are four primary distance zones: (a) intimate, (b) personal,
 (7) Time (Chronemics) refers to man's use of time in sending certain types of messages.
Time as a form of nonverbal communication can be best explained by the concept of
punctuality, willingness to wait and interactions.
 (8) Silence is the lack of audible sound, or the presence of sounds of very low intensity. It
can be best explained by the statement "What is not said is as important as or even more
important than what is said." Sometimes silence can communicate better than any words.

Combining Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues

Both verbal and nonverbal communications are part of the complete interaction process
and, in practice, are inseparable. A combination of verbal and non-verbal signals is a good style
to effectively convey information, thoughts and feelings. Smiling. laughing, and using a friendly
tone of voice while saying, "That is so funny," lets your listener know that you really do think the
situation is funny. However, making the same statement while using an unfriendly tone of voice
accompanied by no smile, clearly lets your listener know that you do not, in fact, find the situation
humorous. Another example that shows successful integration of verbal and nonverbal
communication is using your finger to point to the direction you are describing.

D. CAUSES OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS IN COMMUNICATION

The book Business Communication identified and explained the major barriers to effective
communication:
1. Problems in developing the message
a. Indecision about the message content. This is due to the fact that the sender has too
much information on the subject, which gives rise to the difficulty in choosing what to include and
what to exclude. When the message has too much of information then the receiver can get
confused.
b. Lack of familiarity with the situation or the receiver. The sender should get all the
necessary information and find out to whom the message is to be sent. This would enable the
sender to state the message in a language that is appropriate to the situation and clearly
understood by the receiver.
c. Emotional conflicts. There are times when the message has to be delivered that would
cause emotional disturbance to the receiver. In such case, without being defensive, the sender
should state the message in a manner that would avoid emotional conflict.
d) Difficulty in expressing ideas. This is due to the lack of experience in writing or
speaking that the sender may have and cause difficulty in expressing his/ her ideas. One must
possess sufficient knowledge of language to express using appropriate words.
2. Problems in transmitting the message
a) When speaking, the sender may find that the acoustics in the place is poor, or there may
be no proper facilities for the audience to hear the speaker.
b) There are written messages that are difficult to understand because of illegibility due to
poor printing quality.
c) When more than one message is sent on the same subject there is a good possibility of
contradictions. In such a case, the receiver is uncertain and interpretation may be confused.
d) When there are too many links in the communication line there could be distortion of
message. For instance, when the message has to pass through many people there is a possibility
of each person interpreting the message in his or her way. By the time the message gets to the
actual receiver, the message would have undergone change that would be far from the intended
3. Problems in receiving the message
a) Physical distraction: The receiver may have physical impairment (difficulty of hearing,
poor eyesight) that could cause hindrance in understanding the message.
b) Lack of concentration: The receiver may not have enough capacity to concentrate and
may get his/her mind wander off the message-i.e. sometimes we are thinking of some other issue
when a person is telling us something This file else. This is a big hindrance in communication
process.
4. Problems in understanding the message
a) Different cultural background, such as education, social status, economic position,
etc. could become a hindrance in the process of understanding the message.
b) Different interpretation of words: This happens when the receiver is not familiar with
a particular language. For example, the receiver may not be computer literate and hence, may
not understand the computer language that the sender is using.
c) Different emotional reaction: The message consists of both the content meaning and
relationship meaning. The message may be clear, but the manner in which it is expressed or
worded may not be acceptable to the receiver. When the message is not acceptable, then it may
give rise to negative feelings and the communication can breakdown and not receive proper
response.