Chapter 1.

Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics

Lesson 1. Communication, Types, Importance and Process

Overview
This lesson provides a definition of the key concepts relative to communication. It also
discusses the nature, types, and process of communication.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Define communication and purposive communication;
2. Identify the types of communication in relation to communication mode, context,
purpose and style;
3. Explain the communication process and its elements;
4. Demonstrate understanding of the key ideas in communication; and
5. Relate a personal experience with the communication inputs provided

Test Your Knowledge

Fill in the blank with the letter of the correct answer.
Definition of Key Terms in Concepts
Communication
______E__1. is the circumstance or A. Communication
environment in which communication takes
B. Verbal Communication
place.
C. Non-verbal Communication
_____A___ 2. Is the exchange of thoughts,
ideas, and concepts between two or more D. Kinesics
people
E. Context
_____H___ 3. The study of communication
by touch F. Kinetics

____C____ 4. Communication that uses facial G. Proxemics

expressions, hand movements, bod language, H. Haptics
and gestures instead of using either spoken or
written words I. Vocalics

______F___ 5. Refers to the study of hand,

arm, body, and face movement

Discussion
Every day, we engage in many communication activities – we speak to express our
thoughts, ask questions, and verify information. We complain, counsel friends, and offer
solutions to problems. Also, we smile, nod, frown and shrug our shoulders while speaking or
listening. Indeed, human beings cannot go away with communication which is their natural
activity.

Communication is generally defined as the exchange of thoughts, ideas, concepts, and

views between or among two or more people. Other important definitions of communication
provided by scholars and communication experts are stated below.

1. Communication is a human act of sending (verbal or non-verbal; online or offline) and

receiving messages where interpretations are normally constructed in the process
(Magan et.al., 2018).

2. Communication is the process of generating meaning by sending and receiving

verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs that are influenced by multiple
contexts. (Communication in the real world, p. 2)

3. Communication is a process whereby people create and transmit meaning

through the exchange of verbal and non-verbal messages in a particular context
(Oetzel, 2009:11 as cited by Magana et.al, 2018).

4. “Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to
create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It
involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening arid
understanding.” – Louis A. Allen (an American management consultant and
author)

5. “Communication is the intercourse by word, letters or messages, intercourse of

thoughts or opinions. It is the act of making one’s idea as and opinions known
to others.” – Fred G. Meyer

6. “Communication refers to a special kind of patterning: a patterning which is

expressed in symbolic form.” – M.T. Myers and G.E. Myers.
For communication to take place between or among people, two requirements
must be met: (1) a symbolic system must be shared by the people involved (that
is, we need to speak the same language or jargon or dialects) and (2) the
associations between the symbols and their referents must be shared.

7. Communication may be broadly defined as the process of meaningful

interaction among human beings. More specifically, it is the process by which
meanings are perceived as understandings are reached among human beings.” –
D.E. McFarland

What then is Purposive Communication?

Purposive communication is an intentional communication that happen within the

bounds of specific contexts.

Context is the circumstance or the environment in which communication takes

place. It may include the physical or actual setting (i.e. class, conference, research forum),
the value positions of a speaker/listener and the relevance or appropriateness of the
message conveyed.

Communication may be classified:

A. According to Communication Mode

1. Verbal Communication refers to any interaction that uses spoken words.
It is the sharing of information between and among individuals by using speech.

2. Non-Verbal Communication is the type of communication that conveys meaning

without the use of words either spoken or written. It is communication between and
among persons using facial expressions, hand movements, body language, and
gestures.

Some of the terminologies you must be familiar with when talking about non-verbal
forms of communication include the following:

Kinesics means “movement”. It refers to the study of hand, arm, body and face
movements.

Haptics refers to the study of communication by touch. There are different types
of touch according to Heslin & Appler (1983) – functional-professional, social-polite,
friendship-warmth, love-intimacy, and sexual-arousal touch.  

Vocalics is the study of paralanguage, which includes the vocal qualities such as
pitch, volume, rate, vocal quality and verbal fillers that go along with verbal messages
(Andersen, 1999 as cited in Communication in the real world.)

a. Pitch is the highness or lowness of your voice.

b. Volume refers to the softness or loudness of voice.
c. Rate refers to how fast or slow a person speaks.
d. Vocal Quality is the characteristic of the voice brought about by the mode of
vibration of the vocal cords or folds (encyclopedia.com). Example of voice
quality is breathy voice, whisper voice, and hoarse voice.
e. Verbal Fillers are sounds that fill gaps in our speech while we think of what to
say next. Examples of them are “um”, “uh”, “like”, and “ah”. They are
considered non-verbal communication because they are not like the typical
words that stand in for a specific meaning or meanings.

Proxemics refers to the study of how space and distance influence

communication. It also studies territoriality, or how people take up and defend
personal space.
The US Americans, in general, have four zones that constitute our personal space.
They are the following:
 a. Public zone (12 or more feet from our body)
b. Social Zone (4 to 12 feet from our body)
c. The Personal Zone (1.5-4 feet from our body)
d. Intimate Zone (from body contact to 1.5 away)

Figure 1. Four Zones Constituting Space

Chronemics refers to the study of how time affects communication.

3. Visual Communication is the type of communication that that uses visuals to convey
information or messages. Examples are signs, symbols, imagery, maps, graphs, charts,
diagrams, pictures, pictograms, drawings, illustrations, and other various forms of
electronic communication.

Some of the electronic communication symbols or images, you probably have already
used to convey your emotions are emoticons, emojis and animation.

Task 1.
Provide brief answers to the following questions. Post answers in the Google Classroom.

1. Why do you think is expressing feelings a difficult form of verbal communication?

2. Do you agree that language affects one’s credibility?

REFERENCES

Communication in the real world. M Libraries Publishing.

https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/

Madrunio, M. & Martin I. (2018). Purposive communication: Using English in multilingual

contexts.
C&E Publishing, Inc.
Magan, R.G. et.al. (2018). Purposive communication in the 21st century. Manila: Mindshapes
Co.,
Inc.