PURPOSIVE

COMMUNICATION
Module 1:
Communication Process
and Its Components

EDGIELSON D. NUEVA
Instructor, GNED 05: Purposive Communication
 We communicate most hours of the day starting from

Introduction the moment we wake up in the morning until before

we sleep at night. Imagine yourself in a world without
communication. Will you be able to get your ideas,
feelings, or emotions across?

The abilities to use, transmit, comprehend, and

respond to symbols are uniquely human capacities
that set us apart from any other creatures on earth.
Communication, therefore, is one of the most
essential aspects of our lives.

The Communication
01 Process and Its
Components
Lesson 1: The Communication
Levels of
Process and Its Components
02 Communication
We define communication as the process of sharing meaning in
any context. In addition, Wood (2003), in her book
Functions of Communication in our Lives defined communication as a
03 Communication systematic process in which people interact with and through
symbols to create and interpret meanings.
We communicate when we encode (get ideas and put them into
Principles of
messages), send them through our primary signal system
04 Communication
(senses), to someone who receives them through his or her
senses using a channel and decodes (translates) the message,
he or she then gives or her feedback.
Communication
05 Ethics

Message

Source, Receiver,
Encodes Channel Decodes
Message Message

Feedback

Noise Noise

Communication is a process. This process includes context, participants,

WARNING: NO PART OF THIS
messages, channels, presence or absence of noise, and feedback.
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 Context is the setting in which communication occurs. This could be physical, social, historical, cultural or
psychological.

Physical Context Refers to where

communication takes place.
Temperature, lighting, noise
level are factors that affect
the communication process.
Social Context Is the relationship that
exists between ang among
participants.

Historical Context The background provided

by the previous
communication between the
participants that influences
understanding of the
current encounter.
Psychological Context Includes the moods and
feelings each person brings
to the communication.

Cultural Context Includes beliefs, values,

norms, that are shared by a
large group of people.

Participants are the people communicating – the sender and the receiver. As senders, we form messages
and send them through different means. The receiver processes the message and reacts to them.
Messages are encoded or decoded information in a communication process.
Channel is both a route traveled by the message and the means of transportation. Messages are
transmitted through sensory channels.
Noise is anything that interferes with communication

• External Noises are sights, sounds and other stimuli in the environment that draw people’s attention
away from what is being said. For instance, your professor is giving instructions for a class activity but
your attention is on the students outside the classroom laughing out loud.
• Internal Noises are thoughts and feelings that intervene with the communication process. For
instance, day dreaming in class
• Semantic Noises are unintended meaning aroused by certain symbols that prevent comprehension.
Feedback are responses to message. Feedback shows how the message is sent heard, seen, and
understood. If the transmission of the message is not successful, the sender may find other ways of doing so.
The re-encoded message is also feedback because it gives meaning to the original receiver’s response.
Feedback improves communication.

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 Lesson 2: Levels of Communication
Communication may be verbal or non-
verbal. Verbal communication encompasses
any form of communication involving words,
spoken, written, or signed. Our conversation with
a colleague, news on TV or the newspaper in the
morning, even the text that we send or receive
each time are all forms of verbal communication.
As Lucas (2017) puts it, our ability to
communicate with a language that is based on an
organized system of words, rather than merely
sounds, is what sets up apart from lower species.
Not only do we have language, but we also have
the technology that enables us to communicate
with one another no matter the physical distance.
Non verbal communication
includes body language, such as
gestures, facial expressions, eye
contact, and posture. Touch is a non-
verbal communication that not only
indicates a person’s feelings or level of
comfort, but illustrates personality
characteristics as well.
A firm handshake or warm hug
indicates something very different than a
loose pat on the back or a timid
handshake does. The sound of our
voice, including pitch, tone and volume
are also forms of non-verbal
communication

Communication occurs in interpersonal, interpersonal and public levels:

• Intrapersonal communication occurs within the person, this is sometimes

referred to as cognitive or personal communication or “self-talk.” Activities
such as thought processing and decision making are intrapersonal
communication.
• Interpersonal communication refers to communication that occurs
between two persons who establish a communicative relationship.
Interviews, small group discussion and conversations are forms of
interpersonal communication.
• Public communication is a speaker sending a message to an audience. It
could be a direct, face-to-face message delivery of a speaker to an
audience, or it could be indirect – using radio or television.

Lesson 3: Functions of Communication

1. We communicate to meet needs.
2. We communicate to enhance or maintain our sense of self.
3. We communicate to fulfill social obligations.
4. We communicate to develop relationships.
5. We communicate to exchange information.
6. We communicate to influence others.

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 Lesson 4: Principles of Communication

Continuous

Purposive
Vary in
conscious
encoding

Has ethical Relational

implications

Learned

Lesson 5: Communication Ethics

We all acknowledge that “a

speaker who uses language
that degrades or injures human
personalities by exaggeration,
pseudothruths, twisting of
words and name calling is
clearly acting unethically.”
- Berko, 1995
All forms of communication involve ethical
issues. Ethics are values that have been instilled
in us, we have knowingly or unknowingly accepted
them and govern our actions. Our ethical value
system is our basis for our decision-making and
our basis for communication ethics.
In all communication situations, there are
ethical considerations. These relate to
considerations of what is fair and unfair, right and
wrong it means communicating in a way that
conforms to moral standards.

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 Therefore, we should all be ethical communicators. Ethical communicators or speakers according to Berko
(1995) should:

1. Speaks with sincerity

2. Does not knowingly expose an audience to falsehood or half-truths that can cause significant harm
3. Does not premeditatedly alter the truth
4. Presents the truth as she or he understands it
5. Raises the listeners level of expertise by supplying necessary facts
6. Employs message that is free from mental as well as physical coercion
7. Does not invent or fabricate information’
8. Gives credit to the source of information

1. Identify a context in which you find it easy and difficult to communicate. Explain why. What do
you think is its implication?
2. How do new technologies of communication affect your interaction? How is this different from
face-to-face interaction?
3. List down all the communication episodes you had this week. Categorize each episode according
to the function of communication it serves:

Communication Episodes Function

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 [For asynchronous learners]

Look for ethical violations in media (print, broadcast or online.) Discuss what violations were committed
and what were the actions taken in relation to the violations. Be ready to present your analysis to the
class through a recorded video, not shorter than 5 minutes.

Prepared by:

EDGIELSON D. NUEVA
Instructor, GNED 05: Purposive Communication
Department of Languages and Mass Communication
College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State University

WARNING: NO PART OF THIS
MODULE SHALL BE
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Source:
Communication in Multi-Cultural Contexts: Meanings and Purposes
By C. Mojica | L. Mendoza | R. Manaig | KD Jimenez |
R. Hernandez | B. Feranil | R. Agustin