Lesson 4

MODES OF COMMUNICATION

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify the various communication modes and how they help in expressing one's
communicative intent;

2. show the importance of face-to-face, audio, virtual, text-based, and other forms of
communication particularly in targeting different types of audiences in local and global
settings;

3. distinguish the differences between and among the communication modes; and

4. use these communication modes appropriately depending on the context of the

communication situation.

How do you think has communication mode changed or improved over time? What
modes are now being utilized and which were not present before? What are the
advantages and/ or disadvantages of each mode?

INPUT

In Unit 1, Lesson 3, you learned about the communication types. Note that this
topic overlaps with the lesson on communication mode which is the focus of this unit.
Thus, it is important for you to know how communication types and modes complement
each other to achieve good communication.

COMMUNICATION MODES

Communication mode refers to the channel through which one expresses his/her
communicative intent. It is the medium through which one conveys his/her thoughts.
Views or feelings can be communicated through face-to-face interaction, video, or
audio. The mode may also be text-based.

The most common of all these modes is the face-to-face interaction. It is an

informal or casual conversation between two or more people. People engage in social
conversations to establish relationships or maintain them. It is one way of gaining new
acquaintances or friends. How to speak, what to speak, when to speak, and to whom
one is speaking are all important considerations in building relationships.

How then do you initiate conversations?

Faced with a group of new people who you do not know in a social gathering, you
should be able to begin a conversation. You will be able to test the saying: "First
impressions last." In this case, depending on the kind of impression you leave to your
audience, you create either a positive or a negative image of yourself. One advantage
of face to-face interaction is that aside from directly hearing the message being
conveyed, you are able to note visual cues through facial expressions, gestures,
movements, or even objects or reaction from the person/s you are communicating with.

Dau Voire suggests: "Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters." This
simply means that even if the people surrounding you in a social event are strangers to
you, you need to be confident enough to meet new faces and initiate an interesting
conversation. But what kind of topics matter to strangers you are meeting for the first
time? In a social gathering like a wedding, for instance, you do not dwell on topics that
are never-ending in nature. You do not discuss politics and religion as these are
sensitive issues that may impinge on one's beliefs and practices. Instead, start a
conversation focusing on what you experience at the moment-ambience or atmosphere
of the wedding reception, music, food, relationship to the bride or groom. These are
topics sufficient until the reception ends. Note that one topic may lead to another. You
should be able to hold a conversation at a social event without offending the other party.
In other words, topic initiation should be followed by topic maintenance, topic
change or shift, and, finally, topic closure.

Margaret J. Wheatley states: "All social change begins with a conversation."

Indeed, this is so especially if that one single and simple conversation blossoms into a
deeper contact. Eventually, you and your newfound friend may find yourselves enjoying
each other's company, sharing the same interests, and deciding to work on some
significant projects. Later on, all of these will result in changes that yield profound social
consequences.

As Diana Wheatley aptly puts it:

"Meaning is made in conversation, Reality is created in communication, And

knowledge is generated through social interaction... Language is the vehicle through
which we create our understanding of the world."

Another mode of communication is video. Web cameras are used so that two or
more people who cannot interact face-to-face can communicate. If there are no
technical glitches encountered, this could be a very effective mode of communication
especially for people separated by distance. For example, you may engage in a
conversation via Skype with your loved ones especially during significant, meaningful or
memorable occasions. You are able to hear clearly the voice and see up close the face
of your beloved. Other electronic applications that allow video calls are Viber,
WhatsApp, Apple FaceTime, and Facebook Messenger, among others. In more formal
settings, people can also engage in video conferencing. While this is a convenient
communication mode for people who want to reach out to each other despite distance,
a disadvantage is the time zone difference between countries. In this case, one of them
should make the necessary adjustments to pave the way for a successful
communication.

The third mode of communication is audio. Audio means transmitted sound.

Thus, in this mode of communication, only the voice of the speaker is heard. Ordinarily,
someone's voice is heard through the telephone or an answering machine when the
other party is not able to answer a call. In Skype, when a person cannot be contacted or
is not online, a voice message or voice mail can be sent. An obvious downside of this
mode is not being able to see the body language or cues of the person you are talking
to.

The audio communication mode is quite difficult especially if you are listening to
people with different accents. For instance, in relation to the World Englishes paradigm,
other speakers of English apart from those who speak it as a native language may find
it peculiar listening to the accent of Filipinos. Some Filipinos are not able to distinguish
the sound of /I/ and /i/ in English words as in the examples sin and seen. Some are not
able to produce the sound of hard and soft /th/ and simply substitute /d/ as in the
examples those and dos and thing and ting. Some also interchange /v/ with /b/ and If/
with /p/.

The fourth and last mode is text-based communication such as e-mail, facsimile, text
messaging, and instant messaging. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram likewise offer text-based interaction. While text-based communication
mode does not originally provide video and audio benefits, it has a wider reach and can
disseminate information to a bigger audience quickly.

The last three modes are all virtual in nature. Those engaged in communication are able
to hear and/or see each other in real time simulating the actual physical setting.

? COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (20 pts.)

Check your understanding of the input by answering the following questions:

1. What are the different types of communication mode and how do they differ from
each other?

2. What are the other forms or modes of communication that have not been discussed
and which have recently become part of virtual communication technology?

3. Explain Diana Wheatley's quote and give one illustration:

 "Meaning is made in conversation, Reality is created in communication, And
knowledge is generated through social interaction...Language is the vehicle
through which we create our understanding of the world."

4. As a speaker of English as a second language, what can you say about the difficulty
of other speakers in understanding the Philippine English variety that you use?

5. With the advent of computer-mediated communication or CMC, how can you be more
responsible with what you post in your own account as a way of conveying
messages to audience?