Purposive Communication

is a three-unit course that develops students' communicative competence

and enhances their cultural and intercultural awareness through
multimodal tasks that provide them with opportunities for communicating
effectively and appropriately to a multicultural audience in a local or
global context.

1. NATURE OF
COMMUNICATION
I. COMMUNICATION
Communication is a dual or two-way process of transmitting messages
from one person to another. It is also a symbolic interaction between two
or more people that influences each other’s behavior. With it, not only
does one make his/her own self understood, but s/he also gets to
understand others.
Communication is the broad term for the two-way dynamic process of
message transmission. It embraces both the verbal and the nonverbal
aspects.
• The VERBAL includes the modes, which are signing, reading, writing,
speaking, and listening.
• The NONVERBAL comprises extralinguistic elements, such as
paralinguistic, metalinguistic, and non-linguistic. These elements enhance
the meaning of what words say.

II. ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATION
Sender - The speaker or communicator who has his/her own purpose,
knowledge, interests, attitudes, skills, and credibility.

Message - The idea being transmitted by the sender to the listener. It

includes the three aspects of content, structure, and style.
Channel - The medium or vehicle through which the message is sent. It
may be verbal or visual. The latter is often supplemented with pictorial
and aural channels.

Receiver - The target of communication. She/he is the destination of the

message, the listener, with his/her own purpose, knowledge and interest
levels, attitudes, and listening skills.

Feedback - The reaction given by the listeners to the sender of the

message. It is what completes the communication process.

II. ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Verbal Communication is about language, both written and spoken.
In general, verbal communication refers to our use of words (This is
the aspect that makes use of words. It may be oral or written, formal
or informal.)
2. Nonverbal Communication refers to communication that occurs
through means other than words, such as body language, gestures,
and silence. (This aspect does not make use of words but may
enhance or change the linguistic code. It has the following three
elements.)

Nonlinguistic Elements
- These are the devices used in conveying messages without entirely
relying on language. These non-speech elements fall under seven
categories

1. Kinesics (the language of the body) – is the interpretation of body

motion communication such as facial expressions and gestures, and
nonverbal behavior related to the movement of any part of the body
or the body as a whole.
2. Proxemics (the language of space) – involves the distance between
ourselves and others when having a conversation, delivering a speech
or a lecture, or sharing an intimate moment. The amount of space we
leave between the other person and ourselves can signal our level of
trust or relationship with that person.
3. Chronemics (the language of the time) – is the study of the use of
time in nonverbal communication. Time perceptions include
punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. The use of time can
affect lifestyles, daily agendas, speed of speech, movements, and how
long people are willing to listen.
4. Haptics (the language of touch) – is a branch of nonverbal
communication that refers to the ways in which people and animals
communicate and interact via the sense of touch. Touch is the most
sophisticated and intimate of the five senses.
5. Olfactics (the language of smell) – involves communicative functions
associated with the sense of smell, such as body odors, the use of
perfumes, etc. These may be genetically defined and rely on a more
spontaneous form of communication.
6. Artefactual (the language of objects) – concerns the messages
conveyed by objects that are made by human hands. Thus, aesthetics,
color, clothing, jewelry, and even hairstyle are considered artefactual.
7. Physical Appearance - Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and
other factors affecting appearance are also considered a means of
nonverbal communication. According to what people see when they
first set their eyes on you, judgments about your personality and
abilities are going to be concluded.
8. Paralinguistics – Includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness,
inflections, and pitch. Even silence can have different meanings. For
example: in North Canadian natives will not tolerate quiet
companions for a long period, but in India silence is used to promote
harmony, cooperation, and other collective values.
9. Oculesics – using the eyes like gazing, eye movement, etc. Example:
in North America, it is common to look into the eyes when people
talk, while in some Middle Eastern Countries, this is considered
disrespectful.

Paralinguistic Elements
are the aspects of spoken
communication that do not involve
words. These may add emphasis or shades of meaning to what people say.
Some definitions limit this to verbal communication that is not words.

1. Vocal Quality – include volume, pace, pitch, rate, rhythm, fluency,

articulation, pronunciation, enunciation, and tone, to name a few.
These qualities make your presentation interesting, engaging, and
pleasant to listen to. They keep the listeners attuned to your content.
2. Pitch – is the relative highness or lowness of a tone as perceived by
the ear, which depends on the number of vibrations per second
produced by the vocal cords. Pitch is the main acoustic correlate of
tone and intonation.
3. Tempo - is a measure of the number of speech units of a given type
produced within a given amount of time.
4. Volume – is how loud, or quiet, you are speaking at a given time. If
you are speaking in front of a group, such as calling out a pet owner's
name in the lobby, you may need to project your voice so that
everyone can hear you.
5. Juncture – is the manner of moving (transition) between two
successive syllables in speech. An important type of juncture is the
suprasegmental
phonemic cue by means of
which a listener can
distinguish between two
otherwise identical
sequences of sounds that have
different meanings.

METALINGUISTIC ELEMENTS
– Is the abstract element that takes place in the mind of communicators –
their awareness of the component units of language – sound, words,
phrases, and sentences. This enables the language user to think about
language independently of his/her comprehension and production
abilities, talk about it, analyze it, and judge it as to its correctness or
appropriateness. This linguistic intuition makes him/her decision about
the grammatical acceptability of the language s/he produces and receives.

III. TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

1. Intrapersonal – communication within oneself. It involves thinking,
remembering, and feeling – all things we do internally.
2. Interpersonal – communication among a relatively small number of
people. Much of our communication takes place at this level. It may
be:
a) Dyadic – This is the communication between two people. It may
be face-to-face such as in ordinary conversations, dialogs, or
interviews. Telephone conversation is also dyadic.
b) Tryadic – This communication has been participated by three
people.
c) Small group – Here, more than three people communicate. This
is the enlarged type of communication usually done to solve
problems. The committee, panel, symposium, brainstorming, and
small business meetings are good examples of small group
communications.
3. Public Communication - Involves communication between one and
several other people. This is the large group type of communication.
A public speech is an example. Primarily it is a monologue one
engages in rather than a dialog.
4. Mass Communication - It covers other forms of public
communication. These are the printed form, radio, television, and
movies. The tools/materials used are called mass media.
5. Organizational Communication
 Communication in the organization. It may be horizontal or vertical.
The letter one may be upward or downward.

IV. COMMUNICATION PROCESS

1. Stimuli/us – triggering event of the communication process (events,
conditions, situation, feelings, or emotions)
2. Ideation – idea fed by stimulus…formulated and organized to answer
a need to communicate
3. Encoding – the idea which is being organized is put into code to make
transmission possible (sounds or words)
4. Transmission – encoded message sent through a chosen appropriate
channel or medium.
5. Reception – the message, which has been sent through a medium
selected by the sender, reaches the receiver
6. Decoding – the codes or symbols used to transmit messages are
converted into ideas or mental images to be interpreted by the
receiver.
7. Understanding – transformed into thought or mental images, having
been interpreted now becomes clear to the receiver
8.Action – the last stage of the communication process…the receiver
responds to the message of the sender

2. MODELS OF
COMMUNICATION
Communication Models
 “The Art Of Communication Is The Language Of Leadership. ” (James
Humes)
 To communicate properly, one cannot simply strive to express oneself
and leave understanding to fate; one must also learn how to organize
one’s thoughts, control one’s emotions, use one’s words to articulate
 concepts and arguments, and express oneself in the best way
possible.
 According to James Berlin (1982), one of the major proponents of the
New Rhetoric, “In teaching writing, we are not simply offering
training in a useful technical skill that is meant as a simple
complement to the more important studies of other areas. We are
teaching a way of experiencing the world, a way of ordering and
making sense of it” (776) whether this is in writing, reading, listening,
or speaking - these are the tools that help us analyze, critique, and
negotiate
 According to Denis Mcquail and Sven Windahl (2013), in their book
Communication Models For The Study Of Mass Communications, “a
model seeks to show the main elements of any structure or process
and the relationship between these elements…it helps in explaining
by providing in a simplifies way information which would otherwise
be complicated or ambiguous.” (2)
 Professor Ramona S. Flores (2016), in her book Oral Communication
In Context, discusses four models of communication in the chapter,
“Explaining the Nature of Communication.”
 Aristotle (around 5 B.C.) explains that speakers should adjust their
messages according to their audience and the occasion to achieve a
particular effect.
 David Belo, S-M-C-R emphasizes the four components of the
communication process. These are the sender, message, channel, and
receiver. This model focuses on encoding and decoding.
 Harold D. Lasswell (1902-1978), this model is often used as an
analysis tool for evaluating the communication process and
components., this is also used for interpersonal communication or
group communication to disseminate messages to various situations.
He talked about the relation between the presentation of facts and
how it generates different effects. This model is more focused on the
outcome and generally used for media persuasion.
 Wilbur Schramm in the late 1940s. It provides a straightforward
approach to communicating, with sender and receiver trading back
and forth in a circular pattern. In this model, pay attention to the role
of the interpreter. Encoding and decoding are not automatic
processes both go through the filter of the interpreter., a message
may succeed or fail, based on the interpreter’s appreciation of the
message. There are times when the sender and receiver may apply
different meanings to the same message, and this is termed
“Semantic noise” (Communicative Theories.org).
 Shannon-Weaver’s Model of Communication model was created by
Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver (Flores, 2016)… According to
Flores (2016), this is also often called the “Telephone Mode,” since it
was developed because of the technology and the experience of the
“noise” coming from the switchboard.
 For the message to reach the receiver, there must be a common field
of experience between the sender and the receiver. According to
Sneha Mishara (2017), this field of experience may constitute
“culture, social background, beliefs, experiences, values, and rules.
 According to White, it is possible to begin at any of the stages
outlined in his model. People are under the mistaken impression that
when communicating, we usually start with thinking, but that is not
necessarily the case… The most important contribution from Eugene
White’s model is the concept of feedback, which can only be
processed by the speaker if he or she has been monitoring the
audience or the listener. Hence, the speaker must also pay attention
to the listener’s verbal and non-verbal cues (Flores, 2016).
To be a good communicator, one needs to pay attention to how people
are responding to the message and adjust accordingly, rather than
being preoccupied with simply expressing oneself.
 3.ETHICS IN
COMMUNICATION
- It is important to understand that whatever we communicate should
be guided by certain ethical principles. the US National
Communication Association (NCA, 1999) discusses this in their Credo
for Ethical Communication, stating that, “Ethical Communication is
fundamental to responsible thinking, decision-making, and the
development of relationships and communities within and across
contexts, cultures, channels, and media…”

WHAT IS ETHICS?
– is derived from the Greek word ethos which means characteristic
way of acting
– Ethos includes cultural mannerism, religion, politics, laws and social
aspirations of a group of people
– A science of the morality of human acts …actions reflect the motive
of the doer
– Study of motivation, and ultimately of human behavior. Moreover,
ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by
fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and
respect for self and others. We believe that unethical communication
threatens the quality of all communication and consequently the well-
being of individuals and the society in which we live.

FOUR PRINCIPLES OF
COMMUNICATION
(RELEVANT FOR STUDENTS TODAY)
1. “advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential
to the integrity of communication” (NCA, 1999)
  It is important to be reasonable, rather than to be too
emotional or threatening when we communicate.
2. “freedom of expression”, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of
dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision-making
fundamental to civil society” (NCA, 1999)
 It is important to foster an environment where people feel
safe enough to express what they think and feel, and for these
expressions to be met with reasonable dialogue and debate,
rather than outright censure or violence.
3. “condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity
through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and
through the expression of intolerance and hatred” (NCA, 1999)
 This condemnation is important because it safeguards society
from racism, sexism, and violence against oppressed people.
4. “Accept responsibility for the short and long-term consequences of
our own communication and expect the same of others”
 There are people who do not feel accountable for their
actions… if one risks communicating maliciously, spreading
false news, or inciting hatred or violence, he or she should be
ready to face the consequences of such action.
Every time we communicate, we should consider the consequences of our
actions. If people were more responsible in their use of communication,
there would be less conflict in this world. Even though the four principles
above are short and concise, they are important, because they help us
discern the difference between ethical and unethical communicators.