Five Principles of Communication
THE DISCIPLINE OF COMMUNICATION
Handouts # 1- Module I
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the Goals and Scope of Communication
2. Explain the Principle and Scope of Communication
3. Describe the Elements and Levels of Communication
Process.
Communication is a manner of passing
information between people or group for common
understanding and confidence. It includes the move
of information from the sender to the receiver. The
receiver must understand the meaning and message
of information. It can also be taken as the way of
sharing ideas, thoughts, opinions and views from
one person to another person.
This handouts will help understand the goals
and scope of communication. It will also introduce
principles and elements of communication.
REMEMBER
Communication
Communications comes from Latin word
‘communicare’ which means “to share”. As the
meaning suggests, it is a process of sharing information,
ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions from one person
to another or from one person to a group of people using
various channels or media.
According to Dunn and Goodnight (2003),
communication is an interdependent process of sending,
receiving, and understanding messages. In addition,
Luther defined communications as the transmission of
commonly meaningful information. It is a process that
involves the exchange of behaviors.
Also, It as a process of conveying a message or
messages to another or others for a purpose or purposes.
Basic Goals of Communication
 to attain understanding, which happens because of
the successful process of conveyance or
transmission of message.
1. to express
2. to command
3. To persuade
4. To inform
5. To entertain
1. Communication is a process.
It begins with the sender formulating the
message, delivering the message and it ends with the
transmission of the message. That is one-way
communication. When message is successfully
transmitted, the receiver may respond and initiate
the process of communication, thus having the two-way
communication. Two-way communication is considered
as effective communication (Bowles 2017).
2. Communication has elements.
Like any process, communication involves some
actors or elements. The main elements are the sender,
the message, the medium, the receiver and the
feedback. The sender encodes or formulates the
message, which is decoded by the receiver. Message is
the information that the sender wish to convey. Medium
or channel is the means by which the message is
transmitted. Feedback is the response of the sender.
There are also other elements that affect the process of
communication and these are communication barriers
and context. Barriers, like noise and psychological
conditions, are elements block communication process.
Context, according to an English professor, is the setting
and situation in which communication takes place
(Nordquist 2020).
3. Communication has goals.
As mentioned earlier in this module, people
communicate to achieve goals that are each unique for a
particular setting, time and place. People communicate
with various intentions. However, these varied
communication goals may be categorized into
1) to express, 2) to command, 3) to persuade,
2) 4) to inform and 5) to entertain.
4. Communication has levels.
In the context of the number of people involved
and reachedby the communication process,
communication levels can be divided into four.
Level One, called intrapersonal
communication, is when communication
involves one participant and that would be one’s
self.
Level Two, called dyadic communication, is
when communication involves two participants.
Level Three, called group communication is
when communication involves more than two
participants.
Level Four, called mass communication is
when communication involves a large number
of participants which includes groups of people.
5. Communication has forms.
 People convey messages in different forms. In
this module four forms communication are presented.
These are verbal, non-verbal, written and graphical
forms of communication.
1-Verbal communication is in spoken form.
2- Nonverbal communication types include
facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistics such
as loudness or tone of voice, body language,
proxemics or personal space, eye gaze, haptics
(touch), appearance, and artifacts (Cherry 2020).
3-Written form of communication are those
that are printed in letters and legible characters
4-Graphical form of communication uses
symbols, lines, shapes, pictures and the likes to
convey messages.
Handouts 2-Module 2
PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTIONERS OF
COMMUNICATION
Learning Objectives:
1. explain the roles and functions of communicators and
journalists
2. identify specific work areas in which communicators
and journalists work
3. explain the rights, responsibilities and accountabilities
of communicators and journalists
4. distinguish between ethical and unethical behaviors
among practitioners
Can you remember your class electing the P.I.O.
of your homeroom organization at the start of the school
year? What does P.I.O. mean? Well, it means Public
Information Officer. From the title itself, you can tell
that this officer informs the public. How does he
inform? He has to communicate. Right? There you can
see that communications play a part in public or social
concerns. P.I.O. is just one of the practitioners in the
field of communication.
In this module, the people in the field of
communications are called basically communicators
and journalists. Their basic function is to communicate.
I believe you are familiar with some prominent figures
in Philippine journalism like Jessica Soho, Kara David,
Noli De Castro and Ted Failon.
Journalism originally referred to the reportage
of current events in printed form, specifically
newspapers, but with the advent of radio, television, and
the internet in the 20th century the use of the term
broadened to include all printed and electronic
communication dealing with current affairs (Britannica
2020). Journalists differ from other communicators.
The American Press Institute provided reason for this
and stated that “the journalist places the public good
above all else and uses certain methods – the foundation
of which is a discipline of verification –” to gather and
assess what he or she finds+
(www.americanpressinstitute.org n.d.).
Journalists seem to be the more familiar professionals
and practitioners in communication to you but there are
actually other communicators.
Professionals and practitioners of
communication are the people who seriously deal with
the elements of communication and who work with
mastering the what, who, where, when, how and why of
communication to discover patterns, principles, tools,
arts and sciences of communication effectively bring
about desired results. They are the ones who work
towards the achievement of goals of communication
which may be to express, to command, to persuade, to
inform and to entertain in professional and business
manners. They use the different forms and levels of
communication in technical ways with sophisticated
programs and processes to ensure the achievement of
professional and business communication goals.
Mastering the arts and sciences of
communication, a communicator becomes a
professional in this field. Organized and coordinated
activities and practices of communication towards
specific goals led to specialization of communication
works. For instance, a news reporter specializes in
gathering information about a significant social event
and plays the role of providing the public
comprehensive and essential news. That is just one work
area. Familiar work areas include television, radio,
print media (newspaper, magazines, newsletter, etc.),
social media,
Professional Areas of Communication
1. Business & Organizational Communication-
application in businesses and other organizational
settings to effectively convey information,
convince and persuade others, resolve conflicts, and
achieve clearly defined goals.
2. Journalism & Media:
The practices of journalism and news reporting and their
place within the larger media environment, their role in
societal and political contexts, and how the power of
mass media is harnessed and deployed.
3. Politics & Public Relations:
The art and science of messaging, branding, and
using language, visual data, and other tools of
communication to convince, persuade, and otherwise
influence the thinking and actions of others.
4. Advertising & Marketing:
Using the tools of communication and media
technologies to sell and market goods, products, and
services to targeted consumers and mass audiences.
5. Electronic & Digital Media Production:
 The technical aspects of working in various
communication media, including radio, film, video,
television, and online platforms.
6. Strategic Communication:
The coordination of an organization’s internal
and external communication assets to promote long-term
messaging, branding, and/or business objectives.
7. Interpersonal Communication:
The study of different modes of communication,
the cultural and societal factors that impact these modes
of communication, and how this affects the
communication of information and ideas between
groups and individuals (online education.com n.d.).
Existing Communication Professionals
1. public information officer
2. public relations officer
3. spokesperson, 11. blogger,/vlogger,
4. media expert, 12. producer,
5. advertising officer, 13. book writer,
6. news anchor, 14. host,
7. news reporter, 15. Secretary
8. correspondent, 16. teacher
9. column writer,
10. magazine editor
Five Core Principles of Ethical Journalism
1- truth and accuracy,
2- independence,
3- fairness and impartiality,
4- humanity, and
5- accountability (ethicaljournalismnetwork.org n.d.).
In 1988, the Philippines Press Institute, the
National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, and the
National Press Club approved the Journalists’ Code of
Ethics (philpressinstitute.net 2017). Also, the Kapisanan
ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas established its own system of
self-regulation and standards for radio and television
stations in the country (kbp.org.ph n.d.).
Communication indeed is a process that
involves elements, forms and levels to achieve its
purposes. Communication practitioners and
professionals are definitely vital elements of
communications. Playing institutional roles and
performing essential functions, communicators have to
be responsible, accountable and ethical. They deserve to
be protected and respected
JOURNALISTS’ CODE OF ETHICS
1. I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news,
taking care not to suppress essential facts or to distort
the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize
the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct
substantive errors promptly.
2. I shall not violate confidential information or material
given me in the exercise of my calling.
3- I shall resort only to fair and honest methods in my
effort to obtain news, photographs and/or documents,
and shall properly identify myself as a representative of
the press when obtaining any personal interview
intended for publication.
4.I shall refrain from writing reports which will
adversely affect a private reputation unless the public
interest justifies it. At the same time, I shall fight
vigorously for public access to information.
5. I shall not let personal motives or interests influence
me in the performance of my duties; nor shall I accept or
offer any present, gift or other consideration of a nature
which may cast doubt on my professional integrity.
6. I shall not commit any act of plagiarism.
7. I shall not in any manner ridicule, cast aspersions on,
or degrade any person by reason of sex, creed, religious
belief, political conviction, cultural and ethnic origin.
8. I shall presume persons accused of crime of being
innocent until proven otherwise. I shall exercise
caution in publishing names of minors and women
involved in criminal cases so that they may not
unjustly lose their standing in society.
9. I shall not take unfair advantage of fellow journalists.
10. I shall accept only such tasks as are compatible with
the integrity and dignity of my profession, invoking the
'conscience clause' when duties imposed on me conflict
with the voice of my conscience.
11. I shall comfort myself in public or while performing
my duties as journalist in such manner as to maintain the
dignity of my profession. When in doubt, decency
should be my watch word.
Handouts 3- Module 3
CLIENTELE and AUDIENCES OF
COMMUNICATION
Learning objectives:
1. describe the clientele and audience of
communication
2. distinguish the needs of individuals, groups,
organizations, and communities
 When someone is communicating, it is usually
towards someone or some people. The receiver of the
communication may react or respond in so many ways.
It is good if one gets the desired respond or feedback.
Thus, it is important to identify and understand the
clientele and audiences of communication, the receivers.
The audiences of communication are also complex
just like the forms, levels and other elements of
communication.
In this module, we will categorize the clientele
and audience of communication into three types. These
are individuals, groups and organizations, and
communities.
Basically, individuals are the persons who
receive the communication and who independently
involve themselves in the communication processes for
their personal purposes. Examples of this category of
audience are your parents when you talk and
persuade them to buy you something.
Groups and organizations are associations of
individuals who are linked by their common
characteristics. These associations engage in the
communication for their group or organizational goals.
An example of this category of audience is a business
entity listening to a presentation about a project proposal
of an advertising firm that has been convincing the said
business entity to become a regular client.
Communities are inhabitants or populace of a
particular geographical location who become audiences
of agencies and organizations because of their shared
common characteristics and social needs. An example of
this category is an indigenous tribe educated by a civic
organization about responsible farming.
There are also other classifications of audiences
and clients. They can also be classified according to age
group like children, youth, adult, and senior citizens or
according to economic status such as upper class,
middle class or lower class. There can be many
classification of clients and audiences. Classification of
audiences is dependent upon the needs, strategies, nature
and specialization of the communication agency or
organization. Classification of audience may also
be according to their needs.
The needs of individuals as audiences are
diverse. A person listens, watches or observes to be
informed, to be entertained, to be involved or even to
be amazed. They have varied personal communication
needs and reasons for involving themselves in the
communication process.
Groups and organizations have unique and
sophisticated needs. Their needs from
communication agencies are information, updates,
statistics, research results and analysis, project
assistance and other organizational and business
communication needs.
Communities as audiences of communication
have special needs as well. They may need
services and assistance in the aspects of health,
education, governance, livelihood, and other social
communication needs.
Communication is effective if the message has
been successfully transmitted to an audience that
responded with desired feed backs. Thus, it is necessary
to identify the type of audience and their particular
communication needs to become effective
communicator.
The COMMUNICATION MEDIA CHANNELS
Mass media - they are all forms of
communication that are devoted to transmitting
standardized messages to widespread audience.
This includes newspapers, magazines, books,
e-books, radio, social networking sites and Internet,
television, and motion picture. By and large, much of
mass media has become electronic media and covers
radio, television, media technology, and web design
with streaming audio and video.
Levels of Communication
1. Intrapersonal Communication. This refers to a
communication “within” a person. Often, we used to
talk with ourselves especially when making a decision,
having a dilemma, in times of confusion, reflection and
self-evaluation. We act as both sender and receiver of
communication.
2. Interpersonal Communication. It is also known as
dyadic communication. This communication happens
when one person is conversing to another person using
verbal and non-verbal cues.
3. Small Group Communication. In this
communication, respect, understanding is very necessary
for people might have different culture, background,
beliefs, set of practices, religion and etc. Examples of
these are conferences, seminars, classroom setting
discussions, sessions and more.
4. Mass Communication. This type of communication
uses the media as the medium to transmit message to
mass audience. It can be categorized into printed media
and non-printed media.