Purposive Communication

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Do you still remember what communication is? What is the role of language in
communication?

The following notes on communication and language should refresh you. Find time to
reflect on how we can communicate more effectively.

Definition of Communication

"Communication is the art of transmitting information, ideas and attitudes

from one person to another" by the use of symbols such as words, pictures,
figures and graphs. They further said that communication is innate or inborn
among human beings.

Communication is derived from the Latin word communis which means "to make
common" - to create in a receiver's mind an idea or image similar to the one in the
mind of the sender. The primary goal of communication in general is to come to a
common understanding.

Fernando Habana, Cinco l(1988)

Communication is defined as the process of interchanging thoughts, feelings,

and information. As a process, communication changes constantly as interactions
take place. Communication involves language which may be oral, written (or graphic
or printed), or even gestural (hands, head, or eyes in meaningful motion). Language
distinguishes man from lower animals. It is a species specific because only humans
use language in communicating their ideas, thoughts, thoughts, feelings, attitudes,
etc.

The Three Basic Elements in a Communication Process

1. the communicator - source, speaker, transmitter

2. the message - code or idea
3. the receiver - listener or recipient
Other elements:
medium - the means to transmit the message or idea. language channel -
refers to a person's speech mechanism - mouth, tongue, teeth,
diaphragm, etc.- or to the kind of language used in mass communication -
broadcast (television, radio, movies) or print(newspapers), magazines,
books, pamphlets, etc.), or it may mean the official course or route
through which communications, requests, etc. are handled or transmitted.
encoding - act of transmitting a message (speaking and writing).
decoding - receiving and understanding a message (reading and listening)
encoder - a person who transmits a message
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1 Communication

Five Dimensions of Communication

1. Communication can be intentional or unintentional

The words you choose to express yourself are intended to express a
particular meaning. Sometimes those words communicate something other
than what you intended -- they have unintentional meaning.

Example: the use of the word girl may mean an expression of affection but it
may be taken as a sexist term used to make women seem childish.

2. Communication can be verbal or nonverbal

Our communication is often more nonverbal, involving our body and
other objects and actions, than verbal, involving words alone. Even when we
do not speak, the way we walk, stand, and sit communicates a message to
others. Our body language reveals whether we are truly interested or bored. It
can indicate when we lie and when we tell the truth. Other forms of nonverbal
communication include the appearance of letters and memos, the
arrangement of office furniture, and the style and condition of our clothing and
accessories.

3. Communication can be internal or external

Internal, or intrapersonal communication is the way we talk to
ourselves, without putting thoughts into words. Internal communication can
influence the course of conversation even more than external discussion. The
words that are actually written and spoken are external communication.
Nonverbal items chosen to give a certain impression - such as jewelry, cars,
and art - are also examples of external communication.

4. Communication can involve humans, machines, and animals

Communication obviously involves humans. Less clearly, it also
involves machines. Think about how computer scientists work to improve
communication between one computer and another as well as between
humans and computers. With the increasing reliance on computers in
business, we need to learn how to use modern technology and electronic
information more than ever. We also need to learn more about how animals
communicate, because the nonverbal behavior of humans and animals is quite
similar.

5. Communication can take place between two people as well as within groups
A communication between two people is called interpersonal
communication. Communication within groups is classified as either small-
group communication or mass communication. Communication with the large
group is the concern of media communication experts because most large-
group communication involves the use of microphones, television, movies,
telecommunications, and other forms of media.

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Purposive Communication

Importance of Communication to the Individual

The ability to communicate well is often cited by companies as one of the skills
they desired most in employees. Poor communicators are not able to relate well to
others and find their career paths blocked.

Name some other importance of communication to you.

Forms of Communication
Generally, communication can be divided into two-verbal and nonverbal in which
the former uses words while the latter does not. The first can be divided into oral and
written. Nonverbal communication can take several forms. Generally, it can include
proxemics, body language and object language.

Oral communication involves speaking and listening. A great deal of your time in
business will be spent in speaking -- using the telephone, attending meetings,
negotiating, and making presentations. All require good communication skills.
Good listening skills also enable you to communicate better with others. Simple
actions such as leaning forward in your seat, opening your arms, and uncrossing
your legs can let your listener know you value what he or she has to say> Through
good listening, you will be able to help speakers improve the quality of what they say
to you.

Oral communication has some real benefits in the business world. Because of the
feedback you receive immediately from your listener, you are able to tailor your
message. If your listener indicates by his or her facial expressions and or words that
your message is not clear, you can revise or add more information and restate the
message. Any questions that can exist can be cleared up immediately. On the other
hands oral messages are not recorded for future reference. Careful wording of a
sensitive message is more difficult with oral communication than it is with written
communication.

Written communication -- letters, memos, reports, and other types of documents --

are essential to modern business. Managers spend approximately 45 % of their time
reading and writing. Employees at all levels must also be able to write to express
their ideas and document their decisions and actions, and they must be able to read
to communicate with others inside and outside the organization.
The main advantage of written communication in business is that it provides a
permanent record. Others can read a document sometime later and get the same
message as the original, undistorted by time, and faulty memory. Sending copies of a
written message to many people in different locations is much easier than trying to
speak with each of them face to face.

Nonverbal communication encompasses all communication that occurs without

the use of words. It exists in many forms:

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1 Communication

Proxemics is the study of our need for space and how we relate to the space we
have. It explains why American executives typically require spacious offices and why
Japanese executives do not.
Body language is the study of behavior and how it reinforces or contradicts verbal
communication. The way you gesture, the way you stand or sit, the way you walk,
and the amount of eye contact you maintain with people reveal a great deal about
you.
Object language refers to the messages that are sent by the objects we choose to
wear and keep around us. Consider the many messages that clothing sends. What
dress code is required in your school? Why?

The previous notes clarified what communication is, who and what are
involved in it, how it takes place, and why it is important. It also mentioned that
language is the most common medium of communication. This lesson acquaints you
with what language is and the different functions of language.

Bonet and Bastardas-Boada (2013) say that language greatly affects the way
we speak, write, describe and understand things. They further said that language is
the tool we need to convey both thought and the method we adapt to address the
complex world. This is made possible because of our cognitive instrument (the brain
in interaction with the body), cognition (understood as perception, emotion and
action, the entire process of living), and, especially, metacognition (the knowing of
knowledge). All of which come in in communication. As they say,

Languages are unplanned tools of communication that emerged incrementally, with

different interactants innovating and contributing different pieces at different times
(not without particular constraints!) when necessary, under specific social pressures to
express and share their thoughts or feelings. They are outcomes of successive
responses of the human mind to socialecological pressures to communicate; their
norms have been shaped by particular social interactive dynamics driven by
speakers’/signers’ disposition to cooperate (p. 201).

Having read the role of language in communication and in humankind, the following
notes will remind and clarify the functions of language.

FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
We use language for several reasons. Some of the uses of language are
classified as follows:

1. Personal - to express one's emotions, needs, thoughts, desires, attitudes.

2. Interpersonal - to maintain good relations with individual or groups; to
express sympathy, praise, joy at another's success, etc.
3. Ceremonial – to use language as one performs a form of ritual or rite.

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Purposive Communication

4. Directive or performative - to control the behavior of others through advice,

warning, requests, persuasion, discussion.
5. Referential - to talk about objects or events in the environment.
6. Metalinguistic - to talk about language
7. Imaginative - to use language creatively in rhyming, composing poetry, short
story or novel.
8. Eclectic - a combination of two or more of the functions of language.

Other Functions: Finnochiaro(1976)

1. Informative - to convey information in the form of a declarative statement.

2. Practical/dynamic-to produce some effects in the form of imperative statement:
order, appeals, pleas, requests, commands
3. Expressive -to express certain feelings; to evoke some emotional response
explanatory statement: jokes, jests, puns, humor, or lyric poems

Synthesis
Try to check how much you understood the topic on communication and language by
answering the following questions.

1. What is communication? What are the elements of communication?

2. What is language? What can language do for us? What are its functions?

For Reflection
3. Why should communication and language be a part of purposive
communication?
4. What is your idea on purposive communication?

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