MODULE 1

Introduction to Communication
The Nature of Communication

As one of the essential activities of the human race, communication is transmission of thoughts from
one mind to others. It is a process in which people share thoughts, ideas, and feelings with each other (Flores
& Lopez, 2003). Also, we can say that communication is a dual or two-way process of transmitting
messages (Diaz, 2005). The receiver after receiving the message understands the message in the desired
form and then acts accordingly. It affirms that communication concerns the give and take relationship among
the communicators through feedback mechanism. With it, not only does one make his/her own self
understood, s/he also gets to understand others.

The Communication Process

For communication to take place, there must be five factors involved: the sender, the message, the
channel, the receiver, and feedback (Diaz, 2005).

• Sender: the speaker of the communicator who has his/her own purpose, knowledge, interest,
attitudes, skills, and credibility
• Message: the idea being transmitted by the sender to the listener. It includes the three aspects of
message: 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 the pictorial and aural channels.
• Receiver: the target of the communication. He/she is the destination of the message, the listener with
his/her own purposes, knowledge and interest levels, attitudes, and listening skills.
• Feedback: the reaction given by the listener to the sender of the message. It is what completes the
communication process.

All five elements must be present in any communication situation. Without one element, no
communication takes place.

In the process of communication, the turn where the receiver changes its role from decoder to encoder is
called turn-taking. Turn-taking process is essential in a communication process in order to keep the
communication going and expanding. The communication process involves the different stages which
explain specifically what happens during the process. These are the stages of communication:

1. Stimulus- during this stage, stimulus is anything that is perceived by our senses that can trigger
communication. For example, while walking along the street with your friend, you suddenly notice
that the sky is dark. What is seen by your eyes (the dark sky) is the stimulus which begins your
conversation with your friend.
2. Ideation- it is the stage in which your brain starts to process what you have perceived. For example,
you have already conceived in your thought about the “dark sky” after you noticed the condition of
the sky.
3. Encoding- it is the stage in which you are now starting to compose the message about your
conceived thoughts which was triggered by the stimulus you perceived. For example, you have
finally composed what you want to tell to your friend that “the sky is dark, it might rain”.
4. Transmission- it is now the stage in which you delivered the thoughts you would like to utter or to
act. You can use various channels to transmit the message. For example, using your vocals as
medium, you tell your friend that “the sky is dark, it might rain”.
 5. Receptions- on this stage, your friend received what you have communicated.
6. Decoding- after receiving the message, the message will be processed by the recipient of the
message. He/she processes it in his/her brain.
7. Understanding- once the message was processed, the receiver will interpret the message depending
on his/her understanding. There is a bias in terms of the understanding of the message of the receiver
of the message.
8. Action- it is now the stage in which the receiver of the message will react on the message received.

Models of Communication

Much has been said about the concept of communication. Various communication scholars have
already defined this term depending on how it is utilized. Most of them defined communication according to
how they devised their communication models. These models have been developing through the years from
linear to non-linear models.

1. Aristotle Model of Communication. It was the first to take an initiative and design the
communication models. The Aristotle Model of Communication is the widely accepted and the most
common model of communication where the sender sends the information or a message to the
receivers to influence them and make them respond and act accordingly.

Aristotle Model of Communication is formed with 5 basic elements: (i) Speaker, (ii) Speech,
(iii) Occasion, (iv) Audience and (v) Effect. Aristotle advises speakers to build speech for different
audience on different time (occasion) and for different effects.

Aristotle Model of Communication is the golden rule to excel in public speaking, seminars,
lectures where the sender makes his point clear by designing an impressive content, passing on the
message to the second part and they simply respond accordingly. Here the sender is the active
member and the receiver is passive one (Management Study Guide, n.d.).

2. Lasswell’s Model of Communication. The first popular communication model that was used to
understand the nature of communication was devised by Harold Lasswell in 1948. Lasswell is well
known for his “5W” model of communication, which focuses on "Who (says) What (to) Whom (in)
Which Channel (with) What Effect". In Lasswell's Model of Communication, the communication
process is divided into five parts including communicator, information, media, audience and effect;
such five research fields provide a very good point of view to study the new media communication.

Critics of this theory have implicated the absence of explicating the two-way communication
aspect in communication. As we all know, communication involves a two-way process wherein both
the communicators are often playing an interchangeable role as sender and receiver of the
information. This absence in the communication model of Lasswell brought out the concern of other
 scholars on the element of feedback. What is notable on this model is the element of Effect which
also similar with
Aristotle’s model. However, the implication of this element is both similar in the two models; they only
differ in terms of the scope. The element of Effect suggests that every communication always result to
possible outcome. For instance, when you communicate something to another person, the communicator
is responsible of the effect his/her message to the recipient. In Aristotle’s model, the scope of Effect
relies only if the sender of the message is successful in persuading the audience. This is unlike in
Lasswel’s model which is wider in scope across in any forms of communication.

3. Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication. Another viewpoint on communication is offered

by Shannon and Weaver in 1949. The Shannon-Weaver Model of communication started out
technical but grew to encompass all forms of communication. It was developed from an engineering
perspective, and was primarily focused on communication technologies in particular the transmission
and reception of messages, and with the aim of developing a mathematical theory of communication.

In view of Shannon & Weaver Model, information flows from the sender/speaker to the
hearer/receiver in one-directional, mechanistic and unilateral manner. As mentioned, it is used in
communication technologies. The model is used to describe the process on how various
communication technologies like telephone and radio transmitted the information through airwaves
as channel for transmission. Since Shannon & Weaver, as telecommunications researchers, wanted to
ascertain how electric signal was transmitted via wire or radio wave, the ultimate aim, was to know
what happens during this process. Thus, although this experiment gave birth to theory of
communication, it is however, not a mutual way of communication for inclusiveness and reciprocity.
(Communication Libraries, n.d).
 The element of Noise is one of the distinct features of this model. It is the first model that
explains that interruptions in every communication may occur. It is termed as Noise. Looking at its
origin, the element of Noise initially referred to interference of airwaves that results to “choppy”
messages when using communication technology. In the context of communication in general, the
element of Noise is anything that can be a barrier to communication. It could be physical noise,
environmental, physical, psychological, cultural, among others.

4. The Osgood- Schramm Model of Communication. Another scholar who devised the beginning of
a circular model of communication were Charles Osgood and Wilbur Schramm in 1954. The Osgood
and Schramm Model of Communication outlines the basic components of communication between
two people. Additionally, the model proposes that interpersonal communication occurs by the
exchange of purposeful messages in a reciprocal, circular fashion. The three common elements that
are present in the model are the Decoder, Encoder, and Interpreter. As a circular model, it presents
that the communicators (both the sender and the receiver) performed the mentioned elements during
the conversation (Study Mass Communication, n.d).

Communication usually begins with the encoder. The encoder is responsible for creating
messages. Then people decode (decoder) meaningful messages during communication. Decoding
refers to receiving a message. In an interpersonal communication context, this is done through
human senses such as hearing and seeing. These nervous impulses travel to the brain where the
human begins to translate them (interpreter). More so, interpreting can be defined as making
meaning of sensory information. During a face-to-face conversation, humans will interpret sounds
into words and put words together to make meaningful sentences. Finally, the model explains that
after humans interpret nervous impulses during the previous step, they must encode a meaningful
message to send to their communication partner based on the interpretation. In a face-to-face context,
humans often relay spoken words to each other, display facial gestures, change their posture, move
their hands, or change voice pitch.

5. Berlo’s Model of Communication. Another classic model that explains communication is that of
devised by David Berlo in 1960. The model operates on the SMCR pattern. It can be noticed in the
model that all elements contain factors that may affect communication. Those factors can be both
positively or negatively affect communication.

The model takes into account the different aspects of the message (content, elements, treatment,
structure, code). Content refers to the context of the message (what is being communicated). Element
 refers to what compose the message. It could be based on the background and experiences of the
source. Treatment indicates how the source will manage the message; how he/she plans to deliver
depending on the intent of the source. Structure refers construction of the message. It specifically
refers to the plan of the source on how he/she will structure the sentence structure (syntax), the tone
of the voice to be used, among others. Finally, Code refers to symbols that will represent the
message. If these are the written words, these refer to alphanumeric data; if these are spoken words,
these refer to sounds of the letters.

In the SMCR pattern, S - Source; M – Message; C – Channel; R – Receiver; the source also
called the sender is the one from whom the thought originates. Sender transfers the information to
the receiver carefully placing his ideas into words. The ideal communication occurs when both
sender and receiver have the common expertise in communication skills, the same attitude,
knowledge, social system and culture. For instance, a person with of the same knowledge could
understand a particular whereabouts because they are of the same level of wavelength. However, if
they are different, there is a possibility that the messages will not be communicated properly.

Aspects of Communication

Have you observed on how people communicate and how they shifted from one topic to
another? It is because people are concerned with communication. We as social beings are always
concerned with how we communicate and build relationship with other people.

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one person to another.
Although this is a simple definition, when we think about how we may communicate the subject
becomes a lot more complex. Communication has two aspects: (1) Verbal or Linguistic Aspect and
(2) Non-verbal or Extralinguistic Aspect.
A. Verbal or Linguistic Aspect: This is the aspect that makes use of words. It may be oral or written,
formal or informal.
B. Non-verbal or Extralinguistic Aspect: This aspect does not make use of words but may enhance or
change the linguistic code. Non-verbal or Extralinguistic Aspect is categorized into two elements.
These are (a) Non-linguistic Elements and (b) Paralinguistic Elements
a. Non-linguistic Elements
1. Kinesics- language of body movements. For example, hand gestures
 2. Proxemics- language of distance or space. For example, public space, social space,
personal space, and intimate space
3. Chronemics- language of time. For example, you came late in an interview,
the interviewer interpreted it that you are inefficient employee.
4. Haptics- language of touch. For example, you caress the back of your friend who is lonely.
5. Olfactics- language of smell. For example, you identify the food that your neighborhood is
cooking because you smell its flavorings
6. Oculesics- language of eye movement.
7. Gustatory- language of taste
8. Physical Appearance- how the person appears suggests his/her personality
b. Paralinguistic Elements: the meaning of what the person says changes when
paralinguistic is used.
1. Vocal Quality- quality of the voice. The way the person speaks can tell his/her personality
depending on the quality of the voice. Being soft spoken may mean that a person is shy type.
2. Pitch- the highness and the lowness of the voice
3. Tempo- the speed of the voice
4. Volume- the loudness of the voice
5. Juncture- these are the pauses while speaking

Levels of Communication

There are various types of communication and more than one may occur at any time. These types of
communication can be determined depending on the number of communicators involve in the
communication process and the purpose of communication. These are the levels communication:

1. Intrapersonal Communication- it is a communication within yourself. It happens when you are

talking to yourself. For example, when you are reviewing your lessons, when making decision, when you
have a deep thought about something among others.
2. Interpersonal Communication- this is a communication between one person to another person. It
oftentimes refers to a face-to-face communication. It involves two or small group of people who are
exchanging thoughts and ideas.
3. Public Communication- this is a communication from one person to a huge group of people. The
public is composed of heterogeneous audience. For example, miting de avance, state of the nation address
4. Mass Communication- this is a type of communication which involves the mass media such as
newspaper, television, and radio. Like public communication, the audience is also heterogeneous.
5. Organizational Communication- from the term itself, it is a form of communication which takes
place inside the organization. However, it does not involve informal communication among the members of
the organization. As a formal communication, it follows strict policies on communication flow and channels
in the organization. For example, business meeting, written communications like formal letters,
memorandum, bulletin, announcement etc.
6. Intercultural Communication- it is a form of communication that involves person-to-person,
person-to-group, or group-to-group from different cultures. It is important that one has to understand cultural
differences for it may result to offending other culture when communicating. For example, in a certain
culture, they find it offending when someone is making a direct eye contact with them or a handshake may
sometimes unnecessary.
7. Technology-Mediated-Communication- this is any form of communication that uses technology
when communicating like cellphone, telephone, facsimile, computer. So, when you are using social media
when communicating to other people, it is a form of technology-mediated-communication.
Principles for Effective Communications

Communication is an inevitable human action. As they say, “we cannot ‘not’ communicate without
communication”. However, the challenge for every individual is on how to deliver the messages effectively.
The following are the principles for effective communication (World Health Organization, n.d.):

1. Accessible 4. Relevant
• Make information available online • Know the audience
• Identify effective channels • Listen to the audience
• Ensuring Accessibility • Tailor the message
• Motivate the audience
2. Actionable
• Move audiences to action 5. Timely
• Behavior changes campaigns • Communicate early
• Communicate in emergencies • Communicate at the right time
• Build the conversation
3. Credible
• Technical accuracy 6. Understandable
• Be transparent • Use plain language
• Coordinate with partners • Tell real stories
• Make it visual
• Use familiar languages

Ethics of Oral Communication

Ethics is the discussion of the judgments we make about the appropriateness, the right or wrong, of
our actions and policies be those actions communicative, political, social, personal, or a mixture of areas.
Ethics is the study of what, ultimately, is the best course of action: How should we behave to have the most
positive effect upon society and to become the best individuals we can? (Johannensen Ethics in Human
Communication)

1. Ethical communicators are respectful of their audiences. Respect for audiences includes respect
for the ideas and feelings of the people with whom we interact. If people possess dignity and
worth, then they need to be treated as such even when we may disagree with them strongly. One
student was addressing an issue which some saw as racially charged. Individual’s response to
those opposing his ideas was, "Get a life." His/Her reaction demeaned not only those disagreeing
with him but his own ideas as well.

2. Ethical communicators consider the consequences of their communication. We do not

communicate in vacuums. Our communication endeavors are never isolated one from the other.
For example, how we respond at school influences how we respond at home and that in turn
affects how we respond in our public lives. Having considered the natures of our audiences, we
need to consider further the effect of our communication on them and upon ourselves

3. Ethical communicators respect truth. A great deal of the ethics of communication involves a
respect for truth. If we cannot trust the other party, we cannot accurately judge how to respond. If
we cannot accurately judge how to respond, then our communication becomes increasingly
ineffective. If the lack of trust is pervasive enough, it is destructive finally to society.
 4. Ethical communicators use information properly. If we are going to provide information to
people, much less persuade them, we need to be well prepared for the occasion. In addition to
securing information, we also need to consider the accuracy of the information and the accuracy
with which we use it. When we communicate, we expect people to react in some way to what we
say and do. When we use inaccurate information to influence others, we because difficulty for
them and for ourselves.

5. Ethical communicators do not falsify information. Worse than the distortion of information is
falsifying information. Failing to find information useful to our goals, we make it up. Another
way of falsifying information is through plagiarism. Plagiarism is a kind of theft, intellectual
theft. When writing, we acknowledge sources by the use of quotation marks and include a
citation of the source. When speaking, we acknowledge sources by naming them in the context of
the speech.

6. Ethical communicators respect the rights of others to information. A respect for truth and an
ethical consideration of others also means respecting the rights of others in regard to information
and access to information. Collecting information is an integral part of the research process, but
stealing information is theft, taking something that does not belong to us. Beyond the personal
act of theft, stealing information is unethical because it prevents other people from securing
information and unnecessarily makes their lives more difficult.

Barriers to Effective Communication

Communication barriers is one of the elements of communication process. It is inevitable to be

eliminated in communication. Taylor et. al (2013) enumerate the following barriers to effective
communications, which are as follows:

1. Ethnocentrism. It happens when people implicitly believes that their way of doing things and
seeing things are the right and only way. This resulted judging the behaviors negatively which do
not actually conform on their own vision. People that possess “ethnocentrism” perceive other’s
behaviors as odd and improper. Ethnocentrism also creates an “us versus them” mentality that
can be detrimental.

2. Stereotyping. It occurs when people rely on oversimplified clichés about people from different
cultures. This can also be observed on how other people attach particular cultural practices that is
not actually observed on a particular group. On negative note, if stereotyping of a culture is
perceived to be offensive on other culture, people will also think of the same thing because of the
reinforced stereotypes by other people. Learning about differences can be useful as a starting
point. But individuals are unique; you can never predict a person’s behavior based on his or her
nationality. Stereotyping is the process of creating a picture of a whole culture, overgeneralizing
all people belonging to the same culture as having similar characteristics and categorizing people
accordingly. It is a belief about a certain group and is mostly negative. Stereotyping can be done
on the basis of many things like nationality, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, age, etc. For
example, Asian students are stereotyped to be good at Math which is a positive stereotype. But,
there is also cultural stereotype of all people following a particular religion as being violent like
Islam and is negative stereotyping. Negative stereotyping creates prejudices as it provokes
judgmental attitudes. People look at those cultures as evil and treat the people following the
religion wickedly. Media is a tool of mass communication which promotes stereotypes and
prejudices and creates more communication barriers.
3. Psychological Barriers. This barrier involves the undermining of one’s confidence. For the
indigenous people, they often feel that they are always left behind because most of them did not
finish their studies. They feel intimidated with the way others interact with them. Cultural
differences cause behavior and personality differences like body language, thinking,
communication, manners, norms, etc. which leads to miscommunication. For example, in some
cultures eye contact is important whereas in some it is rude and disrespectful. Culture also sets a
specific norm which dictates behavior as they have guidelines for accepted behavior. It explains
what is right and wrong. Every action is influenced by culture like ambitions, careers, interests,
values, etc. Beliefs are also another cause for cultural barrier. For instance, mostly, people who
believe in God can cope with their lows of life easily than atheists but atheists are more
hardworking at all times which relates to their behavior and communication. Appropriate amount
of emotion that must be displayed is also different in different cultures. Roles are defined by
culture. Good communication only occurs between people with different cultures if both accept
their differences with open mind.

4. Language Barrier. Commonly, people who are less fluent in English or other language tend to
withdraw from communication, which means the team may not get all the input it needs.
Understanding what’s said can be challenging if people speak too fast or use too much slang.
This also might have an influence on how people’s competence and performance are perceived.
Relatively, there are billions of people in the world who do not understand English or cannot
communicate in English properly. Not speaking properly can cause various misunderstandings
and be a barrier to communication. Different cultures have developed their own language as a
part of their heritage. People are comfortable communicating in their own language whereas have
to work hard to learn new languages. For example, separation of East and West Germany for 40
years caused the language to differ a lot. The dialect became very different as people of East
Germany had an influence of Russian language whereas West Germany had influence of English.
They had a barrier in communicating with each other for decades. Even when people try to
express in their own language, many misunderstandings arise. It becomes more profound in
people speaking different languages. Non-verbal communication cannot be relied upon in
communication between people from different cultures as that is also different like language.
Signs, symbols and gestures varies in different cultures. For example, the sign “thumbs up” is
taken as a sign of approval and wishing luck in most of the cultures but is taken as an insult in
Bangladesh. Similarly, the “V” hand gesture with palm faced outside or inside means victory and
peace in US, but back of hand facing someone showing the sign is taken as insulting in many
cultures. The culture sets some meanings of signs like the ones mentioned above, which might
not be the same in other culture.

5. Conflicting Values. Culture is like an iceberg: what you see are the behaviors, and those are
influenced by the invisible values under the water line. Cultural clashes happen when other
people’s behavior compromises others values. In simpler view, if a person did not understand or
do not agree with a behavior, it means that there are conflicting values under the water line.
There is no right or wrong way of doing things; it’s just a matter of cultural norms.
ACTIVITY 1: Identify if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Write T before each number if
the statement is true and F if the statement is false.

1. ________ Communication is a process.

2. ________ Give and take relationship of communicators suggests that communication is one-way.
3. ________ Meaningful communication explains that interaction between two or more people influence
each other’s behavior.
4. _______ It is the nature of communication to have feedback mechanism.
5. _______ The concept of communication is exclusively only in spoken words.
6. _______ Consider ethics in your speech at all times.
7. _______ Effective use of nonverbal communication can strengthen your message.
8. _______ How you communicate reflects who you are as a person.
9. _______ One way to help you build credibility is through effective nonverbal communication.
10. _______ There are certain words that are only appropriate at certain times and places.
11. _______ To achieve clarity, we must speak the same language as our listeners.
12. _______ The use of too many fillers can distract your listeners.
13. _______ Verbal communication is better than nonverbal communication.
14. _______ When you talk to others, you should not assume too quickly that they understand the message
that you convey.
15._______ When you communicate, choose what you want to say and how you want to say it.

ACTIVITY 2: Answer the following questions:

1. Discuss the important characteristic of Aristotle’s Model of Communication in order to consider that
specific communication to the public becomes effective.

2. In Lasswell’s Model of Communication, explain the meaning of “(with) What Effect” as one of its
elements.

3. Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication is notable for including the element of “noise” on its
communication process. On this model, explain what is being referred by the “noise”?

4. Berlo’s Model of Communication traditionally follows the SMCR pattern, what makes his model
different from the other models?
 5. Explain the reason why Osgood-Schramm Model reflects a two-way communication process.

ACTIVITY 3: Perform the following activities:

A. Identify if the following is VERBAL COMMUNICATION or NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION:

1. __________________ Telephone call
2. __________________ Giving pieces of advice in person to a friend
3. __________________ Application letter to a prospect company
4. __________________ Traffic enforcers giving hand signals in a traffic jam
5. __________________ Giving thumbs up

B. Answer the following questions:

1. Explain the importance of learning the different non-linguistic elements of non-verbal communication.

2. How do paralinguistics elements of non-verbal communication affect communication?

ACTIVITY 4: Identify which type of communication is applicable on the following situations. Justify
your answer.

1. Reviewing your lectures in preparation for your upcoming examination

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Preparing a formal report of the sales of your company
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Informing the public about the typhoon
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Presenting a marketing proposal in a different country
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. Conducting an urgent meeting while everyone is on leave for vacation
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 5: Identify which principle for effective communication is described in the following:

1. _______________________ Communicator should clarify the purpose of communication to the receiver,

apart from giving due attention to the aspects of timing of communication.
2. _______________________ Information should be reliable. This promotes the credibility of the
communication and promotes its acceptability.
3. _______________________ The communication channels should be straight forward and short, to
minimize delays and distortion of information.
4. _______________________ Fast and automatic system of information flow should be built into the
organizational structure, without affecting the accuracy of messages.
5. _______________________ The language and style of communication should match the level of
understanding of the receiver.