PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION & SPEECH AND ORAL COMMUNICATION

Introduction to Communication

CHAPTER 1: NATURE, DEFINITION AND COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

NATURE OF COMMUNICATION

1. Communication is a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create

shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills:

 Intrapersonal and interpersonal processing

 Listening
 Observing
 Speaking
 Questioning
 Analyzing
 Evaluating

2. It can be seen as processes of information transmission governed by three levels of semiotic

rules:

 Syntactic
 Pragmatic
 Semantic

3. It is therefore a social interaction where at least two interacting agents share a common set of
signs and a common set of semiotic rules.

4. The Oxford Advanced Learner„s Dictionary defines communication, as the act of passing
news, information…, the act of sharing or exchanging thoughts, ideas, feelings with others or
with a group; the act of participating with or sharing in common, the ―we-belong-to-same-
feeling‖ as in communication with… or the act of thinking about oneself.

5. Communication is derived from the Latin word “communis”, which means, Belonging to
many or equally and communico – to confer with others. It is the mutual exchange of
information, ideas, and understanding by any effective means (Ballesterros, 2003).

6. Communication refers to the process of human beings responding to the symbolic behavior of
other persons (Adler and Rodman, 1997).

 COMMUNICATION IS HUMAN.
 COMMUNICATION IS A PROCESS.
 COMMUNICATION IS SYMBOLIC.
Elements of Communication

Communication is divided into elements which help us better understand its mechanics or
process. These elements are the following:

1. Speaker – the source of information or message

2. Message – the information, ideas, or thoughts conveyed by the speaker in words or in
actions
3. Encoding – the process of converting the message into words, actions, or other forms that
the speaker understands
4. Channel – the medium or the means, such as personal or non-personal, verbal or
nonverbal, in which the encoded message is conveyed
5. Decoding – the process of interpreting the encoded message of the speaker by the
receiver
6. Receiver – the recipient of the message, or someone who decodes the message
7. Feedback – the reactions, responses, or information provided by the receiver
8. Context – the environment where communication takes place
9. Barrier – the factors that affect the flow of communication

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Control – Communication functions to control behavior.

2. Social Interaction – Communication allows individuals to interact with others.
3. Motivation – Communication motivates or encourages people to live better.
4. Emotional expression – Communication facilitates people‟s expression of their feelings
and emotions.
5. Information dissemination – Communication functions to convey information.

FEATURES OF AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

7 Cs of Effective Communication

1. Completeness – essential to the quality of the communication process in general.

2. Conciseness – does not mean keeping the message short, but making it direct or straight
to the point.
3. Consideration – to be effective, the speaker should always consider relevant information
about his/her receiver such as mood, background, race, preference, education, status, and
needs, among others.
4. Concreteness – effective communication happens when the message is concrete and
supported by facts, figures, and real-life examples and situations.
5. Courtesy – the speaker shows courtesy in communication by respecting the culture,
values, and beliefs of his/her receivers.
6. Clearness – implies the use of simple and specific words to express ideas.
 7. Correctness – eliminates negative impact on the audience and increases the credibility
and effectiveness of the message.

Barriers of Communication

1. Personal barriers – include perceptual and personal discomfort, style, poor attention and
retention, close-mindedness and insufficient filtration.
2. Intrapersonal barriers – include childhood insecurities, labeling, trauma, and negative
psychological and emotional experiences.
3. Environmental barriers – include noise, weather and facilities. The environment in which
the communication takes place may contain physical or emotional barriers.
4. Socio-cultural barriers – include education, gender, beliefs, ethics, values, motives, rules
and regulation, standards and priorities.
5. Language barriers – include problems on vocabulary, accent, dialect, semantic gaps, and
mispronunciation.

CODES OF COMMUNICATION

A. VERBAL COMMUNICATION
 Refers to an interaction in which words are used to relay a message. For effective and
successful verbal communication, use words to express ideas which can be easily
understood by the person you are talking to. Consider appropriateness, brevity,
clarity, ethics, and vividness when engaging in this type of communication.

1. Appropriateness – the language that you use should be appropriate to the

environment or occasion (i.e., whether formal or informal).
2. Brevity – Speakers who often use simple yet precise and powerful words are found
to be more credible.
3. Clarity - the meanings of words, feelings, or ideas may be interpreted differently by
a listener; hence, it is essential for you to clearly state your message and express
your ideas and feelings.
4. Ethics – words should be carefully chosen in consideration of the gender, roles,
ethnicity, preferences, and status of the person or people you are talking to.
5. Vividness - words that vividly or creatively describe things or feelings usually add
color and spice to communication.

B. Nonverbal communication
 Refers to an interaction where behavior is used to convey and represent meanings. All
kinds of human responses that are not expressed in words are classified as nonverbal
communication. Examples of nonverbal communication are stares, smiles, tone of
voice, movements, manners of walking, standing and sitting, appearance, style of
 attire, attitude towards time and space, personality, gestures, and others. Mastery of
nonverbal communication is important for several reasons:

1. It enhances and emphasizes the message of your speech, thus making it more
meaningful, truthful, and relevant.
2. It can communicate feelings, attitudes, and perceptions without you saying a word.
3. It can sustain the attention of listeners and keep them engaged in the speech.
4. It gives the audience a preview to the type of speaker you are.
5. It makes you appear more dynamic and animated in your delivery.
6. It serves as a channel to release tension and nervousness.
7. It helps make your speech more dramatic.
8. It can build a connection with listeners.
9. It makes you a credible speaker. 10. It helps you vary your speaking style and avoid
a monotonous delivery.

C. VISUAL COMMUNICATION
 Visual communication, on the other hand, is the type of communication that uses
visuals to convey information and/or messages. Some examples are signs, symbol,
imagery, maps, graphs, charts, diagrams, pictograms, photos, drawings or
illustrations, and even various forms of electronic communication.
 Visual communication now occupies an important place in any work environment.
For instance, during presentations, instructors, managers, doctors, lawyers, legislators
and the like use visuals to transfer data into digestible information. Very likely, they
have greater success in catching the attention of the audience making the latter easily
recall the information.
 It makes use of technology that provides apps( applications), videos and images that
rely less on the printed word making presentations more interesting. This leaves a
powerful effect on the audience and prospective clients.
 Speakers/presenters should be mindful of the content of their presentation since
wrong and irrelevant information may lead to miscommunication. Likewise, they
should pay attention to graphic elements, such as position, color, size, shape and
orientation as all these play an important role in the presentation of slides. Audience
size should be considered as well when preparing slide presentations or other forms
of visuals.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

1. Intrapersonal Communication - means talking to oneself. It can be defined also as

communication with one‟s self, and that may include self-talk, acts of imagination and
visualization, and even recall and memory (McLean, 2005).
2. Interpersonal Communication - can be defined as communication between two people.
It is the process of communication which involves other‟s participation. The interaction is
 usually between two or among a small group of persons. Examples of this includes round
table discussion, debates, pair group activities and discussion, panel discussion and many
more activities involving two or small number of participants.
3. Public speaking – is an act/process of communication addressed to a large audience or
group of people of say 25 or more in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform,
influence, or entertain the listeners.
4. Mass Communication – a process of delivering a message to the general public by
utilizing mass media such as national press, radio, and television. Examples of these
includes news casting and broadcasting.

CHAPTER 2: Listening in Communication

In today‟s world, which is fast turning into global village and where communication is
highly developed, the demand to sharpen our listening skills is a must. These skills needed to be
cultivated in order for us to achieve success in all areas of our life.

Hearing Vs. Listening

Hearing is the sense by which sound is perceived and it is the capacity to hear. It is a sense that
helps you receive sound waves and noise by ears. It is the power of perceiving sounds.

Listening is the active intellectual process of decoding, interpreting, understanding and

evaluating messages. It is when you receive sound waves and understand it by paying full
attention to the words and sentences of the speaker.

Common Problems in Effective Listening

1. Hostility to the speaker – this unfriendly attitude which may spring from biases or
prejudices makes a listener disinterested and makes him/her criticize the speaker and
his/her delivery.
2. Daydreaming – is an internal barrier to the listener. This happens when the listener gets
bored after a long listening or when preoccupied with other things that are more
interesting than the speaker or what he/she was saying.
3. Prejudging – some listeners make judgments even before listening. Things like the
subject are “uninteresting”, the subject is “not new” or “I know it already”, dampen one‟s
flair for listening. This jumping to a conclusion results in the wrong interpretation of the
message and the belief that one listened effectively.
4. Selective Listening – a selective listener chooses channels. He/she turns it on or off
wherever he/she pleases.
a. Close-mindedness – occurs when the listeners are over-confident. They find a dislike
for the speaker or feels that they know better than the speaker.
b. The listener’s background – the listeners‟ culture, beliefs, mores, biases and
prejudices can serve as obstructions to effective listening.
 c. Distraction – these may come in varied forms like personal, interpersonal, physical,
environmental, temporal, geographical, perceptual or semantic.

Importance of Listening

Listening is a key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen

effectively, messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of
the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.

These are the importance of listening:

1. It stimulates better communication between the parties involved.

2. It contributes to and promotes better responses among the members of the group.
3. It makes you appreciate and enjoy what you hear.
4. It assists you in understanding what is being said.
5. It helps you make better decisions.
6. It enables you to react to what is said.
7. It enlarges one‟s experience.
8. It enables you to correct your own problems of vocalization.