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Chapter 1: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics
A. NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Types
Communication
- comes from the word “communis”
which means establishing a
commonality or commonness between
two or more participants
- the common field of experience (CFE)
may be language, interest, intentions,
need, etc.
Communication as a Process
- two- way process by which information
is exchanged between or among
individuals through a common system
of symbols, signs and behavior.
- process by w/c a source sends a
message to a receiver thru some means
to produce a response from the
receiver.
Principles
● Communication can take place between
people only to the extent that they
share similar experiences.
● The more similar the experiences they
share, the wider is the CFE bet. 2
individual, the greater is the likelihood
that they communicate effectively.
● If the CFE is narrow, then understanding
or communication that can take place is
limited & may not be effective as
expected.
Elements
1. Context
- knowing where, when and under what
circumstances it occurred.
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- circumstances surrounding a message
a. Physical Context
- where and what particular objects are
present (e.g. furniture and the decors)
- we are affected by our surroundings
and we manipulate objects to suit our
communication needs
- Example: A circular seating pattern
elicits more discussion in a classroom
that does a straight- row arrangement
b. Social Context
- combination of people, purposes, and
places interacting communicatively.
- People are distinguished from each
other by these factors- gender, age,
occupation, power, degree of intimacy,
ethnicity and knowledge.
- Purposes or goals- a memorial service is
not the context for attacking a political
opponent, a “meet-the-candidates”
night is.
- Places- some places are more
conducive to certain kinds of exchanges
than the others.
c. Historical Context
- every communication event has a
history.
- our communication at any moment is
always affected by our previous
experiences.
- every communication event adds to the
backdrop for future interactions.
d. Psychological Context
- preconceived notions we bring into the
conversations- racial stereotypes,
reputations, biases and assumptions
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Chapter 1: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics
e. Cultural Context
- elements of communication may have
different meanings depending upon the
culture or social understanding within
which the communication is taking
place.
- every society has their own rules in
interpreting communication signals-
some rules govern how we use our
language, some our nonverbal behavior
- customs, norms and traditions
- communication rules and expectations
are important during intercultural
contact and cross- cultural expectations
2. Participants
The main goal of communication is
understanding via interaction both on the
part of the source and the receiver
a. SENDER
- also called source, speaker and encoder
- starts the communication process given
the fact that he wants to transmit a
message
b. RECEIVER
- is the recipient of the message who
interprets it and in turn responsible to
give a feedback.
The effectiveness of the
communication depends on the
characteristics of both the sender and
receiver:
● Communication Skills
- thinking, writing, and speaking for
encoding
- listening for decoding
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Handout
Thinking Skills
How do our thinking skills affect the
process?
- They affect our ability to analyze our
own purposes and intentions; our ability to
express our ideas and feelings; and our
ability to encode and decode messages
which express what we intend
Writing Skills
These skills determine our
communication fidelity- express ideas
better if we have a wider vocabulary and if
know how to arrange our ideas logically and
creatively
Speaking Skills
How to pronounce words, gesture, and
interpret messages from listeners, and
modify our talk.
● Attitude
This refers to the person’s biases or
predispositions toward something or
someone
How do our attitudes affect
communication? - toward oneself; toward
subject matter; and toward the receiver
o Manner by which the source evaluates/
thinks of himself affects the way he
communicates
o Attitudes toward the subject matter
come thru one’s messages
o Attitudes toward the receiver affect the
source’s messages
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Chapter 1: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics
● Knowledge Level
We cannot communicate/understand
what we do not know/understand.
What should we know/ understand?
o Knowledge about the receivers’
characteristics
o Ways by which the receiver treats
messages
o Sources’ attitudes
o Channels that receivers want to
choose
● Socio-cultural Systems
Social system is a group which a person
belongs, his perceptions of the world, his
position in his own social class, his status,
etc.
Cultural system is one’s beliefs, values,
ways of making things and ways of behaving
How does that system affect
communication?
o Participants’ choice of words
o Their purposes for communicating
o Meanings attached to words
3. Message
- the actual physical product of the
source. In oral communication, the
speech is the product, in written
communication, the writing is the
message; in painting, the picture is the
message.
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Handout
- there are three factors that affect the
message: the message code, content
and treatment.
a. Message Code. Any group or symbols
that can be structured in a way that is
meaningful to some persons. These
symbols include the verbal and non
verbal symbols.
Verbal Codes- messages using language or
words
Attributes of an Effective Voice
● Audibility- loudness of the voice
● Pleasantness- free from nasality or
hoarseness
● Correctness and Distinctness in
Pronunciation
● Flexibility- variation in pitch, force,
time and quality
Nonverbal Codes - wordless cues
Types of Non-Verbal Communication
● Kinesics- communication via body
movements (Emblems: gestures;
Illustrations: accompany speech;
affect displays: facial expressions;
regulators: shaking & nodding of
head; adoptors: mannerisms)
● Proxemics- unconsciously structuring
space to convey meaning
● Haptics- the use of touch
● Oculesics- refers to eye movement
● Olfactics- smell also conveys meaning
● Chronemics- the use of time
● Artifacts- dress and appearance and
personal adornments also
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Chapter 1: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics

communicate information about a 1. Inform. To convey information to the

person. intended audience by providing
instructions or directions, description
● Paralanguage- This includes volume,
of something or explanation.
pitch, speaking rate and voice
quality. 2. Persuade. To convince our audience to
agree with our position. We try to
b. Message Content. It is the material in
convince them that that our side is
the message that was selected by the
better than their existing beliefs.
source to express its purpose.
3. Entertain. To provide escape, joy and
c. Message Treatment. It refers to the
relaxation by providing inspiring,
choice of the communicator on how he
engaging and enjoyable speeches.
could transmit the message.
4. Integrate. To integrate divisions and
4. Channel
departments by building a
- there are three meanings for the word communication network to achieve
communication channel in goals and visions of an organization.
communication; modes of encoding
5. Create. To establish relationships
and decoding messages, message
within the group or outside the group.
vehicles, message carriers.
6. Help in decision- making. To assist
- this include words, actions or mass
family, friends, and members of an
media channels such as print,
organization when crisis or important
broadcast, audiovisual, electronic
matters arise.
5. Feedback
7. Reduce misunderstanding. To help
- the receiver’s response to the solve troubles among people.
information forwarded by the source.
There are two types: positive and
negative feedback.
6. Noise
- anything that interferes in the
communication process between the
speaker and the audience. It may take
the form of internal, external, semantic
and speaker- generated noise.

Functions