Communication Strategies

Ms. May C. Francisco, MAE

 One of the biggest sources of
misunderstandings and communication
breakdown is language. Studies show
that the following are the twelve
strategies that speakers commonly resort
to when communication problems arise:
Message Abandonment- You leave the
message unfinished because of language
difficulty.

Topic Avoidance- You try not to talk about

concepts difficult for you to express.
Circumlocution- You describe or
paraphrase the target object or action.

Approximation- You use an alternative

term (ship) to express the meaning of the
target word (sail) as closely as possible.
Use of all-purpose-words- You expand a
general word to the context where certain
words are lacking like the overuse of the
words: thing, stuff, make, do, what-do-you-
call-it, what-is-it.

Word Coinage- You create a new

English word based on what you know
of the way English works like
“vegetarianist” (which is not in the
dictionary) for the “vegetarian”
Use of nonverbal means- You mime, the
gesture, use facial expression, and imitate
sound to express the meaning you want.

Literal translation- You translate a word

or an idiom from your mother tongue to
English using the structure of your first
language.
Foreignizing- You use the word in your
native language but pronounce it like
English.

Code switching- You use the native word

or expression for the English term that
expresses the meaning you want.
Appeal for Help- You ask other
students or your teacher for help when
you do not know or forget some words,
structures or idioms.

Use of Fillers/ hesitation

devices- You use filling words
(uhhmmmm) to gain time to think.
 Communicative Strategies

These are plans, ways or means of

sharing information which are
adopted to achieve a particular social,
political, psychological, or linguistic
purpose.
 7 Types of Communicative
Strategies

Nomination- presenting a particular

topic clearly, truthfully, and saying only
what is relevant.
Restriction- constraining the response or
reaction within a set of categories.

Turn-taking- recognizing when and how

to speak because it is one’s turn.
Topic control- keeping the interaction
going by asking questions and eliciting a
response.

Topic shifting- introducing a new topic

followed by the continuation of that topic
Repair- overcoming communication
breakdown to send more comprehensible
messages.

Termination- using verbal and nonverbal

signals to end the interaction.
When introducing a topic at the beginning of
a Communicative Situation, what is being
used is the Nomination Strategy. It is a
strategy that can also be applied any time
during the course of an interaction as a way
of continuing the communication. When this
strategy is used, the topic is introduced in a
clear and truthful manner, stating only what
is relevant to keep the interaction focused.
Examples:

Have you noticed the weird weather

lately? Is this because of global warming?

I was late for class again! The MRT

stopped midway. What is wrong with the
MRT?
Restriction Communicative Strategy is a
strategy that constrains or restricts the
Response of the other person involved
in the Communication Situation. The
Listener is forced to respond only
within a set of categories that is made
by the Speaker.
Examples:

They say that the Philippine economy is

getting better. Only the stupid thinks that,
right? (No one wants to be stupid.)

That arrest move was a disaster waiting to

happen. Do you agree? (Yes/No)
Turn-taking Communicative Strategy requires
that each Speaker speaks only when it is his/ her
turn during interaction. Knowing when to talk
depends on watching out for the verbal and
nonverbal cues that signal the next Speaker that
the previous Speaker has finished or the topic
under discussion has been exhausted and a new
topic may be introduced. At the same time, it also
means that others should be given the
opportunity to take turn. Turn-taking
Communicative Strategy uses either an informal
approach (just jump in and start talking) or a
formal approach (permission to speak is
requested).
Examples:

I agree with the point just made. But may I

add that OFWs would rather be home and
work here so they could be with their
families.

May I have the floor, sir? The topic under

discussion is the state of the Philippine
economy today. We want better lives for
all Filipinos, whether they are working
here or abroad.
After the Nomination Communicative
Strategy, the interaction is kept going by
using the Topic-Control
Communicative Strategy. This is
simply a question-answer formula that
moves the discussion forward. This also
allows the Listener or other participants
to take turns, contribute ideas, and
continue the discussion.
Examples:

How do you often ride the MRT, Tony?

How many times have you encountered a
stoppage in service?

Your car may break down, too, Luna,

right? So you have to find another means
of getting to school. We all do not want to
be late for class, yes?
Topic-Shifting Communicative
Strategy is the strategy that is useful
in introducing another topic. This
strategy works best when there is
follow-through so that new topic
continues to be discussed. This is also
used in Repair Communicative
Strategy.
Examples:

This is a battle with corporations that

continue to pollute the environment. But this
is also a battle with man himself, who
continues to act as if there is another Earth
we can move to once this Earth dies.

If we cannot use the Earth’s resources, our

economies will die. We need to choose: the
economy or the environment.
Repeating is a good way of correcting
one self and gives the Speaker time to do
just that. Recasting means changing the
form of a Message that could not be
understood. It allows the Speaker to say
the Message in another way so that the
Listener can understand what was
originally incomprehensible.
We have already learned that communication
almost always breaks down. When
miscommunication occurs, one can apply the
Repair Communicative Strategy that includes
requesting clarification, not acknowledging, topic
shifting, not responding, repeating, recasting and
adding. One requests clarification by asking
questions or using eyebrows , eyes, head or
shoulders to show that the Message could not be
understood. By not acknowledging the new
situation, the situation already in progress will
continue. Topic shifting can help direct the
discussion to another or divert the attention of the
Listener from the topic that has become
problematic.
Lastly, Termination Communicative
Strategy ends the interaction through
verbal and nonverbal Messages that both
Speaker and Listener send to each other.
Sometimes the Termination is quick and
short. Sometimes it is prolonged by
clarification, further questions, or the
continuation of the topic already
discussed, but the point of the language
and body movement is to end the
communication.
• Nomination- collaboratively and productively establish a topic
• Restriction- limitation you may have as a speaker
• Turn-taking- process by which people decide who takes the
conversational floor
• Topic control- covers how procedural formality or informality
affects the development of topic in conversations
• Topic shifting- involves moving from one topic to another
• Repair- refers to how speakers address the problems in
speaking, listening and comprehending that they may
encounter in a conversation
• Termination- refers to the conversation participants’ close-
initiating expressions that end a topic in a conversation
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