Lesson 3: Exploring the

Functions of
Communication
The Functions of Communication

1. Regulation/Control
- means being able to use language, gestures,
and emotions to manage individual or groups
The Functions of Communication

1. Regulation/Control
- Usually directives, orders, requests, etc.
The Functions of Communication(Regulation/Control)

Verbal Cues
 Words used should
be respectful of
culture, age, gender,
social status, and
religion
The Functions of Communication(Regulation/Control)

Nonverbal Cues
 Hand gestures
 Bodily action (including posture)
 Vocal tone (paralanguage)
 Eye contact
The Functions of Communication

2. Social Interaction
- The most familiar and
primary reason why people
communicate
- Allows people to be
connected to one another
The Functions of Communication(Social Interaction )

Verbal Cues
 Words used should be
respectful of culture,
age, gender, social
status, and religion
The Functions of Communication(Social Interaction )

Verbal Cues
 Words used are
mostly informal
terms and
usually delivered
casually
The Functions of Communication(Social Interaction )

Verbal Cues
 Philippine society
dictates certain
decorum when
talking to elders or
figures of
authority
The Functions of Communication(Social Interaction )

Nonverbal Cues
 Hand gestures
 Bodily action (including
posture)
 Vocal tone (paralanguage)
 Eye contact
The Functions of Communication(Social Interaction )

Nonverbal Cues
 Both speaker and listener
should observe respect for
one’s:
 Culture
 Age
 Gender
 Social status
 religion
The Functions of Communication(Social Interaction )

Nonverbal Cues
 Tone used is
friendly, even
teasing, and the
bodily action is
relaxed
The Functions of Communication

3. Motivation
- The speaker’s purpose is to persuade or try to
persuade another person to change his/her
opinion, attitude, or behavior
The Functions of Communication

3. Motivation
- “Pope Francis Effect”
The Functions of Communication (Motivation)

Verbal Cues
 Words used should
be respectful of
culture, age, gender,
social status, and
religion
The Functions of Communication (Motivation)

Verbal Cues
 More direct and
purposeful words are
chosen for both men
and women
 Although these can
be soften for children
and the elderly
The Functions of Communication (Motivation)

Nonverbal Cues
 Hand gestures
 Bodily action
(including posture)
 Vocal tone
(paralanguage)
 Eye contact
The Functions of Communication (Motivation)

Nonverbal Cues
 Both speaker and listener
should observe respect for one’s:
 Culture
 Age
 Gender
 Social status
 religion
The Functions of Communication (Motivation)

Nonverbal Cues
 Strong words are accompanied by
empathic gestures and a forceful tone
of voice
 Direct eye contact is necessary to
underscore the Speaker’s sincerity
and conviction
The Functions of Communication

4. Information
- communication can be used
for giving and getting
information.
- Giving information usually
comes in the form of
statements of facts
(grammatically known as
declaratives)
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Verbal Cues
 A scientist will
most likely use
Filipino to be
understood by
many and will use
po and opo
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Verbal Cues
 A dentist will use simple words for
the benefit of the children in the
kindergarten class
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Verbal Cues
 A weather
forecaster will not
use too much
technical jargon to
be understood by
people listening to
the radio or
watching TV
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Verbal Cues
 Words used should
be respectful of
culture, age, gender,
social status, and
religion
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Nonverbal Cues
 Hand gestures
 Bodily action (including posture)
 Vocal tone (paralanguage)
 Eye contact
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Nonverbal Cues
 Both speaker and listener
should observe respect for one’s:
 Culture
 Age
 Gender
 Social status
 religion
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Nonverbal Cues
 To convince the community to
try the experiment, the scientist
will do an actual experiment
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Nonverbal Cues
 The dentist can show pictures or
a video that the children can
understand showing what
happens when they do not brush
their teeth
The Functions of Communication (Information)

Nonverbal Cues
 The forecaster calmly gestures
on the map, pointing out path of
the LPA, sing a soothing tone of
voice to avoid alarming the
audience
The Functions of Communication (Information)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=CiK1f8wf5Fg
The Functions of Communication

5. Emotional Expression
- The speaker appeals to the
emotion and feelings of the
listener/s to encourage them
to act in a particular direction
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Verbal Cues
 Words used should
be respectful of
culture, age, gender,
social status, and
religion
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Verbal Cues
 Words that may
appeal to men may
not appeal to women
 There are words that
the elderly might find
insulting and vice
versa
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Verbal Cues
 Be careful about
using English words
in different cultures

Example: the word “gift”

means poison in
German
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Verbal Cues
 Words should be
chosen carefully
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Nonverbal Cues
 Hand gestures
 Bodily action (including posture)
 Vocal tone (paralanguage)
 Eye contact
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Nonverbal Cues
 Both speaker and listener
should observe respect for one’s:
 Culture
 Age
 Gender
 Social status
 religion
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Nonverbal Cues
 We accompany our appeal with
touching, hand holding, or
hugging, or even putting an arm
around one’s shoulder
The Functions of Communication (Emotional Expression)

Nonverbal Cues
 Certain societies do not allow
women and men to touch, while
others still frown on men and
women intermingling freely
(unless they are married or
related by blood)
QUIZZ TIME!!!  Multiple Choice: Choose the correct answer. 1. Which of the following shows
an example of Regulation/Control? a. Doctor’s prescription b. Friends giving advice on what
course of action to take c. Parent’s instruction to their children d. All of the above. 2. "I love
you" is an example of expression that produce what function of communication? a.
Motivation b. Social Interaction c. Emotional Expression d. Information 3. "I want to be a
billionaire" is a form expressing what function of communication? a. Motivation b. Social
Interaction c. Emotional Expression d. Information 4. "Philippine Normal University was
established in 1901" is an example of giving information using what language form? a.
Rhetorical Question b. Statement c. Imperative d. Question 5. "Really?" is a language form for
expressing what function of communication? a. Social Interaction b. Information c. Emotional
Expression d. Rhetorical Question
QUIZZ TIME!!!
 Multiple Choice: Choose the correct answer. 6. When a teacher gives an opinion about a
topic it is likely to be about what function of communication? a. Regulation/control b.
Emotional expression c. Motivation d. Information 7."I want to be alone" is an example of
what language form for Regulation/Control? a. Rhetorical Question b. Question c. Imperative
d. Declarative 8. Marriage proposals is an example of what Functions of communication? a.
Social Interaction b. Motivation c. Information d. Emotional Expression
9. "Did you know that some earphones can be used as microphones?" is an expample of
giving information using what language form? a. Rhetorical Question b. Statement c.
Imperative d. Question 10. When a teenage girl giving an opinion on who among the current
popular celebrities is the most handsome, that is likely to be about what function of
communication? a. Emotional expression b. Information c. Regulation/Control d. Motivation
QUIZZ TIME!!!
 Direction: Write TRUE if the statement is correct but if it's false change the underlined
word or group of words to make the whole statement true. 1. Social Interaction as a function
of communication refers to a person using a language to express desires, needs, wants, likes
and dislikes, inclinations, choices and aspirations. 2. Communication using words is also
called Verbal communication. 3. As part of the speakers’ effort to help the listener
understand, the speaker will do well to repeat his or her utterances specially if the content of
the utterance is difficult to understand. 4. The tone of voice often shows the attitude of the
speaker toward the topic or the listener. 5. A speaker must use the appropriate form of
language to be used in a given setting.