Biblical Foundation of

Communication/Introduction to Communication
• God said, “let us make man in our own image and
likeness…” (Gen. 1:26) God the father
communicated at creation to the son and the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Trinity is the basis of
Communication. At creation, God was
communicating his Love and goodness to
mankind. Man’s creativity is from God. Adam was
creative in naming all the creatures, (trees, sun,
moon, stars, animals, and woman (Gen. 2:20).
 How does GOD communicate?
• History: The Exodus account of the children of Israel from the
land of bondage into the promised-land is GOD’S
communication of HIS Love and rescue effort for his people.
• Incarnation: The birth, death of JESUS CHRIST is a historical
fact that communicates GOD’S love for mankind.
• Language: GOD created language and used it HIMSELF to
communicate. (Gen. 3: 16-19). GOD spoke to Adam. (Gen. 4:
6-15). GOD also spoke to Cain.
• Visions: (Gen 28:10-12). In a vision Jacob saw a staircase
extending from earth to Heaven. Angels were
ascending and descending on it.
 Definitions of Communication
• This word has been variously defined by experts and there are
perhaps hundreds of definitions of this familiar term.
• Verdeber (1984) says that the key aspect of communication is
meaning. He describes effective communication as shared
meaning. What is shared? Ideas and feelings. Also included
here are impressions, verbal and nonverbal expressions.
• “Communication is a continuous, transactional process
involving participants who occupy different but overlapping
environments and create a relationship by simultaneously
sending and receiving messages, many of which are distorted
by external, physical and psychological noise” (Adler et al,
1992).
 Definitions contd.
• Ruben (1984) says that communication is any
“information related behavior.” Dale (1969) says it is the
“sharing of ideas and feelings in a mood of mutuality.”
• Other definitions emphasize the significance of symbols,
as in Berelson and Steiner (1964): “The transmission of
information, ideas, emotions and skills…by the use of
symbols.”
• Theodorson and Theodorson (1969): “the transmission of
information, ideas, attitudes, or emotion from one
person or group to another…primarily through symbols.”
• Communication theorists developed several
communication theories in order to explain this
concept called communication. Theories are
important because they form the bases for any area
of study i.e. every field has several theories.
Scholars say that the earliest roots of
communication can be traced back to ancient Greek
philosophers most notably, Aristotle and Isocrates
who were rhetors (from where we get the word
rhetoric).
 Uses of Communication
Samovar et al, 2013
• Communication & identity - an individual has numerous
identities ranging from concepts of self, emotional ties to
family, attitude to beliefs about one’s culture.
• Communication & personal perception - Personal experience
reveals that when you meet someone for the first time,
gathering information about that individual begins immediately.
This information, collected from both verbal and nonverbal
messages, is essential in intercultural communication because
in many instances you are dealing with “strangers.”
• Communication & interpersonal needs - communicating with
others satisfies a basic social nee
 Uses of Communication contd.
• Communication & persuasion - This function
suggests that communication allows you to
send verbal and nonverbal messages that can
shape the behavior of other people
 Characteristics of Communication
•Communication is purposive - all human communication is directed at a particular goal
or purpose e.g. to entertain, amuse, please, warn, rebuke, manipulate, inform or show
status
.

•Communication is a process - Communication is ongoing and changing (dynamic). It is

like a journey. It has a beginning and may or may not have an end depending on the
participants. In communication, there is continuity, stages and movement.
•Communication is contextual - Communication always occurs in a context, and the
nature of communication depends in large measure on this context. setting and
environment help determine the words and actions you generate and the meanings you
give to the symbols produced by other people. Reflect for a moment on how differently
you would behave in each of the following settings: a classroom, a church, a courtroom,
a funeral, a wedding (discuss)
•Communication is two-way (Interactive) - Communication is a give-and-take
relationship between the sender and the receiver. The response is determined by the
message sent. As these two ends interact, there are instances when the sender
becomes the receiver and vice-versa.
 Characteristics of communication
• Communication is symbolic - In human communication a symbol
is an expression that stands for or represents something else. This
sophisticated system allows people to use symbols— be it sounds,
marks on paper, letters on the screen of a cell phone, sculptures,
Braille, movements, or paintings—to represent something else.
• Communicative behaviour is learned – ability to communicate is
an interplay of biology & culture. The ability to learn helps one
communicate e.g. in ones language. Cultures differ in what they
learn and how they learn (explain)
• Communication has a consequence - All of our messages, to one
degree or another, do something to someone else (as well as to us
(Berko). It changes us
 Types of Communication

• Intrapersonal Communication - this is

communication/talk with oneself
• Interpersonal communication – people
communicate their feeling, ideas, emotions and
information face to face to each other in verbal or
non-verbal form. Interpersonal communication is not
only about what is said and what is received but also
about how it is said, how the body language is used,
and what was the facial expression. It can range from
intimate and very personal to formal and impersonal.
 Types of communication contd.
• Group communication - a dynamic process where a small
number of people engage in a conversation. Group
communication is generally defined as involving three to eight
people. The larger the group, the more likely it is to break down
into smaller groups. (Examples include Sports team, Bible study
group, discussion group, etc)
• Mass Communication - involves sending a single message to a
group. It allows the speaker to send messages to a large
number of people. As a business communicator, you can use
multimedia as a visual aid or reference common programs,
films or other images that your audience finds familiar yet
engaging.
 Types of communication contd.
• Extrapersonal Communication - communicating with anything other
than another person. Communication with machines, or
creatures. Communication between human beings and non-human
entities is called as extrapersonal communication. 
• Public communication - One person speaks to a group of people; the
same is true of public written communication, where one person writes a
message to be read by a small or large group. The speaker or writer may
ask questions, and engage the audience in a discussion (in writing,
examples are an email discussion or a point-counter-point series of letters
to the editor), but the dynamics of the conversation are distinct from
group communication, where different rules apply. In a public speaking
situation, the group normally defers to the speaker. For example, the boss
speaks to everyone, and the sales team quietly listens without
interruption.
• Intercultural communication - defined as the study
of communication between people whose “cultural
perceptions and symbol systems are distinct
enough” to alter their communication (Samovar and
Porter, 1997: 70) The meaning of a message changes
when it is encoded by a person in one culture and
decoded by a person in another culture in the
context of his or her own cultural background. In
some cases, the message may be interpreted to
carry a different meaning than was intended.
• The communication process explains how communication
happens. There are 3 views of this process:
• A linear view - In this perspective, communication is seen
as happening one way from sender to receiver. In this
perspective, the sender is king and the receiver, a sitting
duck waiting to absorb all the information given like a
sponge. Some of the early communication theories held a
linear perspective e.g. the Shannon and Weaver model.
Other such theories were the hypodermic needle and the
bullet theory.
 An interactive view
• When you add the feedback element into the
communication process, it removes the
linear/one-way aspect.
• With this element, communication is a back
and forth process like playing a verbal or
nonverbal tennis game.
 A transactional view
• The truth is that communication is neither
linear nor interactive, but transactional.
• In this perspective participants in a
communication setting are seen as sending
and receiving messages simultaneously.
• This means that the senders and receivers
exchange roles in the course of the
communication.
• The communication process has six elements although some scholars have
more or less depending on the communication theoretical framework to
which they espouse.
• The sender or the encoder, encodes (sends) a message through a channel.
Usually, we think of a channel being the mass media, social media, face-to-
face interaction. The receiver represents the target audience who decodes
the message based on their life experiences, cultural background, values,
beliefs they hold. These filters affect how the message is understood and
the response (feedback) that is given. When the receiver responds to the
message from the communicator/sender, the process begins all over again
allowing the receiver to become the sender
• The element of noise is anything that impedes the communication process
including physical noise or semantic noise. Semantic noise could be one’s
thoughts, prejudices, lack of concentration, etc that affects the process
 Communication Models
• Each group will be assigned one model of
communication to explain and illustrate. These
discussions will take place on eLearning and is
due in two week’s time Each member of each
group must participate to earn marks
• Look out for the discussion icon on eLearning.
Click and begin your discussion. It may be
helpful for each group to plan their discussions
so that the discussions are not haphazard
 Communication Models
• Group A: Aristotle’s Model
• Group B: Laswell’s Model
• Group C: Shannon & Weaver’s Model
• Group D: Schramm’s Model
• Group E: Osgood-Schramm Model
• Group F: Newcomb’s Model
• Group G: Westley-MaClean Model
• Group H: Gerberner’s Model
• Group I: Berlo’s Model
• Group J: Barnlund’s Model
• Group K: Dance’s Model
• Group L: Lanham’s Model
• Group M: Schema Theory of Information Processing
• Group N: Magic bullet/hypodermic needle theory
• Group O: Two-step flow
 Communication Models Assignment

• Explain assigned model of communication (or

theory)
• Upload any information on the model/theory
that helps explain it better
• Describe how the model works and its
limitations
• Does the model represent a linear, interactive
or transactional view of communication?
 NEXT WEEK
• CAT I