FUNCTIONS OF

COMMUNICATION
ORAL COMMUNICATION | A.G. Terio
1. REGULATION OR CONTROL FUNCTION

Regulatory communication refers to

giving orders or directions, making
requests, or attempting influence the
actions of others and accepting or
refusing directions.
 Regulatory language may include
giving orders in a more indirect way of
controlling and manipulating others.

Ex. “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”

 Language as a means of control may
have positive, neutral or negative
connotations. In oral communication, it
can be utilized as a form of giving a
reward or punishment.
 Directives are utterances that try to
get another person to do something.
They can range from a rather polite ask
or request to a more forceful command
or insist.
The list below specifies the communicative acts
that can be found under regulation function:

Making suggestions in which the speaker is

included
Making requests, making suggestions
Refusing to accept a suggestion or a
request but offering an alternative
Persuading someone to change his point of
view
Requesting and granting permission
Asking for help and responding to a plea
for help
Forbidding someone to do something;
issuing a command
GIVING ORDERS AND INSTRUCTIONS

1. Use the imperative form

We use the imperative form to give
orders, warnings and advice:
Be silent!
Be careful!
Listen to me attentively!
The imperative form can be “soften” with
the use of “let’s” or “please.”
Let’s go to the auditorium now.
Please take note of what I’m saying.
2. Use modals to change the mood of a sentence. For
example, “You should accompany him” is more polite
than “Accompany him!”
Other modal verbs you can use to make requests are:
Could: Could you make me some juice?
Can: Can you go there please?
Will: Will you open the windows please?
Would: Would you wait here until the dentist is ready
for you?
2. SOCIAL INTERACTION
This is the second function of
communication. Social interaction or
shared attention with others, the individual
is communicating not only to meet his own
desires and needs but also to socially
interact with the people around him.
Through social interactions an individual begins to
establish a sense of “self” and to learn what others
expect of him. At a very young age, we learn how to
interact with our family members, but as we grow old we
became more interested in meeting and interacting with
others. Through social interaction, we learn appropriate
social behaviors, such as respecting, greeting, sharing,
and refusing politely. Furthermore, when we interact with
others we learn how to communicate well.
With the technology such as the internet and
cell phones invading almost all human
endeavors across the globe, communication
has become vital to everyone. It allows
people to stay in touch with relatives and
friends and even creates relationships with
people they have not met. Building
relationships becomes easier and faster.
Some communicative functions that fall
under social interaction include the ff:

Greetings and leave-takings

Introducing people to others
Identifying oneself to others
Expressing joy at another’s success
Expressing concern for other people’s welfare
Extending and accepting invitations
Refusing invitations politely or making alternative arrangements
GREETINGS

Formal Greetings in English

 Hello or Hello (Person’s Name)!
 How are you?
 How are you doing?
 How have you been?
Informal Greetings

 Hi!
 Hey! Or Hey (Person’s Name)!
 What’s up?
 How’s it going?
 What’s going on?
 What’s new?
Greeting Someone You Haven’t Seen for a
Long Time (Formal)

Nice to see you!

Nice to see you again!
I haven’t seen you in a long time.
It’s always a pleasure to meet you.
How long has it been?
Greeting a Person You Haven’t Seen for a
Long Time (Informal)

Long time no see.

Where have you been hiding?
How come I never see you?
It’s been such a long time.
Very Informal Greetings

Yo!
Hiya!
Sup? (Short for What’s up?)
Howdy?
What’s crackin’?
Making appointments for meetings
Breaking appointments politely and arranging another mutually
convenient time
Apologizing
Excusing oneself and accepting excuses for not meeting commitments
Indicating agreement or disagreement
Interrupting another speaker politely
Receiving visitors and paying visits to others
Offering food or drinks and accepting or declining politely
Sharing wishes, hopes, desires, problems
3. MOTIVATION
Motivation is derived from the word “motive”
which means needs, wants, desires or drives within
the individual. It is the process of stimulating
people to actions to accomplish the desired goals.
Communication fulfills this function by clarifying to
the individual what is to be done, how well he is
doing and what can be done to improve
performance.
Activity 1: Formulate phrases to use..

when someone hasn’t started yet

when someone is already doing well
when someone is having trouble
when someone is facing a hard decision
to inspire people
Activity 2: In triads, choose one inspiring quotation and
discuss it with your group mates. Be ready to share the
result of your discussion to the whole class.

1. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live

forever.” – Gandhi
2. “It is wiser to find out than to suppose.” – Mark Twain
3. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” –
Albert Einstein
4. “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our
bodies, can continue growing as long as we live.” – Mortimer Adler
5. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham
Lincoln
4. INFORMATION
Information as one of the functions of
communication is the fundamental
requirement of being able to adapt and
adjust oneself to the environment. Being
informed helps one to understand what is
going on in his or her country and in the
global community.
Communication is a source of information to all
individuals. Having enough information is very
important in helping one or the organization to
arrive at a sound decision and take the right
course of action.
For example, in a school setting, a guidance counselor
before making a decision whether to suspend or not a
student for misbehavior in the classroom has to conduct
an investigation first to get the needed information
which will serve as the basis for their action.
Here are some expressions and structures that can
be used when asking for and replying to a request
for information

Very Informal (for Friends and Family)

Simple Question: Wh? + Helping Verb + Subject + Verb
If you are asking a friend or family member for
information, use a direct question.

How much was it?

Where does Ann spend her summer vacation?
More formal for Everyday Simple Questions

Use these forms for simple, everyday questions in stores,

with colleagues at work, and in other informal situations.
(Pardon me, Excuse me) can / could you tell me + wh? +
S + verb

Can you tell me when Robert is coming back?

Pardon me, could you tell me how many borrowed
the book?
Formal for More Complicated Questions and
Asking Important People Questions

Use these forms when asking complicated questions that require

a lot of information, as well as asking information questions of
important people such as your dean, boss, on a job interview,
etc.
I wonder is you could + tell me + / explain / provide information
on …

I wonder if you could explain how to make a digital

presentation.
I wonder if you could provide information on selection and
retention program of the company.
Would you mind + verb + ing …?
Would you mind telling us the current status of
your business?
Would you mind giving me how your research
data was gathered?
Replying to a Request for Information

If you would like to provide information when asked for

information, start your reply with one of the following
phrases.

INFORMAL
► Sure.
►No problem.
►Let me see …
MORE FORMAL
► I’d be happy to answer that.
► It’d be a pleasure to help you.
► I should be answer to answer your
question
Other Useful Expressions in Asking for
Information

► Excuse me ► Can you help me …?

► Could you tell me how to …?
► What happens if …?
► Where can I …?
► When can I …?
► How can I …?
► Something else I’d like to know
is …
► Can you tell me …?
► Could you tell me …?
► I’d like to know …
► Do you know …?
► (Got/Have you) any idea …?
► Could anyone tell me …?
► Sorry to trouble you, but do
you…?
► I wonder if you could tell me …?
ACTIVITIES!

Please check the word document (Information Activity)

sent together with this PowerPoint Presentation. Print a
copy of those activities. Answers MUST be hand-written.
Submission of the said activity will be announced in class.

- AG Terio
5. EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION

Human emotions are evidently personal because

they show what we feel inside whether we want it
to be noticed by the people around us or not.
Emotions are also interpersonal when we make our
feelings toward someone or something visible to
others these usually cause positive or negative
reactions from them.
According to Gross (1998b, 1999)

Emotional expression refers to how one

conveys emotional experience through both
verbal and nonverbal behavior.
According to Owen Hargie (2011)

To verbally express our emotions, it is important that we develop an

emotional vocabulary. The more specific we can be when we are
verbally communicating our emotions, the less ambiguous our
emotions will be for the person decoding our message.

He further stated that as we expand our emotional vocabulary, we

are able to convey the intensity of the emotion we’re feeling
whether it is mild, moderate, or intense.
For examples, happy is mild, delighted is
moderate, and ecstatic is intense; ignored is mild,
rejected is moderate, and abandoned is intense.
Expressions to show happiness

• That’s wonderful! • I’m pleased/delighted about it.

• That’s fantastic! • It’s the best thing I’ve heard…
• That’s good! • Congratulations!
• Good job! • I’m satisfied with…
• Great! • I’m very happy because/on…
• What a great idea! • You really make me happy,
• It is good news. • I like… (example: to know that)
Other Ways of Expressing Happiness

• Squee – used to show that you are excited or happy

• Hooray – a word that you shout to show that you are excited and
happy about something.
• Yippee – an expression of happiness and excitement. This word is
mainly used by children.
• Aah – used for showing that you are happy, satisfied, or surprised.
• Excellent – used for showing that you are very pleased about
something
• Lovely – used for saying you are pleased about something
• Good for someone – used for saying that you are happy about
something good that someone has done or that has happened to
them.
• Gotcha – used for showing that you are pleased at catching or
beating someone.
• Good – used for saying that you are pleased with someone, or are
pleased about something.
• Thank God/goodness/heaven(s) – used for saying that you are
happy that something unpleasant has stopped or has not happened.
Structures to Express Sadness

Informal – for friends and family

S + be + feeling down about something
I’m feeling down about school work lately.

S + be + upset about something

Cheenie is upset about her relatives

S + be + sad about something

I’m sad about what happened last night.
Expressions Used When Very Angry

FURIOUS = very angry

Her mom was furious when she told her plan of getting married
LIVID = very angry
They were absolutely livid when they found out Josie ate all the
cake
IN A BLACK MOOD = be very angry
Their parents always get in a black mood when they learn their
children tell a lie.
SPITTING MAD = be very angry
The stranger got the young lady spitting mad
SEE RED = be uncontrollably angry
When I realized she was lying, I just saw red.
LIKE A RED RAG TO A BULL = prove someone to anger
Talking about politics is like a red like to a bull to him.
BE IN A FOUL MOOD = be in a bad mood
She was in a foul mood last week.
What You Can Say to Someone Who is Mildly Angry

• Keep your hair on! (Don’t lose your temper.)

• Calm down!
• Take it easy!
• Don’t let it get to you. = don’t let something make you angry.
• Turn the other cheek. = Ignore it.
• Don’t get your knickers in a twist! (British Slang) = Don’t let it
affect you.
ACTIVITIES!

Please check the word document (Emotional Expression

Activity) sent together with this PowerPoint
Presentation. Print a copy of those activities. Answers
MUST be hand-written. Submission of the said activity will
be announced in class.

- AG Terio