Purposive Communication

Definition of Communication

According to National Communication Association, at its foundation, communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts and is the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry.

The term "communication" comes from the Latin word "communicares" which means to share, impart, participate, exchange, transmit or make ideas common.

Other things that one should remember about communication:

a. Communication is a two-way process of exchanging ideas or information. (Speaker and Receiver)

b. It is a process of transmitting and receiving verbal and nonverbal information.

c. Communication is considered effective if the desired reaction or response is achieved.

d. In the event of the absence of any response, communication is incomplete.

II. Natures/Features of Communication

a. Social Process – it involves people. Communication requires two or more people to become the

sender and/or the receiver.

b. Pervasive Function – Communication is needed everywhere; it is an essential part of whatever

field. Thus, it’s pervasive.

c. Continuous Process – Communication is an unending loop of process. Received and processed

information from the sender can go through endless transfers.

d. Understanding – In communicating, this must be one of the priorities. One should aim to be

understood for communication to be successful.

e. Two-way Process – Communication needs a receiver to process the information coming from

the sender. Generally, this idea tells us that if communication has an encoder, the information then definitely needs to be encoded by an encoder. The main reason why speaking has listening and writing has reading.

III. Elements of Communication

1. Source - The one who imagines, creates, and sends the message. The person giving the speech

shares new information with the audience. The source also uses tone of voice, body language, and choice of clothing to convey message.

The speaker engages to the following steps in engaging in effective communication:

a. Determining the message—what to say.

b. Encoding the message by choosing just the right order or the perfect words to convey

the intended meaning.

c. Present or send the information to the receiver or audience.

d. Watching for the audience’s reaction.

e. Respond with clarification or supporting information.

2. Message - “The message is the stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience.” (McLean, 2005). The message also consists of how you say it—in a speech, with your

tone of voice, body language, and appearance—and in a report, with your writing style, punctuation, and the headings and formatting you choose.

3. Channel - “The channel is the way in which a message or messages travel between source and receiver.” (McLean, 2005). When you speak or write, you are using a channel to convey your message.

a. Spoken channels include face-to-face conversations, speeches, telephone conversations and voice mail messages, radio, public address systems, and Voice-Over-Internet protocol (VoIP).

b. Written channels include letters, memorandums, purchase orders, invoices, newspaper and magazine articles, blogs, e-mail, text messages, tweets, and so forth.

4. Receiver - “The receiver receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source.” (McLean, 2005). The nonverbal responses of your listeners can serve as clues on how to adjust your opening. By imagining yourself in their place, you anticipate what you would look for if you were them.

5. Feedback - When you respond to the source, intentionally or unintentionally, you are giving feedback. Feedback is composed of messages the receiver sends back to the source. Verbal or nonverbal, all these feedback signals allow the source to see how well, how accurately (or how poorly and inaccurately) the message was received.

a. Feedback also provides an opportunity for the receiver or audience to ask for clarification, to agree or disagree, or to indicate that the source could make the message more interesting. As the amount of feedback increases, the accuracy of communication also increases (Leavitt & Mueller, 1951).

b. If you followed up your message with a request for feedback (“Does this make sense? Do any of you have any questions?”) you might have an opportunity to clarify your message, and to find out whether any of the sales reps believed your suggestion would not work with their customers.

6. Environment - “The environment is the atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages.” (McLean, 2005). The choice to text is influenced by the environment. As a speaker, your environment will impact and play a role in your speech. It’s always a good idea to go check out where you’ll be speaking before the day of the actual presentation.

7. Context - “The context of the communication interaction involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved.” (McLean, 2005). A professional communication context may involve business suits (environmental cues) that directly or indirectly influence expectations of language and behavior among the participants. Context is all about what people expect from each other, and we often create those expectations out of environmental cues. Traditional gatherings like weddings are often formal events.

8. Interference - Interference, also called noise, can come from any source. “Interference is anything that blocks or changes the source’s intended meaning of the message.” (McLean, 2005).

IV.Types of Interference

1. Semantic Interference - pertains to the specialized words by the speaker which are not heard and

commonly used by the listeners.

2. Physical and External Interference - pertains to external disturbances such as shouting people

around, someone talking loudly, etc. This may also include an unpleasant environment.

3. Psychological Interferences - refers to the physical condition of the speaker; is what happens

when your thoughts occupy and bother your attention while you are hearing or reading a

message.

4. Physiological Interferences - when biological or other physical issues interfere with our ability to

communicate.

Take Note: Noise interferes with normal encoding and decoding of the message carried by the channel between source and receiver. Not all noise is bad, but noise interferes with the communication process.

V. Modes of Communication

a. Verbal - the transmission of information through spoken words or written language. It has two

types: Written and Oral. Written Communication is primarily used to convey information in a

permanent manner. Oral communication, a.k.a spoken communication.

b. Non-verbal communication - the expression of information through the body, face, or voice. It

provides a way to convey emotion and information without using words. It can give the listener additional information, sometimes contradicting the spoken message. It is important to note that listeners also display non-verbal cues and should consider how others might interpret or perceive them. Non-verbal communication also encompasses PARAVERBAL communication. Like other forms of communication, paraverbal communication can have an emotional effect.

c. Visual - Visual communication delivers messages through visual cues such as illustrations, videos, charts, and diagrams. Visual communication can be an effective tool, especially when it is difficult to relay messages through words. Often, a single diagram, illustration or photograph can relay complex information more succinctly than words. Additionally, visual cues can act as a universal language if there is a language barrier between the provider and patient. Visual cues may allow patients to understand more easily and retain more information than written or spoken words.

d. Ethics in Communication – Dr. Deidre D. Johnston pointed out ten ethics in communication that you should bear in mind to avoid being labeled “unethical”.

e. Mutuality - Pay attention to the needs of others, as well as yours.

f. Individual Dignity - Do not cause another person embarrassment or a loss of dignity.

g. Accuracy - Ensure that others have accurate information. Tell them everything they have a right

and need to know, not just what is true.

h. Access to Information - Never bolster the impact of your communication by preventing people

from communicating with one another or by hindering access to the supporting information.

i. Accountability - Be responsible and accountable for the consequences of your relationships and

communication.

j. Audience - As audience or receiver of the information, you also have ethical responsibilities. The

sender and the receiver of the message are both responsible in ensuring the message to be understood, and that, of course, ethics are followed.

k. Relative Truth - As either the sender or receiver of information, remember that your own point of view may not be shared by others and that your conclusions are relative to your perspective, so allow others to respectfully disagree or see it differently.

l. Ends vs. Means - Be sure that the goal of your communication and the means of getting to that end are BOTH ethical although no rule can be applied without reservation to ANY situation.

m. Use of Power - In situations where you have more power than others, you also have more responsibilities for the outcome.

n. Rights vs. Responsibilities - Balance your rights against your responsibilities even if you live in a wonderful society where your rights are protected by law; not everything you have a right to do is ethical