Lesson 1: The Communication Process

Communication

• a human engagement whether it takes place as one speaks with herself in prayer or during reflection (intrapersonal), between two people (interpersonal), among several persons (group communication)

Modes of Communication

Verbal Communication

• Makes use of words in the process of sending and receiving messages.

• Code

  • A systematic arrangement of letters, figures, symbols and/or words through which, a message is transmitted or communicated.

• Word

  • A verbal symbol, and it is a distinct meaningful element of a language.

• Syntax

  • Refers to the meaningful arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences or longer constructions in a language.

• Symbols

  • Words as symbols represent objects or concepts.

  • Are arbitrary by themselves, they do not have inherent meaning until we give meaning to them.

• Connotations

  • It is the result of people having different backgrounds and experience in understanding symbols differently.

Written Communication

• Sending and receiving messages through written symbols, such as language.

Oral Communication

• Includes Listening and speaking skills.

• This mode of communication may be done through face-to-face interaction with a person or a group, or through online.

Nonverbal Communication

• Sending and receiving messages without the use or words; instead using body language, facial expression, etc.

• Visuals or Sight

  • Eye movement, eye contact gestures and body movement, facial expression, posture, observance of time, artifacts, space.

• Auditory

  • Silence and paralanguage.

• Tactile or Haptic

  • Communication through touch.

• Olfactory

  • Communication through smell.

• Gustatory

  • Communication through taste

Audio Communication

• Uses sound to communicate or any form of transmission that is based on hearing.

Visual Communication

• Uses aids such as pictures, drawings, illustrations, and graphic organizers.

Five Macro Skills in Languages

Receptive Skills

• listening, reading, viewing

Productive Skills

• speaking, writing

Models of Communication

Linear Models

• One way (without expecting any feedback)

Interactive Models

• Response, slow, two-way communication

Transactional Models

• Immediate response

Aristotle’s Model of Communication

• Speaker is active (main)

• The widely accepted and the most common model of communication where the sender sends the information or a message to the receivers to influence them and make them respond and act accordingly.

Laswell’s Model

• The medium affects the receiver.

• The difference of this with Aristotle is that Lasswell has a medium.

• Analyzes communication in terms of five basic questions: "Who", "Says What", "In What Channel", "To Whom", and "With What Effect".

Shannon and Weaver

• Has noise sources that affects the communication.

• Puts premium on the encoding and decoding.

• Proposes that a message actually originates from the person who gets the thought or has the information. The sender is also called the Source of information or the Information Source.

Schramm Model

• The field of experience is new here.

• Discussing the same context.

• Also known as a circular model because it indicates that messages can go in two directions. Hence, once a person decodes a message, then they can encode it and send a message back to the sender. They could continue encoding and decoding into a continuous cycle.

David Berlo’s Model

• Source should be confident.

• Receiver must listen.

• Both parties should be in the same context.

• It believes that for effective communication to take place, the source and the receiver need to be on the same level. Only then communication will happen or take place properly. Hence, the source and the receiver should be similar.

Lesson 2: The Tenets of Communication

Purpose of Communication

• To express ideas, feelings, needs, and wants.

• To explain knowledge, opinions, beliefs, and other significant ideas.

• To relate with other people and form cordial relationships with them.

• To persuade others to believe your ideas, beliefs, and claims.

• To entertain others with your wit and humor.

• To appreciate present moment and experience.

Communication is dynamic

• All its elements interact and affect one another.

• Changes overtime.

• The present and past experiences of the communicators play a vital role in their interpretation and negotiation of meanings.

Communication is unrepeatable and irreversible

• Communication is never the same

• Every communication experience is unique even is people are saying the same thing

• Their complexity as human beings influences the dynamism of every communication encounter

• Communication is irreversible

Other Tenets of Communication

• Communication is contextualized.

  • Has a purpose.

• Communication is everywhere.

  • Use it freely.

• Communication is continuous

  • There is always communication it does not end.

• Communication is a transaction

  • Exchange between two parties.

• Communication is learned

  • Has the capacity to develop.

• Communication is a sharing of meanings

  • People can exchange and understand each other’s perspectives.

• Communication has two levels of meaning: content (subject of the information) and relational (state of emotions)

Lesson 3: Functions Of Communication

Informative Function

• We want to inform other people of what we know (facts, information, and knowledge).

• Most speaking activities are directed to get and give information, to develop or improve our knowledge and skills, imbibe good values.

Instructive Function

• It is to instruct people on what to do, when, and where to do them, and why and how to do them

Persuasive Function

• It is to influence the opinion of others to believe and accept your stand or claim on and issue or problem.

Motivation Function

• It is to entice and direct people to act and reach their objectives or goals in life.

• It uses positive language to make others realize that their actions lead to something beneficial.

Aesthetic Function

• It is for pleasure and enjoyment.

Therapeutic Function or Emotional Expression

• It is curative and serves to maintain good health.

Regulation or Control

• It is to maintain control over the people’s attitude and behavior.

Social Interaction

• It starts, maintains, regulates, or even ends relationships with other people.

Lesson 4: Types of Speech Context and Speech Style

Communication Styles

Communication style

• Defines as the set of speech characteristics of a person in the act of communication.

Style

• Specific ways of receiving the message, personal ways of interpreting the messages; specific ways of expressing the response, feedback.

The Four Different Communication Styles

Passive

• Usually fail to express their feelings or needs, allowing others to express themselves.

• They often display a lack of eye contact, poor body posture and an inability to say “no.” Passive communicators also act in a way that states “people never consider my feelings.”

Aggressive

• Emphasized by speaking in a loud and demanding voice, maintaining intense eye contact and dominating or controlling others by blaming, intimidating, criticizing, threatening or attacking them, among other traits.

• Aggressive communicators often issue commands, ask questions rudely and fail to listen to others, but they can also be considered leaders and command respect from those around them.

Passive-Aggressive

• mutter to themselves rather than confront a person or issue.

• They have difficulty acknowledging their anger, use facial expressions that don’t correlate with how they feel and even deny there is a problem.

Assertive

• Can express their own needs, desires, ideas and feelings, while also considering the needs of others.

• Assertive communicators aim for both sides to win in a situation, balancing one’s rights with the rights of others.

The Five Different Communicative/Speech Styles

Frozen

• Most formal communicative style

• Used generally in a very formal setting, does not require any feedback from the audience.

Intimate

• For very close relationships like couples, family, and best friends. It is also used for self-addressed questions or self-talk.

• Used in conversation between people who are very close and know each other quite well.

Formal

• Straightforward speeches. In this speech style, the speaker avoids using slang terminologies.

Casual

• Informal communication between groups and peers. It is used in conversation between friends

Consultative

• Used in semi-formal communication, sentences end to be shorter and spontaneous.

Types Of Speech Contexts

Speech

• It is essential to our being human.

• It affects who we are and how we develop as individuals, how we learn and communicate what we know, and how we interact with others.

Intrapersonal Communication

• It takes place within a single person

• It is used when we talk to ourselves.

• iIt is usually done silently in our head (internal discourse) so we can understand, clarify, or analyze a situation.

Interpersonal Communication

• It is what we normally think of as communication since it involves at least one other or some others.