MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION: MAKING CONNECTIONS

At the end of this chapter, students will:

A. Understand how communication helps to make connections in life;
B. Learn the essential components in the communication process; and
C. Know the different principles of communication.

Communication is the vehicle used to

express or thoughts, ideas, and attitudes. It is
essential in all aspects of our everyday lives.
Effective communication enhances our
personal, social and career relationships and
allows us to make connections with people from
all walks of life and from other cultures.
Communication helps us to make
connections with each other and with the world.
We communicate with many people in a variety of situations, daily. We listen to professors, employers,
classmates, family members, friends, and many others each hour. Whatever our cultural background,
learning style, or geographical location, we find that our communication proficiency can mean greater
academic success, better relationships, a better job, and greater satisfaction in our life.

Communication in Everyday Activities

Every day, you take on numerous roles and each role
requires you to connect with different people differently. Your
attitude, choice of words, tone of the voice, facial expressions
vary depending upon who the person you are talking with.

What is Communication?
We define communication as the simultaneous sharing
and creating of meaning through human symbolic interaction.
According to this definition, speech communication involves a
range of behaviors and occurs in a variety of situation: private and public, business and social, home

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and school, formal and informal. All of these are connected by people using symbolic system called
language. Success in the classroom, in the workplace and in the personal life is determined by the
ability to communicate.
There are three theories as to the fundamental objectives of spoken communication which
have been widely held and strongly supported. These are the need for expression, for communication
and for social control.

The stresses
The first view first view
thatstresses that speech
speech is primarily is primarily
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We workings
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egotistical, emotional and creative.
of self-expression may be egotistical, emotional and
creative. The first view stresses that speech is
primarily the means of manifesting outwardly the inner
The second view is that we speak to communicate. Human beings are by
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social beings. mid.talk
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want to belong; they want to be
Three levels of
part of the community. self-expression may be egotistical,
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The third view is social control. Human beings speak to control human behavior. It
cannot be denied that the strong dominate the weak.

Competent Communication affects all Aspects of Life

Although we have communicated for many years, we probably
have not had the opportunity to learn about communicative
competence. The ability to communicate might seem natural
because unless there are disabilities, most of us readily develop
speaking skills. But the ability to communicate (not simply to utter
sounds) is learned, and learning to be competent communicator
is a difficult lifelong project.

Communication and Career Development

Most of us aspire to succeed in our chosen
careers. We enter college to better ourselves and to
prepare for satisfying jobs. Communication plays an
important role in career success. Leaders in education,
business, and industry have identified several critical life
skills that are necessary to function successfully in the
workplace, and communication is one of the most
valued areas of expertise.

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TOP TEN
QUALITIES
AND
SKILLS
THAT
EMPLOYERS
SEEK

Principles of Communication

To appreciate the nature of communication, it is important to understand the four fundamental

principles:

1. Communication 2. Communication is
is a Process a system

3. Communication is 4. Communication can be

both Interactional and intentional or unintentional
Transactional

Essential Components of Communication

There are eight (8) components of communication:

1. Source/Speaker
2. Message
3. Interference/Noise
4. Channel

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5. Receiver
6. Feedback
7. Environment
8. Context

Source/Speaker
The source is the creator of the message. He/She wants to communicate his/her idea
and determines the meaning of what is to be communicated, encodes the meaning into
message, making sure he/she chooses the appropriate language that the listener
understand, send the messages and perceives and reacts to a listener’s response to
message.

Message
A message is the stimulus produce by the source. Messages are comprised of words,
grammar, organization of thoughts, physical appearance, body movement, voice,
personality, self-concept and personal style.

Interference /Noise
Anything that changes the meaning of an intended message is called
interference. There are three types of noise which hinder the smooth flow of
communication.
1. Semantic Interference. This pertains to the specialized words by the
speaker.
2. Physical and External Interference. This pertains to the external
disturbances such as blaring radio, shouting of people around, slamming of the door, someone
talking loudly on the cellphone, children playing and other disturbing noises.
3. Psychological Interference. This refers to the physical condition of the person which interferes in
the smooth flow of communication such as illness, fatigue, slight deafness or even hunger.

Essentially, interference is anything that reduces or distorts the clarity, accuracy, meaning and
understanding or retention of a message.

Channel
A channel is the route by which the message flows between sources and receivers.
The usual communication channel are light waves and sound waves, which allows
us to see and her one another.

Receiver
A receiver analyzes, and interprets messages, in effect translating them into
meaning. This process is called decoding. You are simultaneously a receiver and a
source.

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Feedback
Another component in the communication process is feedback, the response
to a message that a receive sends back to source. Feedback enables a sender
to determine whether the communication has been received and understood as
intended.

Environment
The environment, or atmosphere, refers to the psychological and physical
surroundings in which communication occurs. The environment encompasses
the attitudes, feelings, perceptions, and relationships of communicators as well
as the characteristics of the location in which communication takes place.

Context
The broad circumstances or situation in which communication occurs is called
context. It takes place in informal and formal setting such as between friends,
among colleagues, between a lawyer and a client, among students and class
adviser.

 Sebastian, E. L. (2019). Purposive Communication (0th ed.). Mind shapers Co., Inc.