First Semester, A.Y.

2023-2024

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
MODULE 4
FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
(Prelim Period)
I. LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

a) identify the various communication modes and how they help in expressing one's
communicative intent;
b) show the importance of face-to-face, audio, virtual, text-based, and other forms of
communication particularly in targeting different types of audiences in local and global
settings; 3. distinguish the differences between and among the communication modes;
and
c) use these communication modes appropriately depending on the context of the
communication situation.

LESSON
COMMUNICATION MODES

Communication mode refers to the channel through which one expresses his/her communicative
intent. It is the medium through which one conveys his/her thoughts. Views or feelings can be
communicated through face-to-face interaction, video, or audio. The mode may also be text-
based.
The most common of all these modes is the face-to-face interaction. It is an informal or casual
conversation between two or more people. People engage in social conversations to establish
relationships or maintain them. It is one way of gaining new acquaintances or friends. How to
speak, what to speak, when to speak, and to whom one is speaking are all important
considerations in building relationships.
How then do you initiate conversations? Faced with a group of new people who you do not know
in a social gathering, you should be able to begin a conversation. You will be able to test the
saying: "First impressions last." In this case, depending on the kind of impression you leave to
your audience, you create either a positive or a negative image of yourself. One advantage of
face- to-face interaction is that aside from directly hearing the message being conveyed, you are
able to note visual cues through facial expressions, gestures, movements, or even objects or realia
from the person/s you are communicating with.
Dau Voire suggests: "Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters." This simply means
that even if the people surrounding you in a social event are strangers to you, you need to be
confident enough to meet new faces and initiate an interesting conversation. But what kind of
topics matter to strangers you are meeting for the first time? In a social gathering like a wedding,
for instance, you do not dwell on topics that are never-ending in nature. You do not discuss
politics and religion as these are sensitive issues that may impinge on one's beliefs and practices.
Instead, start a conversation focusing on what you experience at the moment-ambience or
atmosphere of the wedding reception, music, food, relationship to the bride or groom. These are
topics sufficient until the reception ends. Note that one topic may lead to another. You should be
able to hold a conversation at a social event without offending the other party. In other words,
topic initiation should be followed by topic maintenance, topic change or shift, and, finally, topic
closure.
Margaret J. Wheatley states: "All social change begins with a conversation." Indeed, this is so
especially if that one single and simple conversation blossoms into a deeper contact. Eventually,
you and your newfound friend may find yourselves enjoying each other's company, sharing the
same interests, and deciding to work on some significant projects. Later on, all of these will result
in changes that yield profound social consequences. As Diana Wheatley aptly puts it: "Meaning is
made in conversation, Reality is created in communication, And knowledge is generated through
social interaction... Language is the vehicle through which we create our understanding of the
world."
Another mode of communication is video. Web cameras are used so that two or more people who
cannot interact face-to-face can communicate. If there are no technical glitches encountered, this
could be a very effective mode of communication especially for people separated by distance. For
example, you may engage in a conversation via Skype with your loved ones especially during
significant, meaningful or memorable occasions. You are able to hear clearly the voice and see up
close the face of your beloved. Other electronic applications that allow video calls are Viber,
WhatsApp, Apple FaceTime, and Facebook Messenger, among others. In more formal settings,
people can also engage in video- conferencing. While this is a convenient communication mode
for people who want to reach out to each other despite distance, a disadvantage is the time zone
difference between countries. In this case, one of them should make the necessary adjustments to
pave the way for a successful communication.
The third mode of communication is audio. Audio means transmitted sound. Thus, in this mode
of communication, only the voice of the speaker is heard. Ordinarily, someone's voice is heard
through the telephone or an answering machine when the other party is not able to answer a call.
In Skype, when a person cannot be contacted or is not online, a voice message or voice mail can
be sent. An obvious downside of this mode is not being able to see the body language or cues of
the person you are talking to. The audio communication mode is quite difficult especially if you
are listening to people with different accents. For instance, in relation to the World Englishes
paradigm, other speakers of English apart from those who speak it as a native language may find
it peculiar listening to the accent of Filipinos. Some Filipinos are not able to distinguish the sound
of /I/ and /i/ in English words as in the examples sin and seen. Some are not able to produce the
sound of hard and soft /th/ and simply substitute /d/ as in the examples those and dos and thing
and ting. Some also interchange /v/ with /b/ and /f/ with /p/.
The fourth and last mode is text-based communication such as e-mail, facsimile, text
messaging, and instant messaging. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram likewise offer text-based interaction. While text-based communication mode does not
originally provide video and audio benefits, it has a wider reach and can disseminate information
to a bigger audience quickly. The last three modes are all virtual in nature. Those engaged in
communication are able to hear and/or see each other in real time simulating the actual physical
setting.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Check your understanding of the input by answering the following questions:

1. What are the different types of communication mode and how do they differ from each other?
2. What are the other forms or modes of communication that have not been discussed and which
have recently become part of virtual communication technology?
3. Explain Diana Wheatley's quote and give one illustration: "Meaning is made in conversation,
Reality is created in communication, And knowledge is generated through social interaction...
Language is the vehicle through which we create our understanding of the world."
4. As a speaker of English as a second language, what can you say about the difficulty of other
speakers in understanding the Philippine English variety that you use?
5. With the advent of computer-mediated communication or CMC, how can you be more
responsible with what you post in your own account as a way of conveying messages to the
audience?

TASK 4.1
Form yourselves into groups of three members.
Role-play of the following situations and show how you can initiate a conversation with a
stranger or strangers. Write your draft on the next page.
1. You are a new student in class. After dismissal time, you saw two of your female classmates
outside the school building talking to each other. You wanted to ask about the classes you missed
and how you could cope with the lessons. You approached them but they suddenly turned and
whispered to each other. How will you initiate a conversation with them without showing that
you are offended by their actions?
2. It was your first time to fly to a foreign country and the trip takes about eight hours. You
wanted to know how to get to your destination from the airport. You were fortunate to be seated
beside a foreign national. He is not so proficient in English and you have difficulty understanding
his accent. How will you start a conversation with him?
3. You are scheduled for a job interview. When you arrived at the place, there was a long queue of
applicants. You were the tenth to be interviewed and you wanted to have an idea about the
questions that were asked. To arrest your fear, you decided to talk with the other applicants before
you. How will you start the conversation?
SYNTHESIS
1. The various modes of communication are face-to-face, video, audio, and text-based.
2. The video is used to connect two or more people who cannot interact face-to-face. It is the
second most convenient communication mode next to face-to-face interaction.
3. Whereas the audio mode of communication is limited to hearing only the speaker's voice, most
types of the text- based communication are limited only to what is printed. However, the latter
has a wider reach and is able to disseminate information to a larger group of audience.

REFERENCE/S:
 Madrunio, Marilou R.,Martin, Isabel P., Purposive Communication, Using English in
Multilingual Contexts, C&E Publishing Inc. 2018

Prepared by:

NOEL C. LOCQUIAO
INSTRUCTOR