Communication is the process of sharing information from one person to another (Cambridge

Dictionary, n.d.) and/or the transactional use of symbols, influenced, guided, and understood in
the context of relationships (Duck & McMahan, 2018).

Key Characteristics of Communication

… has SYMBOLS:

A symbol is an arbitrary representation of something else. This may be an object, an idea, a

place, a person, or a relationship—to name only a few.

example: a teacher wearing unprofessional or inappropriate clothing; they don’t exactly

represent anything but they are chosen to be worn by the teacher which gives it meaning or
symbol.

…is CULTURAL:

Ultimately, culture influences communication, and communication creates and reinforces these
cultural influences. Asking questions such as “How do you approach someone?”, “How do you
refer to one another in?” in a conversation are part of the cultural expectations.

example: some cultures are accustomed to greeting someone through a handshake or a kiss on
the cheek even in meeting strangers; in the Philippines, we greet people through waving or
hand gestures and only kiss someone on the cheek(beso) if we have an intimate relationship
with that person.

…is RELATIONAL:

Frames are basic forms of knowledge that provide a definition of a scenario, either because
both people agree on the nature of the situation or because the cultural assumptions built into
the interaction and the previous relational context of talk give them a clue.

example: think of a picture frame and how it lets us know that we should be looking at the
picture inside of it, not the walls, not the lights, just the picture. because of that one single
element, we are pulled into looking at the photo. similar to how communication creates a
boundary or frame so that we are pulled directly into listening and understanding the message
being sent.

is both PRESENTATIONAL & REPRESENTATIONAL:

Watzlawick et al. (1967), as cited by Duck & McMahan (2018), suggested that whenever you
communicate with someone, you relate to him or her at the same time. All communication
contains both a content (message) level and a relational level, which means that every message
indicates how the sender of a message and the receiver of that message are socially and
personally related.
example: having a conversation is never neutral, this means that both or multiple sides of the
conversation see things differently. although, some may agree with your argument, others will
beg to differ. conveying facts and information to the other is what makes it representational and
everyone’s perspective of that shared knowledge is what makes it presentational.

…is TRANSACTIONAL:

Communication is more than the mere exchange of symbols. The speakers get more out of it,
and extra meanings are communicated above and beyond the content of the messages
exchanged.

example: communicating with another individual often leads to building trust or power or etc.
that is why it seen as transactional because it goes beyond the symbols or message being sent.
this is where we can say that communication creates relationships, cultures, genders,
ethnicities, sexualities, and even realities.

The Process of Communication (Smith, 2019)

● Step 1: Idea Formation - The speaker generates an idea.

● Step 2: Message Encoding - The speaker encodes an idea or converts the idea into
words or actions.
● Step 3: Message Transmission - The speaker transmits or sends out a message.
● Step 4: Decoding - The receiver gets the message and decodes or interprets the
message based on the context.
● Step 5: Feedback - The receiver sends or provides feedback.

Communication Models:

Diagrams or illustrations of the communication process made by multiple people throughout the
years to explain the beginning and end of a conversation. These models are placed in three
categories: Linear, Interactive, Transactional.

Linear - these models show that communication or a conversation can be considered as such
even if it takes place in only one direction

1. Aristotle’s Model: Focuses on being a better and more persuasive communicator and is
best used to practice public speaking or any similar circumstances with the help of ethos,
pathos, logos.

1. Shannon-Weaver Model: Aimed to discover the best channels for communication

hence the model having 5 different stages with the addition of noise in the channel.
 1. Berlo’s S-M-C-R model:

Interactive - Communication viewed as a two-way path with the addition of feedback from the
receiver. There’s no starting point/speaker.

1. Osgood-Schramm Model:

Transactional - characterized as dynamic model/s because of its mix of both linear and
interactive models forming a more accurate illustration of the communication process.

1. Transactional Model: There are no rules such as who which part of the diagram can
begin the conversation with the addition of interference or “noise” put in at any part of the
conversation compared to the Shannon-Weaver model which only had it in the channel.
This creates a free and better way to display communication as it would be understood
today.

Nature and Process of Communication

PARTICIPANTS

These are the people involved in a verbal or non-verbal exchange. Each communicator
simultaneously sends and receives messages.

For example, during a lecture, a professor sends both non-verbal (smiles, hand gestures, eye
contact) and verbal messages (lecture material). At the same time, each student sends
messages to the professor by maintaining eye contact, writing notes, nodding, reciting, and
even smiling.
MESSAGE

This is the information conveyed from one participant to another, which is done either through
verbal or non-verbal delivery.

MEANING

Meanings include the thoughts in your mind and your interpretations of another person’s
message. Meanings are not ‘transferred' from one person to another, but are created together in
an exchange. Some settings enable participants to verify shared meanings, while it could be
more difficult in other settings.

SYMBOLS

Verbal Symbols - words, sounds

Non-verbal Symbols & Visual Images - facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, tone of voice

ENCODING AND DECODING

Encoding is the process of putting our thoughts and feelings into words. This is when the
communicator reviews all of the available symbols or actions that could represent his or her
thought and selects the most appropriate ones.

Decoding, on the other hand, is the process of interpreting another’s message. It means
processing the received symbols or actions, applying meaning to them, and making them into a
usable thought for an appropriate response.

CHANNEL

This is the medium used to communicate a thought of one person to another person. Channels
may be a mobile phone, computer, newspaper, radio, television, books, social media, and
face-to-face interaction.

CIRCUMSTANCES OR CONTEXT

● Physical Context
● Social Context
● Historical Context
● Psychological Context
● Cultural Context

NOISE

Also called as "interference," noise is any stimulus that interrupts participants from encoding,
sending, receiving, and/or decoding a message properly. The three types of noise are physical
(external), personal (thoughts in mind), and semantic (language barrier).
FEEDBACK

This is the reaction or response of one communicator to the message received from the other
communicator.

Functions of Communication

In discussing the functions of communication, we deal with how humans use language for
different purposes and how we use language for a particular purpose.

1. Information Dissemination

○ The function of which is to provide information that is sifted through multiple

articles, data, etc. as to collect accurate information.
○ ex.
2. Regulation or control

○ The function of which is to limit or authorize any human activity and behavior.
○ ex.
3. Motivation

○ The function of which is to encourage people to do and live better.

○ ex.
4. Emotional Expression

○ The function of which is to express people’s feelings and emotions.

○ ex.
5. Social Interaction

○ The function of which is to create a bond and start human relations as one
individual interacts with another.
○ ex.

Intercultural Communication

Preventing and Repairing Communication Breakdown

The communication breakdown occurs when the message is not transmitted exactly as the
sender wants to.

1. Sender’s Level

○ when the sender is the cause of the breakdown because they fail to explain or
bridge the message probably which may be caused by factors such as lack of
confidence or unclarity of speaking.
2. Receiver’s Level

○ the receiver’s incapability to understand the message because of distractions.

3. Transmission Level

○ the channel used to communicate with and through is the issue. neither the
receiver or the sender is at fault.
4. Feedback and Reaction Level

○ not having the same thought process which causes the feedback or reaction to
be at fault.

1. Intrapersonal

○ centers on one person

○ connecting with yourself
○ you’re both the sender and receiver
○ the channel is your brain
2. Interpersonal

○ accommodating or connecting with other people

○ exchanging
3. Public

○ delivering or sending a message to a group of people

4. Mass Communication

○ delivering a message through different forms of media