What is Communication?

- Communication is a process of exchanging thoughts, ideas, concepts, feelings and emotions

through speech, signals, writing or behavior.
- From the Latin word “communicare” meaning to share, to unite, or to have thing in common.
- It is a two-way process:
o Speaker – the one who encodes the message.
o Listener – the one who decodes the message.
o Then using a medium/channel sends it to the receiver (decoder) who decodes the
message and after processing information sends back appropriate feedback/reply using
a medium or channel.
- Communication begins with listening (Mehrabian, 2006) and being a good listener will help one
grasp what audience wants to hear from the speaker.
- Miscommunication happens and often causes hurt feelings, incomplete tasks and relationship
frustration.

1. The participants – are the communicators who are both the sender and the receiver.
a. Sender – is the source who generates the message and conveys it to the receiver.
b. Receiver – receives the message and understands it in proper perspective and acts
according to the message, only then the purpose of communication is successful.
Factors that influence the participants complicate communication process. Some of these are:
a. Different beliefs, values, and personalities
b. Various barriers to communication. Examples include bad grammar and word choice,
and the nature of the relationship between the sender and receiver.
2. The Message – is the idea, information, view, fact, feeling, etc. that is generated by the sender
and is then intended to be communicated further. Purpose: to convey, to persuade, to motivate,
to stimulate, to entertain.
3. The Channel – is the medium through which communication is transmitted from one person to
the reliever. Most channels are either oral, or written. Common channels include the telephone
and variety of written forms such as memos, letters and reports.
4. The Receiver – is the person who is last in the chain and for whom the message was sent by the
sender. Once the receiver receives the message and understands it in proper perspective and
acts according to the message, only then the purpose of communication is successful.
5. The Decoding – is the process where the message is interpreted by the receiver. The receiver
begins to interpret the message through words, sign, symbols sent by the sender translating the
message to its set of experiences in order to make the message meaningful. Effective
communication takes place when the receiver correctly interprets the sender’s message.
6. Noise – means distractions that interfere with the accurate transmission and reception of a
message.
a. External Noise - sights, sounds and any other distractions in the environment
b. Internal Noise – distractions within the communicator such as psychological or biological
noise (daydreaming or worrying)
7. The Feedback – is an integral part of communication process that allows the speaker to monitor
the process and to evaluate the success of the message communicated. Once the receiver
confirms to the sender that he has received the message and understood it, the process of
communication is complete

Lexical communication – is the interaction of individuals using common words, terms known to both
participants.

Non-Lexical Communication – is an exchange of messages or information using a none-verbal language

(like facial expression, signs, symbols, pictures, diagram etc.) which conveys understanding to both
participants.
7 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION:

1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Intrapersonal Communication
3. Extended Communication
4. Organizational Communication
5. Small Group Communication
6. Public Communication
7. Intercultural Communication

1. Interpersonal Communication
- One-on-one communication happening in a formal set up.
- This kind of communication occurs mostly between two people, though it may include
more than two.
- Exchange of information between two or more people.
2. Intrapersonal Communication
- Occurs within us.
- It involves personal thoughts, feelings and the way one looks at herself/himself.
- Since it is centered in the self, one only sends or receives.
- The channel is the brain which processes what the thinking and feeling but there is also
feedback in the sense that personal idea might be discarded and be replaced with
others.
3. Extended Communication
- Involves the use of electronic media
- Unlike before, when it is only called the use of TV and radio, nowadays, the description
of extended communication may be expanded as to include television, audio or phone
conferencing; video conferencing; skype calls; and other technological means.
4. Organizational Communication
- With this type, the focus is on the role that communication plays in organizational
contexts.
- Organizations comprise individuals who work for the company.
5. Small Group Communication
- Occurs when few people meet.
- All members of this type take chance and turn conversing their ideas.
6. Public Communication
- The speaker sends the message through a speech to an audience then receives the
message back when the listeners ask questions.
- The information sent in public communication as well as the sending process is highly
structured.
- The voice is louder and the gestures are wider because of the audience size.
- There is also a need to use slides, flip charts, and other visual aids.
7. Intercultural Communication
- Communication between or among people having different linguistic, religious, ethnic,
social, and professional backgrounds.
- Even gender difference affects communication.
- Individuals having different orientations communicate and interpret messages
differently.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ACCORDING TO MODE:

1. Verbal Communication
 - It is the most engaged type of communication since it is used anywhere
- It is direct and can be formal or informal
- In this type of communication, the decoder (receiver) of the message can give back
immediately his/her reply to the encoder (sender) of the message.
2. Non-verbal Communication
- Aside from oral communication, people can communicate through the use of signs,
symbols, gestures, actions, or behavior shown to a person.
- This type is indirect
- The receiver takes time to send back the reply.
- Types of Non-verbal Communication:
1. Kinesics – deals with body movements, facial expressions and gestures (ex.:
foot tapping, arms crossing, bowing, etc.).
2. Proxemics – refers to the amount of distance and space used in a
communication situation.
3. Haptics – deals with communication through touch (ex.: shaking hand,
hugging).
4. Paralanguage – refers to the non-verbal cues of the voice such as volume,
pitch, intonation, and tone.
5. Chronemics – involves the role of time in communication (ex.: looking at the
watch).
6. Appearance – refers to the physical look that conveys a message. A speaker’s
clothing, shoes, hair color, make up, hairstyle, height, built and neatness
influence how one gains a positive or negative impression from others.
7. Visual – communication is the type of communication that uses visuals to
convey information and /or messages.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ACCORDING TO PURPOSE AND STYLE:

1. Formal Communication
- Employs formal language delivered orally or in written form.
- Lectures, public talks/speeches, researches and project proposal, reports, and business
letters, among others are all considered situations and writings.
- Note that while lectures and speeches are delivered orally, the texts have been through
out carefully and written well before they are delivered.
2. Informal Communication:
- Does not employ formal language
- It involves personal and ordinary conversations with friends, family members, or
acquaintances about anything under the sun.
- The mode may be oral, as in face-to-face, ordinary or everyday talks and phone calls, or
written as in the case of e-mail messages.
- The purpose is to simplify, to socialize, and enhance relationships.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:

 The term “communication principles” refers to a clearly defined procedure by which two of more
people exchange knowledge, opinions, and other types of information in a formal,
organizational, or commercial setting.
 Communication is perceived to be effective only if the receiver receives the message in the same
form and context as it is sent by the sender.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: THE 7Cs

 1. Clear – be clear about your message. Always be guided by your purpose in communicating.
2. Concise – always stick to the point and do not beat or run around the bush. Be brief by focusing
on your main point.
3. Concrete – support your claims with enough facts. Your readers will easily know if you are
bluffing or deceiving them because there is nothing to substantiate your claims.
4. Correct – it is important that you observe grammatical correctness in writing. Always have time
to revise and edit your work. Even simple spelling errors may easily distract your readers.
5. Coherent – your writing becomes coherent only when you convey a logical message. The ideas
should be connected to each other and related to the topic. Use transitional or cohesive devices
so that the ideas cohere with one another.
6. Complete – include all necessary and relevant information so that the audience will not be left
wanting of any information.
7. Courteous – the tone of your writing should be friendly. Avoid any overtone/undertone or
insinuation to eliminate confusion and misinterpretation.

Ethics in Communication:

 It refers to communicating in a manner that is clear, concise, truthful, and responsible.

 But in a profession that does not have an explicit set of guidelines, it can be challenging to
discern right from wrong.

Models in Communication:

A model is a selective representation in verbal or diagrammatic form of some aspect of dynamic

process of mass communication,” Dennis McQuail, 2021.

It is a visual representation of various aspects of communication situation.

1. Linear Models – only look at one-way communication. Under this category are:
a. Aristotle’s Model
b. Laswell’s Model
c. Shannon-Weaver’s Model
d. Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model
2. Interactive Models – two-way communication. The main elements of Interactive Models: (a)
Sender, (b) Message, (c) Receiver, (d) Feedback, (e) Field of Experience (represents a person’s
culture, past experiences, and personal history). These are the following:
a. The Osgood-Schramm Model
b. The Westley and Mclean Model
 3. Transactional Models – they look at two-way communication where the message gets more
complex as the communication event progresses. Their key components are: (a) Encoding, (b)
Decoding, (c) Communicators, (d) The message, (e) The channel, (f) Noise. These include:
a. Barnlund’s Transactional Model
b. Dance’s Helical Model

LINEAR MODELS:

a. Aristotle’s Model
- It is the oldest communication model dated back to 300 BC.
- This was designed for the benefit of the sender (source) to become a better and more
persuasive communicator.
- Examples: seminars, public speaking, lectures

-
 3 elements:
1. Ethos
 Credibility of the speaker who gains authority, and power by being an
expert in the field the person excelled in.
 Moral in nature, distinguishing character
 Examples: experts in their fields
2. Pathos
 Connects the speaker with the audience (receiver) through various
emotions (anger, sadness, happiness, etc.)
 It is the artistic representation evoking pity or compassion.
3. Logos
 An important element that signifies logic
 It is not enough for speech to be interesting; it needs to follow rules of
logic (reasoning).
 Statement that reflects reasoning.
 5 components:
1. Speaker
2. Speech
3. Occasion
4. Target Audience
5. Effect

b. Laswell’s Model
- It emphasizes on the effect as a result that brings change/s to the receiver.

-
 It answers 5 important questions:
1. Who created the message?
2. What did they say?
3. What channel did they use (TV, radio, blog)?
4. To who did they say it?
 5. What effect did it have on the receiver?
 Main components in Laswell:
1. Communicator
2. Message
3. Medium
4. Audience/Receiver
5. Effect

c. Shannon-Weaver Model
- The proponents were mathematicians who developed Bell Telephone Laboratories.
- They were into engineering research endeavors
- were the first to introduce the role of noise in the communication process. The noise
appears in the form of mishearing a conversation, misspelling an email, or static on a
radio broadcast.
- Their theory as they claim it was applicable to human communication
- More on technology

d. Berlo’s Model
- David Berlo’s Model conceptualized in 1960 is probably the most well-known among the
communication models.
- Initially, it was called S-M-C-R (Sender of the Message, sent through a Channel or
medium to a Receiver).
- The variables involved in the communication process are: source, message, channel,
and receiver.

INTERACTIVE MODELS:

a. The Osgood-Schramm Model

- It is a circular model of communication, in which messages go in two directions.
- This model is useful for describing interpersonal, synchronous communication, but less
suitable for cases with little or no feedback.
- “meant a clear break with the traditional linear/one-way picture of communication.”
 -
- There are four principles in this model:
1. Communication is circular— individuals involved in the communication process
are changing their roles as encoders and decoders.
2. Communication is equal and reciprocal— both parties are equally engaged as
encoders and decoders.
3. The message requires interpretation— the information needs to be properly
interpreted to be understood.
4. Communication involves encoding, decoding, and interpreting – there is no
difference between a sender and a receiver. Both parties are equally encoding
and decoding the messages.

b. The Westley and Mclean Model

- It is primarily used for explaining mass communication.
- It introduces environmental and cultural factors to the process of communication.
- Namely, according to this model, the communication process does not start with the
source/sender, but rather with environmental factors.
- also takes into account the object of the orientation (background, culture, and beliefs) of
the sender and the receiver of messages.

-
- This model consists of 9 crucial components:
1. Environment (X)
2. Sensory experience (X¹)
3. The object of the orientation of the source (X²)
4. The object of the orientation of the receiver (X³)
5. Source/Sender (A)
6. Receiver (B)
7. Gatekeepers (C)
8. Feedback (F)
9. Opinion leaders

TRANSACTIONAL MODELS:

a. Barnlund’s Transactional Model:

 - It explores interpersonal, immediate-feedback communication, and is a multi-layered
feedback system.
- That means that the sender and the receiver change their places and are equally
important.
- Feedback for the sender is the reply for the receiver, and both communicators provide
feedback.

-
- The main components of Barnlund’s Transactional Model are:
o Encoding
o Decoding
o Communicators
o The message (including the cues, environment, noise), and
o The channel
- This model accentuates the role of cues in impacting our messages:
 Public cues (environmental cues),
 Private cues (person’s personal thoughts and background), and
 Behavioral cues (person’s behavior, that can be verbal and nonverbal).

b. Dance’s Helical Model:

- communication is seen as a circular process that gets more and more complex as
communication progresses.
- That is why it is represented by a helical spiral.
- Like the spiral shown here, communication never loops back on itself
- With every cycle of communication, we expand our circle, and each communication
encounter is different from the previous one because communication never repeats
itself.