Instructional Module in Purposive Communication

MODULE 1: COMMUNICATION PROCESS, PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS

LESSON 2: NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

INSTRUCTOR: MS. ROWENALYN C. ANDRES

ALLOTTED TIME: 54 HOURS/ 3HRS A WEEK
PRE-REQUISITE: NONE

Overview
This module zeroes in on the communication situations you might see yourself in the future. It Also introduces you
to knowledge and skills which you can use in every communication situation you will engage in today and in the future.
OBJECTIVES
1. Differentiate verbal from non-verbal form of communication;
2. Explains why there is a breakdown of communication
3. Use various strategies in order to avoid communication breakdown; and
4. Demonstrates sensitivity to the socio-cultural dimension of communication.
PRETEST
Directions: Read the items/questions carefully then answer them briefly.
Have you ever refused or hesitated to mingle with another person or group? What reason(s) did you have? What would
cause you to behave or feel differently if you find yourself in the same situation in the future?
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LEARNING FOCUS
Different forms of Communication
A. LEXICAL COMPONENT
The lexical or verbal component of communication refers to the word or chain of words used to create meaning.
Common types of lexical components are words, parts of words, phrasal verbs, collocations, idioms, and sentences
frames.

a.) Words- These are the unique meaningful component of speech. It may be used alone or with others to form a
sentence.
Examples: Woman, animals, plants, flying, collect
b.) Parts of words-denote a single letter, a prefix, or a suffix added to words. The construction of new words from
existing words in English always includes a change in their spellings.
Prefixes and suffixes are short syllables added to the beginning or end of words to change their
meaning and/or function in a sentence.
 A prefix is a short morphological unit that is added to the beginning of a root word in order to alter
its meaning and/or function. It can be just a single letter or two to five letters.
 You need not make any changes to the spelling of the base word; you can just write the prefix
followed by the base word. For example, popular unpopular.
 In the case of prefixes such as ‘non’ and ‘ex’, you might have to add a hyphen in between the prefix
and the root word. For example, non-violence, ex-serviceman.
Examples:
- A (abiotic, atypical) - Il- (illogical, illegible)
- Un- (undo, unfold) - Ir- (irregular, irresponsible)
- Im- (impolite, immature) - De- (decode, destress)
- In- (intolerant, indiscipline) - Dis- (disinterested, disobedient)
 A suffix, on the other hand, is a short morphological unit that follows the root word. In other words, it is
added to the end of the root word. A suffix can contain two to four letters. It is defined as “a letter or
group of letters added to the end of a word to make another word.
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Examples:
- ty (loyalty, sincerity)
- ness (happiness, blindness)
- ry (bravery, mockery)
- er (larger, brighter)
- al (parental, bacterial)
- est (fastest, biggest)
- age (usage, breakage)
- ing (trying, binding)
- ful (truthful, fruitful)
- ment (shipment, basement)

c.) Phrasal verbs- These are one or more words that together act as a completely new verb with a meaning
separate from those of the original words. Phrasal verbs can be said to be formed by the combination of
a verb and an adverb or a preposition. In some cases, it is a combination of all the three parts of speech – verb,
adverb and preposition. Though each of these parts of speech have different functions, they play the role of the
verb when they are put together. They can also act as a phrase and that is why these verbs are called phrasal
verbs.
Preposition- A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase
to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Some examples
of prepositions are words like "in," "at," "on," "of," and "to."
Adverb- Adverbs provide context in a sentence by describing how, when, where, and to what extent
something occurs. Adverbs can be used to modify verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs.
Examples:
- Cut off: To stop or disconnect.
The power was cut off during the storm.
- Come across: To find by chance
I came across an old photo while cleaning out my closet.
- Get away: To escape or leave
They got away with the stolen money.
- Get back: To return
I need to get back to work after lunch.
- Get along: To have a good relationship
My parents and I get along well.
- Get up: To rise from bed
I always get up early on weekdays.
- Give up: To stop trying or quit.
He gave up smoking after 20 years.
- Go on: To continue
The movie goes on for two hours.
- Keep up: To maintain pace
She struggled to keep up with the other runners.
d.) Collocations- are pair or group of words that are habitually used together that they sound correct together.
Collocation is a predictable combination of words. Collocations can be made up of any kinds of words such as
verbs, nouns, adverbs and adjectives.
Examples:
- heavy rain but not strong rain because it does not sound right'
- do exercise but not make exercise.
- major problem but not big problem
- strong coffee that means a coffee with strong flavor or strong caffeine
- keep in mind but not remember something
e.) Idioms- are combination of words whose collective meaning is not predictable from those of the native meaning
is not predictable from those of the individual words. Meanings created are usually understood by native
speakers of the language. It is a type of informal language that have a meaning different from the meaning of
the words in the expression.

Examples:
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- Bite the bullet – Decide to do something unpleasant that you have avoiding doing.
Sentence: He knew he had to bite the bullet and have the difficult conversation with his manager
about his dissatisfaction with the job.
- Getting a taste of your own medicine – Being treated the same unpleasant way you have
treated others.
Sentence: After constantly interrupting others during conversations, Tom received a taste of his
own medicine when his colleagues began cutting him off during his own presentation
- The last straw – The final source of irritation for someone to finally lose patience.
Sentence: The continuous changes in the project scope without any notice were frustrating, but the
last straw was when the deadline was moved up with no warning.
- Break a leg – means ‘good luck’ (often said to actors before they go on stage).
Sentence: Break a leg Sam, I’m sure your performance will be great.
- kill two birds with one stone – to solve two problems at once.
Sentence: By taking my dad on holiday, I killed two birds with one stone. I got to go away but also
spend time with him.”
- Stealing someone’s thunder – Taking credit for someone else achievements.
Sentence: She felt frustrated when her colleague stole her thunder by posting the results of their
joint work on social media before she had a chance to announce it herself.
Forms of Verbal Communication
I. INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
This type of communication is limited to ourselves. It is a silent discussion we have with ourselves, in
which we manipulate roles between the sender and the receiver who are dealing out our opinions and
movements. This method of communication when considered, can also be relayed verbally to somebody or
remain as restrained thoughts.
Examples:
- Preparing ourselves before facing an audience
- Day dreaming
- Deciding on something
- Writing our thoughts
- Speaking loudly to remind ourselves of something, repeat what we just heard, or to console
ourselves.
II. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
This type of communication happens between two persons and is therefore a personal conversation.
Involved in the communication are two individuals that exchange roles as sender and receiver in order to
converse in a clearer way.
III. SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION
This type of communication can simply come about when there are more than two people involved.
The number of people in this communication process is small, sufficient to let each participant interrelate and
converse with the rest. Specific issues are discussed during small group discussions. Otherwise, the issues
will become disordered and hard to understand by everyone.
Examples:
a) Press conference
b) Board meeting
c) Class group reporting
IV. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
This type of communication occurs when one person talks to a bi assembly of people.
Examples:
a. Election campaigns
b. Public speeches
There are three reasons why a speaker would deliver a speech in public
1. To entertain- to have the audience appreciate the event.
2. To inform- to aid the audience to grasp and remember what you are presenting.
3. To persuade- to convince the audience to believe the things you are presenting.

V. MASS COMMUNICATION
It is called the “one is to many” type of communication. It uses the media as its medium to
communicate to a mass audience. Mediums for mass communication can be classified into two:
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VI. Old media like books, magazines, news paper and other forms of printed media
VII. New media such as radio, television, and film. This includes the use of computer and
technologies.

B. NON-LEXICAL/ NON-VERBAL COMPONENT OF COMMUNICATION

Lexical simply refers to the meaning of words, and encompasses the significance attached to individual
words in a language. However, it goes beyond mere dictionary definitions, instead including the nuances, connotations, and
contextual variations that enrich communication. It describes of conveying meaning in the form of non-word messages.
Examples of communication include haptic communication (communicating by touch), chronemic communication (how time
affects communication) body language, distance, and how one dresses.
A. BODY LANGUAGE- communication where ideas or messages are expressed using your body. It includes:
- Gestures – commonly hand and head movements that indicate a particular meaning or support a
particular idea so you can better persuade your audience.

- Facial expressions- The feeling or emotion that can be expressed trough facial expression such as:

Techniques in Managing Facial Expressions

a.) Intensify –used when you want to show strong emotions -showing exaggerated facial
muscles.
b.) De-Intensify –used when you want to control your feelings because someone might get
hurt or you don’t want people to notice how you really feel
c.) Neutralize –used when you don’t want to show any feelings while talking to somebody
Ex. An employee is being reprimanded because the project did not turn out well. This
employee might neutralize his expression by not showing any facial expression at all.
d.) Mask-used when we want to convince somebody to do something for us; or when we
wanted to ask favor from that person; or when we do not want to hurt the feelings of that
person.
- Eye to eye contact/eye stare- the eyes long have been recognized to communicate a great deal
with expressions, for instance, in common idiom, “the eyes are the windows of our soul”. Could you
just imagine how difficult it would to deal with someone wearing sunglasses? Eye contact
demonstrates engagement, commitment or connection with the speaker and complete absence of
eye-contact can submit dis interest, uneasiness or tension or that the person is hiding something. A
continuous or motionless eye gaze, however, can be discomforting so it should only be on the
relaxed level. Furthermore, it must be noted that the rules to what extent
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- Body Stance- it is on how you sit or stand in front of a person can relay information about your
personality traits.

B. PROXEMICS- In non-lexical component of communication, it refers to the nearness or closeness of a person

to his audience. It is how you, as a speaker, use space when communicating. Not everyone stands the same, so
take into consideration a few key differences to really nail down your understanding of proxemics:
Contact cultures such as Latin American and Middle Eastern may prefer to be closer than
noncontact ones like East Asian and American. Country farmers and others in rural areas might prefer
standing farther back. City dwellers stand closer due to having less space. Anthropologist Edward
Hall coined this word in the early 1960s and classified 4 major proxemic zones: the intimate space,
personal space, social space, and public space . (reference:
https://www.scienceofpeople.com/proxemics/)

1.) The first zone is the short space or the intimate Examples:
zone, which ranges from physical contact to 18
inches. This distance is commonly used between a. It’s used during intimacy
lovers and other people who are close, such as family b. It’s used during interrogations
members and close friends. c. It’s used in sports
d. overcrowding

2.) Personal space is usually The Shake and Wait Approach

between 1 and 4 feet. This is the Navarro’s “Shake and Wait” approach can help you determine
best distance to create rapport and the appropriate physical distance in a conversation in 4 steps:
build relationships.
1.Lean in.
What it Means: It shows 2.Give an appropriate handshake.
relationship status. People who 3.Make good eye contact.
4.Take a step back and wait.
have closer relationships will have a
smaller personal distance. More The waiting part is where the information comes out.
dissatisfied husbands have been Depending on what the other person does, you’ll know how
shown to choose greater they feel:
conversational distance when
speaking to their wives. – If they remain in place: they are comfortable with this
distance.
– If they take a step back or turn slightly away: they might need
more space or want to be elsewhere.
– If they take a step closer: they’re feeling comfortable or
favorable toward you.
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3.) Imagine you’re walking down the street and decide to ask someone
for the time. Under normal circumstances, how far apart do you stand?
For most people, social zone is the distance anywhere from 4 to 12
feet.
What it Means: Most strangers start off in this distance, and it’s often
used during formal business and social events. Many people who you
first meet might be in this distance.
How to Use it: This is a very neutral space and doesn’t really work well
in terms of -building relations. If you find yourself in the social zone, try
getting a little closer and gauging a person’s reaction. Are they
receptive and warm, or do they immediately close off?

4. This distance is 12 to 25 feet… or more! Public distance is commonly

seen between strangers at shopping malls, airports, wide public streets,
and large events.
According to National Geographic, people were nervous to get close and kept
their distance instead.
How to Use It: Keep this distance if you want to keep emotions at a
minimum… or if you want to avoid being friends at all!
What it Means: Most likely, 2 people keeping public distance indicates
complete strangers. There’s usually very little to no eye contact and
physical touch in this distance.

C. PARALANGUAGE- the non-lexical component of communication by speech, for example intonation, pitch and
speed of speaking, hesitation noises, gesture, and facial expression. It acts as a support to the verbal
message we speak, and conveys our emotions and intensions to the audience
Three Gropups opf Paralanguages:
a. Vocal Characterizers- . It consists of all the activities happening inside our oral cavity, from vocal
cords to our mouth, while we speak either conscious or unconsciously.
Examples: whispering, yelling, snoring, sneezing, groaning, sucking, laughing,
hiccups.
b. Vocal Qualifiers- This includes tone, tempo, rhythm, pitch, volume, intensity and extent
Examples: Speaking too fast, speaking in a sing-song beat, speaking in a loud
voice such as “get out!”
c. Vocal Segregates- It indicate formality, acceptance, assent, uncertainty.
Examples: This paralanguage includes the sounds like “uh-uh”,”mmm”, “shhhh” and even
silent pauses.
D. CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS- Culture can be defined as the beliefs, behaviors, norms,
values, attitudes, customs, rules, and language that people share in a particular area or group. Culture
influences how people collaborate within a team and their performance. When people with different cultural
backgrounds work together, misunderstandings can arise. When a person understands and appreciates other
people's culture, they are more likely to have successful interpersonal communication. Interpersonal
communication occurs when at least two people share ideas and information, mainly in face-to-face
communication. Culture can affect how people communicate in different ways. For example, it may affect
communication styles in aspects such as phrases, words, gestures, and languages used. Culture can also
affect how people deliver information and their attitudes towards conflict.

Factors of environmental context include location, time, weather, and temperature. These factors can produce
barriers, or things that inhibit effective communication, and thus, the environmental context is an important
aspect to consider when delivering a message.

Lesson 3: Types of Communication Breakdown

Instructional Module in Purposive Communication
A communication breakdown is when there is a failure or interruption in the process of exchanging
information or ideas between two or more people. It can happen for a variety of reasons, such as misinterpretation,
miscommunication, or even lack of communication. Communication breakdowns can result in misunderstandings,
confusion, and even conflict, which can all have negative consequences for individuals and organizations alike.
Communication breakdowns can occur in any type of communication, including verbal, written, and
nonverbal. For example, a verbal communication breakdown might occur when someone mishears or misinterprets what
another person has said. A written communication breakdown, meanwhile, might occur when someone misreads or
misunderstands an email or text message. A nonverbal communication breakdown in the workplace might occur when
someone misinterprets a gesture or facial expression.
Communication breakdowns can also occur due to cultural or language differences. For example, a person
from one culture may interpret a certain gesture or tone of voice differently than someone from another culture, leading to a
breakdown in communication at work.
Preventing communication breakdowns is essential to maintaining effective organizational
communication and avoiding misunderstandings and conflicts in the workplace. By understanding the causes and effects of
communication breakdowns, individuals and organizations can take proactive steps to improve communication and prevent
breakdowns from occurring.
A. SEMANTIC BARRIER- refers to the misunderstanding between sender and receiver due to the different
meanings of words and symbols used in communication. These barriers can arise from differences in
language, terminology, or the context in which words are used, leading to misunderstandings and
miscommunication. Semantic barriers arise when information is not in simple language and contain words or
symbols that have multiple meanings.

Examples of Semantic Barriers

- Use Of Idioms- For instance, if you ask someone, “Can you give me a hand?” or if you say, “I can’t
get a hold of John,” the figurative meaning differs from the literal meaning.
- Use of Jargons- These are special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or
group and are difficult for others to understand.
Example
 arrest means to take a person into custody, by authority of law, for the purpose of
charging him/her with a criminal offense.
 bail, which is money or a bond posted to ensure a criminal defendant appears for court
hearings
 beat, which refers to a geographic patrol area assigned to officers
 PAX-Short for ‘Passenger’ – because no one’s got time for three syllables!
 A ‘PNR’, or Passenger Name Record, is basically a term meaning ‘reservation’.
Airlines will often ask agents for a ‘PNR locator’, also known as their reservation,
booking or confirmation number.
 Garnish- decorate or embellish food
 Sauté- fried quickly in a little hot fat.

- Misunderstood Words - For instance, homonyms are words that sound the same but have different
meanings and are spelled differently. For example, the words ‘write’ and ‘right’. They sound the same
but mean different things. The bark (the sound of a dog) and bark (the skin of a tree) or the park (a
large green area usually uses for recreation) and park (an area devoted to a specified purpose).
- Non-native Speakers- People often cross international borders on account of work nowadays. Many
people have a limited vocabulary when they’re speaking in a language that is not their native tongue.
This can create a barrier to communication.
- Missed Or Misinterpreted Jokes- Sometimes jokes don’t come across as they should. This could
happen because people misunderstand the meaning of certain words and phrases or if they’re just
not funny. They might even be inappropriate or offensive. Jokes rarely travel well across cultures, as
they depend on a shared understanding of language and usually contain specific cultural touch
points. Using humor, while effective and enjoyable, is thus not always advisable in the workplace.
- Poor vocabulary- There is a close relationship between vocabulary and comprehension; hence,
individuals with poor vocabulary have difficulty understanding written text. Psychological factors,
what environment you grew up in, reading habits, lack of engagement with what vocabulary you
learn, and limited social interactions are some factors affecting your vocabulary learning
- Poor Grammar and Punctuation- Probably the biggest and most glaring example of bad grammar
is when the subject of a sentence and the verb don't agree in number. What this means is that you
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need to have a plural noun and a plural verb. Or a singular noun and a singular verb. Example: The
boy runs, and the girls jump.
- Lack of Common Knowledge- refers to the absence of information or understanding about a
particular subject or situation, leading to a limited awareness of available options and potential
outcomes.

B. PHYSICAL BARRIERS- A physical barrier can be natural or human-made and is easy to spot. Noise, bad
architecture and closed doors are all physical barriers to listening. Even a network disturbance due to a
thunderstorm can be considered as one of the examples of physical barrier.
Time, pertains to the frequency of communication encounters that can influence the human
relationships and intensity according to the amount of time that passes while communicating. Failure to
communicate for a long time can create a communication gap. If the receiver and sender are not available at
the same time, it can be classified as barrier. Communication will not be possible if only one of the
communicators is present at a certain time.
Distance between the sender and the receiver can create a barrier in communication. Exchange of
information will not be possible if the technical devices of communication are not available. Distance can be
adjusted or eliminated to acquire and efficient communication.

C. SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
- Attitude and Values affect the communication process when the message is not understood by the
receiver as must have been understood. Attitude is the established way in which we think and feel
about things and ideas which also creates a psychological communication barrier.
- Different perception of reality is a lens or mindset from which we view people, events, and things.
In other words, we believe what we perceive to be accurate, and we create our own realities based
on those perceptions. And although our perceptions feel very real, that doesn't mean they are
factual.”
- Close-mindedness- not willing to consider ideas and opinions that are new or different to your own.
A person who considers him/herself a know-it-all about a particular subject may close his mind to
communicate to others. The unwillingness of a person to listen to another person’s thoughts leads
top communication breakdown.
- Bad listening- Poor listeners are easily distracted and may even create disturbances that interfere
with their own listening efficiency and that of others. Listening without proper attention can cause
misunderstanding and conflicts. Before understanding the complete message some listeners
mentally argue with the speakers. Failing to express their thoughts can lead to impatience and lack of
interest, thus creating a barrier to communication
- Emotions-as a good communicator we must learn how to control our emotions. An emotionally
exited individual can have problems constructing a message. It can consist of repetition of words and
blurred thoughts. Negative emotions can make an individual blind or deaf for a reason.
- Resistance of change- message that propose a new idea is usually rejected consciously especially
if they involved conflict between beliefs, morals, values, attitudes and opinions. AN individual can feel
insecure and uncertain when it comes to new ideas as an average adult mind tends to ignore it.
- Mental state refers to the various internal states people experience that inhibit communication.
Situations such as inattentiveness, lack of sleep, intoxication, stress, mental illnesses and many
other factors may interfere with a good flow of communication.
- Distorting, filtering and Editing is when the message transmitted through translations,
interpretations, explanations and simplifications can be altered. The process that the message went
through can be decrease its accuracy.
D. PHYSIOLOGICAL BARRIER- to communication are related with the limitations of the human body and the human
mind (memory, attention, and perception). Physiological barriers may result from individuals' personal discomfort,
caused by ill-health, poor eye sight, or hearing difficulties

Be guided by the following to achieve ethical communication:

Instructional Module in Purposive Communication
1. Establish an effective value system that will pave the way for the development of your integrity as a person. One’s
behavior and decision- making style affect the intern in the operations of an organization.

2. Provide complete and accurate information. Whether it is needed or not the data should always be contextualized
correctly.

3. Disclose vital information adequately and appropriately. Never conceal or hide information that is necessary for
purposes of transparency.