and nature of the message to be sent.

The sender puts

Purposive Communication the message into a series of symbols, pictures or
113 words which will be communicated to the intended
receiver. Encoding is an important step in the
communication process as wrong and inappropriate
LESSON 1. INTRODUCTION encoding may defeat the true intent of the
communication process.
TO COMMUNICATION
Channel
Communication (from Latin communicare, meaning Channel(s) refers to the way or mode the message
"to share") is the act of conveying meanings from one flows or is transmitted through. The message is
entity or group to another through the use of mutually transmitted over a channel that links the sender with
understood signs, symbols, and semiotic rules. the receiver. The message may be oral or written and
it may be transmitted through a memorandum, a
Communication is both an art and a science. It often computer, telephone, cell phone, apps or televisions.
involves acts of speaking and listening, reading and
writing, but it also goes beyond these and Receiver
incorporates the transmission of non-verbal language, Receiver is the person or group who the message is
sign language, codes transmitted electronically (e.g., meant for. He may be a listener, a reader or a viewer.
Morse code), and physically (touch; hormones; Any negligence on the part of the receiver may make
muscles, tendons, nerves), and messages the communication ineffective. The receiver needs to
communicated through music, and by other means. comprehend the message sent in the best possible
manner such that the true intent of the
THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS IN THE communication is attained. The extent to which the
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION receiver decodes the message depends on his/her
knowledge of the subject matter of the message,
Sender experience, trust and relationship with the sender.
The very foundation of communication process is The receiver is as significant a factor in
laid by the person who transmits or sends the communication process as the sender is. It is the other
message. He is the sender of the message which may end of the process. The receiver should be in fit
be a thought, idea, a picture, symbol, report or an condition to receive the message, that is, he/she
order and postures and gestures, even a momentary should have channel of communication active and
smile. The sender is therefore the initiator of the should not be preoccupied with other thoughts that
message that need to be transmitted. After having might cause him/her to pay insufficient attention to
generated the idea, information etc. the sender the message.
encodes it in such a manner that can be
well-understood by the receiver. Decoding
Decoding refers to interpreting or converting the sent
Message message into intelligible language. It simply means
Message is referred to as the information conveyed comprehending the message. The receiver after
by words as in speech and write-ups, signs, pictures receiving the message interprets it and tries to
or symbols depending upon the situation and the understand it in the best possible manner.
nature and importance of information desired to be
sent. Message is the heart of communication. It is the Feedback
content the sender wants to covey to the receiver. It Feedback is the ultimate aspect of the communication
can be verbal both written and spoken; or non-verbal process. It refers to the response of the receiver as to
i.e. pictorial or symbolic, etc. the message sent to him/her by the sender. Feedback
is necessary to ensure that the message has been
Encoding effectively encoded, sent, decoded and
Encoding is putting the targeted message into comprehended.
appropriate medium which may be verbal or It is the final step of the communication process and
non-verbal depending upon the situation, time, space establishes that the receiver has received the message
in its letter and spirit. In other words, the receiver has words and the resulting actions. As a set of
correctly interpreted the message as it was intended principles, ethical communication understands that
by the sender. It is instrumental to make one’s thoughts must be conveyed and expressed
communication effective and purposeful. effectively and concisely, and that the resulting
actions or consequences will [potentially] be based
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION solely on how the message was communicated. Thus,
ethical communication defines a framework or set of
Informative Function acceptable communication principles that align with
an enterprise’s overarching code of conduct or code
Communication primarily serves to share of ethics.
information and facts. This function ensures that
people stay informed about the world, their
surroundings and specific topics of interest.

Expressive Function

Communication allows individuals to express their

FUNDAMENTALS OF ETHICAL
thoughts, feelings, emotions, and opinions. Through
verbal and non-verbal channels, people convey their COMMUNICATION
various emotional states, helping them connect with
others. Perhaps the main principle of ethical
communication is honesty, as other factors stem from
Directive Function this core value of presenting information in the most
reliable and factual way possible. Any attempt to
In this function, communication is used to provide, mislead or present confusing information is not
guidance, instructions, or request. It plays a directive ethical communication. Additionally, the “honesty”
role in guiding actions, behavior and principle of ethical communication is linked
decision-making. inexorably to other core principles - consistency and
responsibility. This entails that information presented
Social Function to different parties be consistent, and that short-term
and long long-term consequences of honest
In this function, communication is vital for building communication are to be accepted as one’s
and maintaining social relationships. It enables responsibility.
people to connect, bond, establish rapport with
others. Ethical communication also assumes that
communicated information is always presented (and
Persuasive Function
received by the listener) according to one’s subjective
perception, even if only in the most minimal way, and
In this function, communication is often
employed to persuade or influence others. Persuasion thus the goal of ethical communication is to be as
can take various forms, such as convincing someone objective as possible when communicating with
to adopt a particular viewpoint, make decision, or others and to ensure that every recipient receives the
take specific course or action. same message.

Ethical Communication 1. Truthfulness

Ethical communication involves telling the truth and

Ethical Communication is a type of communication avoiding deception. It means providing accurate and
that is predicated upon certain business values, such reliable information to the best of your knowledge.
as being truthful, concise, and responsible with one’s
2. Transparency
✔ Language Fluency
Being transparent in communication means sharing
information openly, especially when it affects others.
Ethical communication takes into account the
Thus, being 100 percent open and transparent, and
level of fluency as well as the language spoken by
hiding nothing, is key in order for all business
relationships - whether within a business between its listeners so that recipients of the communication
members, or with business and their partners, or even (whether it be spoken or written) are able to fully
customers - to succeed in the short term and long understand what is being communicated
term.
PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL
3. Respect COMMUNICATION
There are a myriad of core principles
Ethical communication requires treating others with associated with ethical communication, starting with
respect and dignity. This includes being mindful of the core value of honesty that all other values are
cultural differences,avoiding discriminatory connected to. However, it can be said that there is a
language, and being courteous and considerate in value underlying honesty and that is emotional
interactions. intelligence/empathy as the precursor of all soft
skills, which allows all personnel to be understood,
4. Consideration for any Potential and to effectively communicate with others.
Roadblocks Emotional intelligence, within the framework of
ethical communication, allows one to understand the
When communicating with another party, truly needs of others, and meet those needs in the most
ethical communication entails considering any efficient manner possible as if you were in their
potential factor that may influence how the recipient shoes.
understands - or receives - the information that is
being communicated. 1. Be Truthful and Honest
Being honest means communicating what is
known to be true (only 100 percent the facts) to a
✔ Language Use listener, with no intent to deceive or present only
parts of the truth. It also means being as objective as
Obviously, ethical communication dictates that possible, that is, not tailoring the story based on what
speakers utilize the language that listeners the speaker wants the listener to believe. Letting the
understand. It would make little sense to present a listener take the data that is objectively presented and
business presentation in English to a non-English believe what they choose to believe is a core goal of
speaking Chinese audience. Taking this example ethical communication. Ethical communication
further, it would also be unethical to communicate the should be based on accurate information and facts -
information mostly in Chinese, with a certain section in a word, do not lie.
in English, presenting only parts of the data to the
Chinese audience. 2. Active Listening
Hearing someone and listening to them are
two different things. In order for ethical
✔ Jargon communication to be effective, it is necessary for the
recipient to pro-actively listen to the speaker, and to
Every industry has its own jargon. When not just hear what they want to hear, or to hear only
speaking to a layperson, it is ethical to speak with parts of the conversation. This also means asking
simple, easy-to-understand words, while avoiding the questions when any point is not completely
use of heavy jargon, resulting in portions of the understood, for the sake of clarification.
presentation/communication being incomprehensible
to a portion of the audience.
3. Speak Non-Judgmentally 7. Avoid a Negative Tone
Ethically and concisely communicating means Ethically communicating assumes the speaker
speaking in a non-judgmental manner with every will avoid rudeness, be polite and professional, and
recipient, negating unnecessary conflict, which have tact. The ethical communicator knows that it’s
typically creates a breakdown in communication and not only important what you say, but how you say it.
causes misunderstandings. Unnecessary conflict is Tone is one of the most critical facets of
never good for any business, and such conflicts communication. A listener may miss the meaning
usually result from unethical communications, with altogether if the tone is wrong, which can lead to
judgmental, accusatory, and overly-critical comments unnecessary confrontations that decrease business
often being the catalyst for such breakdowns in productivity.
communication. Controlling one’s tone goes along with
self-control, a soft skill that allows one to know how
4. Speak from Your Own Experience they wish to reply to a terse business message (for
Bringing your personal experience into a instance) versus the most effective manner for
dialogue with business listeners is important, replying. Essentially, keeping the tone positive or
providing backup for your arguments with something neutral is best, as the tone of a written message - or of
more tangible. Such a communication method one’s voice - is always picked up by the receiver, and
(experiential communication) paints a complete can alter how the message is received and/or
picture for your audience and helps to prove your understood.
points so that the listeners have a better Additionally, while it is acceptable to be
understanding of what is being said. honest and open, tact - and professional maturity -
means knowing when it is inappropriate to speak up,
5. Consider the Receiver’s Preferred and when it is crucial to. Tact also means knowing
Communication Channel that being completely honest does not equate with
You risk losing an audience if you use a being rude or negative - it is possible to be
communication channel that is not preferred by your completely honest and open with one’s thoughts and
intended receiver. To effectively communicate with feelings while still remaining polite and respectful.
your listeners, use the most preferred communication
channel, whether that be face-to-face, email, 8. Do Not Interrupt Others
conference call, phone call, messenger app, etc. Also, Allowing others to speak is important for the
when presenting data to a business audience, be creation of a civil, effective working environment.
aware of the preferred method of presentation for that Interrupting others results in misunderstandings and
business, whether it be graphs, slides, PowerPoint unnecessary conflicts and a breakdown in workplace
presentations, etc. Additionally, since body language communications, which only hinders corporate
progress and creates problems. Interrupting others not
is very important, it is often preferred to meet
only shows a lack of respect, but does not allow the
business clients face-to-face.
listener to fully grasp what is being said, which often
6. Strive to Understand results in incorrect assumptions being made.
While it is important to be proactive in
listening, it is important for listeners to also strive to 9. Respect Privacy and Confidentiality
fully understand what is being said before Most businesses should include a clause in
responding. While asking for clarification or their code of ethics defining what is appropriate when
confirmation of a point is fine, many times questions it comes to honouring client and employee
that listeners pose have already been answered. confidentiality and privacy. This can have a wide
Listeners should think about what has been said range of implications, including minimizing
before constructing a reply. Reading “in between the workplace gossip, and mitigating toxic conversations
lines” is also an important skill that allows for about the private lives of clients and/or personnel.
understanding what isn‟t said, but was implicitly said
or implied.
10. Accept Responsibility 3. A written message enables receiver to fully
As noted before, a core tenant within any understand it and send appropriate feedback.
ethical communication framework is taking
responsibility for the actions that result from ones Disadvantages:
words, whether it be good or bad. This includes both 1. It doesn’t bring immediate feedback.
short term and long term consequences of one’s 2. It take more time in composing a written
communications. Owning one’s words reinforces the message as number of people struggles in their
writing ability.
importance of being conscientious about ethical
communication.
2. Non-verbal communication is a very wide
concept and it includes all the other forms of
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION communication which do not uses written or spoken
words.
1. Verbal communication refers to form of
communication which uses spoken and written words Characteristics of Non-verbal
for expressing and transferring views and ideas. Communication
Language is the most important tool of verbal ✔ Non-verbal communication gives hints of
communication and it is the area where cultural
differences play its role. All countries have different how people feel.
languages and to have a better understanding of ✔ Non-verbal communication makes it
different culture it is required to have knowledge of impossible for people no to communicate.
languages of different countries.
Two Types: ✔ Non-verbal communication primarily
a. Oral Communication – spoken words are involves attitudes not ideas.
used;
- it includes face t- face conversations, speech, video, ✔ Non-verbal communication behaviour
voice over, internet; provides clues, not facts.
- influenced by pitch, volume, speed, clarity of
✔ Non-verbal communication provides much
speaking as a fault
. more information than verbal communication.
Advantages:
1. It brings quick feedback.
2. Facial expression and body language is Three Elements of Non-verbal:
visible. 1. Appearance
Disadvantages: a. Speaker – clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use
1. In a face to face discussion, the speaker us of cosmetics
unable to deeply think about what he/ she is
delivering. b. Surrounding – room size, lighting,
decorations, furnishings
b. Written Communication – written words,
2. Body Language
signs, or symbols are used to communicate.
- messages can be transmitted via email, a. Facial Expression/Display refers to the
letter, report, memo, etc. way our facial muscles are set to indicate emotions or
feelings of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise,
Advantages: excitement, indifference and disgust, among others.
1. Messages can be edited and revised. Some researchers claim that facial displays are
2. Written communication provide record and inborn, while others like Birdwhistell say they are
backup. acquired or learned (Wahlstrom 92). Whether or not
they are inborn facial expressions can be managed
and controlled. We can get our faces express what we • Examples are when you are talking to
want to convey and hide what we want to hide. For your friends. A teacher and student
instance, we can make a face, keep a “poker face” discussing an assignment. A patient
and create other faces to go along with how we feel. and a doctor discussing a treatment. A
manager and a potential employee
b. Gesture is a purposive movement of our during an interview.
fingers hands, arms, head or shoulders to describe, to
suggest or to emphasize something. For example, we 3. Small Group communication is
expect to see a hand gesture to accompany the verbal communication within formal or informal
description “this long”, a gesture of shrugging a groups or teams. It is group interaction that
shoulder or tossing the head with the verbal
results in decision making, problem solving
suggestion “something like that” and a pointing
and discussion within an organization.
finger, a pounding clenched fist or some other
gestures with the verbal emphasis “stop it right now”. • Examples would be a group planning a
People, however, differ in the amount of gesturing surprise birthday party for someone. A
that they make while talking; some “talk with their team working together on a project.
hands” more than others.
4. One-to-group communication
c. Posture means our manner of bearing the involves a speaker who seeks to inform,
body, while we are in standing or sitting position. The persuade or motivate an audience.
generally accepted posture is when we are erect, but
appear relaxed. Posture indicates self-confidence, ● Examples are a teacher and a class of
status, friendliness, and mood. Poor posture in an students. A preacher and a
interview may mean that a person is disrespectful, congregation. A speaker and an
unenthusiastic or lazy. Even changes in posture can assembly of people in the auditorium.
convey a meaning. Suddenly sitting upright and
leaning forward means “I’m interested” and standing 5. Mass communication is the electronic
up signals “I’m done”. or print transmission of messages to the
general public. Outlets called mass media
3. Sounds – tone of voice, volume, pitch, rate include things like radio, television, film, and
printed materials designed to reach large
audiences.
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION • A television commercial. A magazine
article. Hearing a song on the radio.
1. Intrapersonal Communication is a
communication that occurs in your own mind. • Books, Newspapers, Billboards. The
It is the basis of your feelings, biases, key is that you are reaching a large
prejudices, and beliefs. amount of people without it being face
to face. Feedback is generally delayed
• Examples are when you make any with mass communication.
kind of decision – what to eat or wear.
When you think about something – PRINCIPLES OF
what you want to do on the weekend COMMUNICATION
or when you think about another
person. Principles consist of the validated guidelines
that are used in performing different tasks or
2. Interpersonal communication is the functions to achieve pre-defined goals. These
communication between two people but can principles guides in forming message, its style and
involve more in informal conversations. importance so that it becomes more effective for the
target audience.
 The Seven (7) Cs of Communication 6. Coherence
- The communication should be both consistent
and in logical.
1. Conciseness - All terms of the message should be
interconnected and relevant to the message
- Concise in communication means that one
being conveyed.
should stick to the point and keep it brief.
- The flow of the message should be in order to
- The message or information should be
be able to understand by the receiver.
articulated completely in such way that it is
forwarded to the desired audience or receivers
in fewer words or signals. 7. Concreteness
- Avoiding “filler words” - Being specific, definite, and vivid rather than
vague and general or unclear in conveying the
2. Courtesy message.
- Use specific facts and figures to strengthen
- True courtesy involves being aware not only the message or idea.
of the perspective of others, but also their - The clear and particular message is defines a
feelings. concrete message.
- The sender should show respect to the
audience or receiver.
- Avoiding expressions that might hurt, irritate BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
or insult the receiver.
In any communication model, noise is
- Courtesy stems from a simple “You” attitude.
interference with the decoding of messages sent over
a channel by an encoder. There are many examples of
3. Correctness
noise:
- The core of correctness is proper grammar,
punctuation, and spelling. ⮚ Environmental noise. Noise that physically
- Using the right level of language and disrupts communication, such as standing
acceptable writing mechanics. next to loud speakers at a party, or the noise
- Choose a non-discriminatory language. from a construction site next to a classroom
- Accuracy of facts, figures, and words. making it difficult to hear the professor.

4. Clarity
⮚ Physiological-impairment noise. Physical
- The message being conveyed must be clear. maladies that prevent effective
- Getting the meaning from your head to the communication, such as actual deafness or
head of your reader. blindness preventing messages from being
- Choose short, familiar, and conversational received as they were intended.
words depending on the situation.
⮚ Semantic noise. Different interpretations of
5. Completeness the meanings of certain words.
- The message is complete when it contains all
the facts the reader or listener needs for the ⮚ Cultural noise. Stereotypical assumptions
reaction you desire. can cause misunderstandings, such as
- Able to answer all the questions. unintentionally offending a non-Christian
- Providing extra or additional information and person by wishing them a "Merry
elaboration if necessary. Christmas".
 ⮚ Psychological noise. Certain attitudes can
also make communication difficult. For
instance, great anger or sadness may cause
someone to lose focus on the present
moment. Disorders such as autism may also
severely hamper effective communication.

COMMUNICATION IN A
MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY AND
THE WORLD
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
✔ Is a discipline that studies communication
across different cultures and social groups.
✔ It seeks to understand how people from
different countries and cultures act,
communicate and perceive the world around
them.

INTERRACIAL COMMUNICATION
✔ The interpreting and sharing meanings with
individuals from different races.

INTERETHNIC COMMUNICATION
✔ Interaction with individuals of different ethnic
origins.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION
✔ Communication between persons representing
different nations.