Purposive Communication - it is dynamic as it continually changes, and it is never

static.
Introduction to Communication
- it is difficult to tell when communication starts and
Communication- an indispensable tool for human
stops. It does not necessarily start in uttering the first
survival. People communicate to get what they need
word and stop in saying the last word of a sentence.
and to accomplish what they want.
System- “oneself to another entity”, “from a source to
- communication, in relation to human survival, does
a receiver”, and “people interact”.
not confine itself to just addressing the biological
needs of an individual such as food, shelter, and Wood (2012) defined system as interrelated parts that
clothing among others, to survive. affect one another. It is a collection not of random
parts but of organized wholes.
- the benefits of communication can only be fully
enjoyed if carefully understood, effectively done, and Example: In classroom communication, each
purposively carried out. student of the class is part of the system (type of
classroom, strategies by the teacher and the
Communication is the process of sending and
curriculum.)
receiving messages or written words, and sometimes
non-verbally through facial expressions, gestures, and - communication is likewise affected by the larger
voice qualities. system within which it operates.

- Orber & Newman, 2013, p.5 Example: Culture is considered a large system, the
way people understand and interpret verbal and non-
Broadly speaking communication is a process of
verbal behavior differs depending on their culture.
sharing opinions and information, ideas and feelings.
- thus, in order to effectively communicate and
- Jimenez & Alparo, 2000, p. 1
interpret a message, it is important to understand the
Communication is the process of sending information system (culture, religion, ethnicity, nationality, status,
to oneself or another entity, usually via a language. age, sex, political affiliation, and others) within which
communication takes place.
- Palta 2007, p.1
Symbols- It is represented by language, indicated by
In its simplest form, communication is the spoken and written words and facial expressions,
transmission of a message from a source to a receiver. gestures, and voice qualities. For others, it is
- Baron, 2011, p.4 embedded in the term message.

Communication is a systematic process in which - a concrete representation of something abstract. It is

people interact with and through symbols to create a tangible counterpart of something intangible.
and interpret meaning. - Communication is symbolic as it involves interaction
- Wood, 2012, p.3 with and through symbols.

Communication is the process of using message to Meaning- heart of communication.

generate meaning. - can be viewed as an “end” in itself. When people
- Pearson, et al, 2011, p. 10 communicate, they attach meaning to use verbal or
non-verbal with the intent that the person they are
Four Key Terms (Wood, 2012) communicating will share the same meaning as
Process- it implies continuity. On never stops intended.
communicating as it is an ongoing activity. - the goal is to generate common meaning through the
- it is a process that is constantly moving and messages provided or received.
continuously changing. 2 Levels of Meaning
 1. Content Level- literal meaning of message. mutually exclusive but rather co-existent with one
Parallel to the denotative meaning of the another.
message.
2. Message- This is the verbal and non-verbal form of
Example: If someone asks, “May you attend the the idea, thought, or feeling that one intends to
meeting?” the content-level meaning is that the communicate to another person or group of people.
person is simply requesting your presence in the Verbal message pertains to the language one utters.
meeting. It comes in the form of words, phrases, and sentences
which can either be oral or written. Non-verbal
2. Relationship Level- expresses the
message refers to gestures, body movements, sign
relationship between communication. This
languages, and facial expressions that carry with them
can be the connotative meaning of a message.
their own meaning. One must be cautious though with
Example: However, if the same question is asked the use of non-verbal messages as they are more
by your boss, you might interpret the relationship- susceptible to various interpretations.
level meaning as delegating the task to you being
3. Channel- It refers to the means with which the
the top performer or someone who can be trusted
message is delivered. As the message moves from the
in your team.
source to the receiver, it passes through a medium
- meaning also refers to the understanding of the (plural is media) or a channel which can be airwaves
message. Your message should be understood in the and cable (channels for receiving television
same manner you intend it to be. messages), sound waves (for radio messages), and
sound and light waves (for face-to-face
Communication can be defined as…. communication allowing the receiver to see and hear
Process: continuous activity the sender). Sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Viber, Skype, and Pinterest among others,
System: that operate within a certain context have been used as media to send and receive
Symbols: in which people exchange words, gestures, messages.
and other verbal and non-verbal 4. Feedback - It is the receiver's verbal and non-verbal
Meaning: behavior to create and understand response to the source's message. Ideally, when one
information or messages. delivers a message, a response is expected. The
response, however, does not necessarily have to be
Elements of Communication verbal for it to be considered feedback.
Laswell’s Components of Communication 5. Code-pertains to language. A code is a systematic
arrangement of symbols used to create meanings in
• "Who?" (A source)
the mind of another person/s. If someone yells "stop"
• "Says what?" (sends a message)
as you approach a street, the word stop serves as a
• "Through which channel?" (Through medium)
symbol that you are likely to interpret as warning or
• "To whom?" (to a receiver) danger.
• "With what effect?" (Producing some effect)
6. Encoding and Decoding - Encoding is defined as
Pearson, et al. (2012) Components of the process of translating an idea or a thought into a
Communication code. The translation of the mental image into a verbal
1. People - People who are involved in the description (the code) is the process of encoding in
communication process assumes two roles, both as itself. When your classmates hear these verbal
sources and receivers of the message. The source descriptions, they start using these words and
initiates a message, and the receiver is the intended develop their own mental image. This process is called
target of the message. These roles are not performed decoding-the process of assigning meaning to an idea
independently and successively but rather continually or a thought.
and simultaneously. Roles in communication are not
7. Noise or Barrier- refers to any interference in the • Channel- a carrier or medium such as air,
encoding and decoding processes which affect the light, electricity, radio waves, and postal
clarity and understanding of a message. Noise is not system for written communication
always physical. It can be mental, psychological, or • Noise- interference that disrupts and distorts
semantic. the understanding of the message.
• Receiver- refers to the receiving instrument
The Communication Process
such as telephone lines, ears to see sounds,
1. Linear Model - Also called the transmission and eyes for gestures in face-to-face
model, a linear model is based on the assumption communication.
that communication is transmitted in a • Destination- person/s who receive/s and
straightforward manner-from a sender to a receiver. process/es the message.
This clearly reflects that communication is a one-
way process. 2. Interactive Model - Contrast with the linear one. In
this model, communication is a two-way process
a. Laswell's Verbal Model - As mentioned which involves an exchange or an interaction between
earlier in the lesson, communication can be the sender and the receiver. This indicates that the
understood by answering the five questions receiver is not just a mere absorber of the message
provided by Harold Laswell (1948). from the receiver. As the receiver gets the message, he
or she processes it, provides his or her own
Who? ➔ Says what? ➔ In what channel? ➔ To whom
interpretation of the message, and delivers it back to
➔With what effect? the sender which makes the process a continuous
Laswell's verbal model appears to be the simplest one. The message that is delivered back to the sender
model of communication. In this model, is called feedback which is depicted by Wilbur
communication flows in one direction from the sender Schramm (1955) as the second form of message in his
with a message which is sent via a certain medium model.
towards the receiver to bring about a certain result. In this model, the personal fields of experience,
b. Shannon and Weaver's Model - In 1949, whether shared or not by the communicators, are very
Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver modified important. According to Schramm, the
Laswell's verbal model by adding noise as a communicators' fields of experience explain why
component. This model is still linear in nature. misunderstanding occurs. The communication
process is enhanced or weakened depending on the
fields of experience of the communicators. Schramm
pointed out that when there are more overlaps in the
communicators' fields of experience (meaning they
share the same experience), the better they
understand each other.

Eight components

• Source- the person whom the message

comes from.
• Message- content of the transaction.
• Transmitter- the instrument through which 3. Transactional Model- This model was adapted
the message passes like a telephone. from Wood (1997) in response to the failure of the
• Signal- which flows through a channel interactive model to portray the dynamism of human
communication. The linear model is sequential that it need to think before you communicate whether it is in
only looks into communication as a process in which the spoken or written form. The way you communicate
one communicates to another who then sends can build or ruin your reputation. Thus, you need to
feedback to the former (Wood, 2014). Likewise, it take accountability for what you are doing and what
designates a person as a sender and a receiver when you are saying. As previously mentioned,
both communicators can send and receive messages, communication is irreversible. Therefore, you need to
Another shortcoming of the interactive model is that it be very cautious with your choice of words and be
does not depict communication as changing over time responsible for your thoughts and actions.
as a result of the dynamism of transactions among
3. Ethical communicators value diversity and
people.
respect other's opinions- Respect means showing
regard or consideration for others and their ideas even
if you do not agree with them. People differ in terms of
backgrounds, interests, beliefs, and value system.
They formulate different opinions and insights about
various topics and issues. Their ideas may be similar
to or, more often than not, different from yours.
Whatever the case, you have to respect others by
listening to their points of view and genuinely trying to
understand them. You may still disagree with other
The Transactional Model of Communication people without sounding rude or offensive. This is an
indication that you demonstrate respect amidst
The key features of the transactional model are as differences.
follows:
4. Ethical communicators are just and fair- To be
▸ It has a time element which influences how people just and fair is to be impartial and objective. You do not
communicate. For instance, freshmen college hastily make decisions or judgments based on
students are more reserved at the start of the hearsays, gossips, prejudices, and personal biases.
semester since they are still getting to know their An ethical communicator exerts every effort to gather
classmates. This will change over time as they relevant facts or pertinent information related to a
become more comfortable with their classmates due situation before making a decision. Think about the
to their frequent interaction. judges who decide on cases filed in their respective
jurisdiction. They are examples of people who should
Ethics in Communication
adhere to standards of fairness. Of course, this is also
An integral aspect to elan about communication, from everyone else.
Ethical consideration in communication shape how
you communicate. Ethics deals with one's judgment • So far, the foundation for the better understanding
of rightness or wrongness, appropriate or communication has been laid by defining it,
inappropriateness of a course of action or decision. It identifying its elements, discussing its process
is a set of moral principles guiding the society to through various communication models, and
maintain social order. citing some principles and characteristics of
ethical communicators.
1. Ethical communicators- are honest. In
communicating your thoughts, ideas, and feelings,
you have to be truthful. Good communicators never lie
and deceive other people. To fully realize the end
purpose of communication, thoughts, ideas, and
feelings should be expressed with the best intentions.

2. Ethical communicators are well aware of the

consequences of their thoughts and actions- You