PURCOM 101: Channel

Channel(s) refers to the way or mode the message

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION flows or is transmitted through. The message is
transmitted over a channel that links the sender with
COMMUNICATION the receiver. The message may be oral or written and it
may be transmitted through a memorandum, a
Communication (from Latin communicare, computer, telephone, cell phone, apps or televisions.
meaning "to share") is the act of conveying meanings
from one entity or group to another through the use of Receiver
mutually understood signs, symbols, and semioticrules. Receiver is the person or group who the message is
meant for. He may be a listener, a reader or a viewer.
Communication is both an art and a science. It often Any negligence on the part of the receiver may make
involves acts of speaking and listening, reading and the communication ineffective. The receiver needs to
writing, but it also goes beyond these and incorporates comprehend the message sent in the best possible
the transmission of non-verbal language, sign language, manner such that the true intent of the communication
codes transmitted electronically (e.g., Morse code), and is attained. The extent to which the receiver decodes
physically (touch; hormones; muscles, tendons, the message depends on his/her knowledge of the
nerves), and messages communicated through music, subject matter of the message, experience, trust and
and by other means. relationship with the sender.
The receiver is as significant a factor in communication
process as the sender is. It is the other end of the
THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS IN THE process. The receiver should be in fit condition to
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION receive the message, that is, he/she should have
channel of communication active and should not be
Sender preoccupied with other thoughts that might cause
The very foundation of communication process is laid him/her to pay insufficient attention to the message.
by the person who transmits or sends the message. He
is the sender of the message which may be a thought, Decoding
idea, a picture, symbol, report or an order and Decoding refers to interpreting or converting the sent
postures and gestures, even a momentary smile. The message into intelligible language. It simply means
sender is therefore the initiator of the message that comprehending the message. The receiver after
need to be transmitted. After having generated the receiving the message interprets it and tries to
idea, information etc. the sender encodes it in such a understand it in the best possible manner.
manner that can be well-understood by the receiver.
Feedback
Message Feedback is the ultimate aspect of communication
Message is referred to as the information conveyed by process. It refers to the response of the receiver as to
words as in speech and write-ups, signs, pictures or the message sent to him/her by the sender. Feedback
symbols depending upon the situation and the nature is necessary to ensure that the message has been
and importance of information desired to be sent. effectively encoded, sent, decoded and comprehended.
Message is the heart of communication. It is the It is the final step of the communication process and
content the sender wants to covey to the receiver. It establishes that the receiver has received the message
can be verbal both written and spoken; or non-verbal in its letter and spirit. In other words, the receiver has
i.e. pictorial or symbolic, etc. correctly interpreted the message as it was intended
by the sender. It is instrumental to make
Encoding communication effective and purposeful.
Encoding is putting the targeted message into
appropriate medium which may be verbal or non- Consider the following points related to the
verbal depending upon the situation, time, space and feedback involved in the process of
nature of the message to be sent. The sender puts the communication:
message into a series of symbols, pictures or words
which will be communicated to the intended receiver. • It enhances the effectiveness of the communication
Encoding is an important step in the communication as it permits the sender to know the efficacy of his
process as wrong and inappropriate encoding may message.
defeat the true intent of the communication process. • It enables the sender to know if his/her message has
been properly comprehended.

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• The analysis of feedbacks helps improve future FUNDAMENTALS OF
messages. Feedback, like the message, can be verbal or
nonverbal and transmitted through carefully chosen
ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
channel of communication.
Perhaps the main principle of ethical communication is
• We can represent the above steps in a model as the
honesty, as other factors stem from this core value of
model of communication process.
presenting information in the most reliable and factual
way possible. Any attempt to mislead or present
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION confusing information is not ethical communication.
Additionally, the “honesty” principle of ethical
a. Physical Needs – Personal communication is communication is linked inexorably to other core
essential for our wellbeing. Sufficiency or absence of principles - consistency and responsibility. This entails
communication has a bearing on one‟s state of that information presented to different parties be
physical health. For one, stress is heightened or consistent, and that short-term and long long-term
dissipated depending on communication or lack of it consequences of honest communication are to be
and the nature of its content. accepted as one’s responsibility.

b. Ego Needs – Communication is the only way to Ethical communication also assumes that
learn who we are. If we are to be deprived of the communicated information is always presented (and
chance to communicate with others, we should have received by the listener) according to one’s subjective
no sense of identity. It is through communication that perception, even if only in the most minimal way, and
one gets the chance for affirmation of self-concept and thus the goal of ethical communication is to be as
sharing of views about a variety of things, among objective as possible when communicating with others
others. and to ensure that every recipient receives the same
message.
c. Social Needs – We relate socially with others
through communication. Three types of social needs 1. Openness and Transparency
we strive to fulfil are identified by William Schutz, a
psychologist, by means of communication: Truthfulness & honesty is the most core principle of
ethical communication. This means that speaking 99
• Inclusion is the need to belong to a personal percent of the truth in a matter - while leaving out one
relationship. Inclusion needs may be satisfied from percent of the facts - is not ethical communication, as
formal relationships (having a job or career, belonging omitting any detail (intentionally) changes the way
to a religious organization, marriage) and informal that a listener will perceive an event. Thus, being 100
relationships (friends who go together, friendly percent open and transparent, and hiding nothing, is
neighbours). key in order for all business relationships - whether
• Desire for Control is each one’s desire to have an within a business between its members, or with
influence on others and to feel a sense of domination business and their partners, or even customers - to
or power over the world. An example is the coach of a succeed in the short term and long term. Being honest
basketball team pioneering his boys to championship. is linked to one’s personal and professional
• Affection is the desir e for others to care for us and a trustworthiness and integrity. In a perfect world, all
desire to care for others. members of an organization would have a positive
reputation of honesty, such that listeners never doubt
What Is Ethical Communication? that what they are saying is 100 percent true. Within
an organization - and between businesses - this type of
Ethical Communication is a type of communication honest communication can be the difference between a
that is predicated upon certain business values, such project being completed successfully or not. For
as being truthful, concise, and responsible with one’s instance, utilizing ethical communication, to be honest
words and the resulting actions. As a set of principles, about the time and/or budget constraints during a
ethical communication understands that one’s board meeting with primary stakeholders can be the
thoughts must be conveyed and expressed effectively difference between the project meeting its goals, or
and concisely, and that the resulting actions or failing due to misunderstandings and/or
consequences will [potentially] be based solely on how miscommunication. Thus, one of the primary goals of
the message was communicated. Thus, ethical ethical communication is to prevent any
communication defines a framework or set of misunderstandings or instances of miscommunication.
acceptable communication principles that align with
an enterprise’s overarching code of conduct or code of
ethics.

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2. Consideration for Any Potential Roadblocks technology - and the know-how on how to use certain
applications - may be a roadblock when it comes to
When communicating with another party, truly ethical ethically communicating to a particular audience.
communication entails considering any potential
factor that may influence how the recipient 4. Development of Relationship
understands - or receives - the information that is The art of communication allows people to express
being communicated. If there are any known themselves in order to develop relationships. In
roadblocks, then ethical communication principles business, this can be an employee dealing with a
dictate that the speaker/communicator utilize manager, executives communicating with stakeholders,
whatever means possible to mitigate or attenuate the or managers talking with other business
roadblocks and ensure that the recipients of the representatives. It is critical for there to be no
information are able to fully understand what is being confusion or misunderstandings when businesses try
communicated. to develop relationships within themselves and with
other business entities or clients/customers. To
Several examples are below where roadblocks may accomplish this, ethical communication principles
present themselves, resulting in the communicator must be followed, ensuring that all parties can receive
needing to take steps to attenuate any potential the consistent truth, and understand what needs to be
instances of miscommunication: done, and how it needs to be done.

✔ Language Use PRINCIPLES OF

Obviously, ethical communication dictates that
ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
speakers utilize the language that listeners understand.
There are a myriad of core principles associated with
It would make little sense to present a business
ethical communication, starting with the core value of
presentation in English to a non-English speaking
honesty that all other values are connected to.
Chinese audience. Taking this example further, it
However, it can be said that there is a value underlying
would also be unethical to communicate the
honesty (with regard to ethical communication) and
information mostly in Chinese, with a certain section in
that is emotional intelligence/empathy as the
English, presenting only parts of the data to the
precursor of all soft skills, which allows all personnel
Chinese audience.
to be understood, and to effectively communicate with
others. Emotional intelligence, within the framework
✔ Jargon
of ethical communication, allows one to understand
the needs of others, and meet those needs in the most
Every industry has its own jargon. When speaking to a
efficient manner possible as if you were in their shoes.
layperson, it is ethical to speak with simple, easy-to-
understand words, while avoiding the use of heavy
1. Be Truthful and Honest
jargon, resulting in portions of the
presentation/communication being incomprehensible
Being honest means communicating what is known to
to a portion of the audience.
be true (only 100 percent the facts) to a listener, with
no intent to deceive or present only parts of the truth.
✔ Language Fluency
It also means being as objective as possible, that is, not
tailoring the story based on what the speaker wants
Ethical communication takes into account the level of
the listener to believe. Letting the listener take the
fluency as well as the language spoken by listeners so
data that is objectively presented and believe what
that recipients of the communication (whether it be
they choose to believe is a core goal of ethical
spoken or written) are able to fully understand what is
communication. Ethical communication should be
being communicated
based on accurate information and facts - in a word, do
not lie.
3. Accessibility to Technology
2. Active Listening
In this information and digital age, some take
accessibility to advanced technology for granted. For
Hearing someone and listening to them are two
instance, while smartphones are readily available, and
different things. In order for ethical communication to
translation apps are abundant, not everyone is able to
be effective, it is necessary for the recipient to pro-
access such applications or platforms. If a business
actively listen to the speaker, and to not just hear
wanted to present certain pieces of information to an
what they want to hear, or to hear only parts of the
audience while expecting the audience to translate it
conversation. This also means asking questions when
into their native language via an application, there may
be confusion. Thus, the ability to access certain
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any point is not completely understood, for the sake of tact. The ethical communicator knows that it’s not only
clarification. important what you say, but how you say it. Tone is
one of the most critical facets of communication. A
3. Speak Non-Judgmentally listener may miss the meaning altogether if the tone is
wrong, which can lead to unnecessary confrontations
Ethically and concisely communicating means that decrease business productivity.
speaking in a non-judgmental manner with every Controlling one’s tone goes along with self-control, a
recipient, negating unnecessary conflict, which soft skill that allows one to know how they wish to
typically creates a breakdown in communication and reply to a terse business message (for instance) versus
causes misunderstandings. Unnecessary conflict is the most effective manner for replying. Essentially,
never good for any business, and such conflicts usually keeping the tone positive or neutral is best, as the tone
result from unethical communications, with of a written message - or of one’s voice - is always
judgmental, accusatory, and overly-critical comments picked up by the receiver, and can alter how the
often being the catalyst for such breakdowns in message is received and/or understood.
communication. Additionally, while it is acceptable to be honest and
open, tact - and professional maturity - means knowing
4. Speak from Your Own Experience when it is inappropriate to speak up, and when it is
crucial to. Tact also means knowing that being
Bringing your personal experience into a dialogue with completely honest does not equate with being rude or
business listeners is important, providing backup for negative - it is possible to be completely honest and
your arguments with something more tangible. Such a open with one’s thoughts and feelings while still
communication method (experiential communication) remaining polite and respectful.
paints a complete picture for your audience and helps
to prove your points so that the listeners have a better 8. Do Not Interrupt Others
understanding of what is being said.
Allowing others to speak is important for the creation
5. Consider the Receiver’s of a civil, effective working environment. Interrupting
Preferred Communication Channel others results in misunderstandings and unnecessary
conflicts and a breakdown in workplace
You risk losing an audience if you use a communications, which only hinders corporate
communication channel that is not preferred by your progress and creates problems. Interrupting others
intended receiver. To effectively communicate with not only shows a lack of respect, but does not allow the
your listeners, use the most preferred communication listener to fully grasp what is being said, which often
channel, whether that be face-to-face, email, results in incorrect assumptions being made.
conference call, phone call, messenger app, etc. Also,
when presenting data to a business audience, be aware 9. Respect Privacy and Confidentiality
of the preferred method of presentation for that
business, whether it be graphs, slides, PowerPoint Most businesses should include a clause in their code
presentations, etc. Additionally, since body language is of ethics defining what is appropriate when it comes to
very important, it is often preferred to meet business honouring client and employee confidentiality and
clients face-to-face. privacy. This can have a wide range of implications,
including minimizing workplace gossip, and mitigating
6. Strive to Understand toxic conversations about the private lives of clients
and/or personnel.
While it is important to be proactive in listening, it is
important for listeners to also strive to fully 10. Accept Responsibility
understand what is being said before responding.
While asking for clarification or confirmation of a point As noted before, a core tenant within any ethical
is fine, many times questions that listeners pose have communication framework is taking responsibility for
already been answered. Listeners should think about the actions that result from ones words, whether it be
what has been said before constructing a reply. good or bad. This includes both short term and long
Reading “in between the lines” is also an important term consequences of one’s communications. Owning
skill that allows for understanding what isn‟t said, but one’s words reinforces the importance of being
was implicitly said or implied. conscientious about ethical communication.

7. Avoid a Negative Tone “Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you
miss when you don't even try.”
Ethically communicating assumes the speaker will - Rachel Dantes
avoid rudeness, be polite and professional, and have
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