Lesson 1: Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics

Learning Outcomes:

During the learning engagements, the learners are able to:

1. define what is communication;

2. identify and explain the various communication modes and how they help in expressing one‘s
communication intent;
3. distinguish the difference between and among the communication modes; and
4. use these communication modes appropriately depending on the context of the
communication situation.

Topic 1: Definition of Communication

Communication can be defined as the process of transmitting information and common

understanding from one person to another (Keyton, 2011). The word communication is derived from the
Latin word, ―communis”, which means common. In our everyday living, for a communication to be
effectively transmitted, elements of communication must be present and these include a.) Speaker, b.)
Message, c.) Receiver, d.) Channel, e.) Feedback, and f.) Communicative Situation.

What is Language?

Language is a wonderfully rich vehicle for communication. It is a system of conventional spoken,

manual, or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and
participants in its culture, express themselves. The functions of language include communication, the
expression of identity, play, imaginative expression, and emotional release. It has a system of rules (also
known as grammar), a sound system (phonology), and a vocabulary (lexicon). These are the
requirements for identifying a means of communication as a language. When people use language, they
can understand each other because they belong to the same speech community. They can understand
each other because in their speech community, people share the same set of rules in the language
system. While growing up, people acquire the languages used by those in the community. This is the
process of language acquisition. The languages acquired while growing up are known as mother
tongues, which may also be referred to as first language. People discover later on that other language
are needed various reasons. These other languages may be referred to as second language. People learn
these languages by studying formally in school or informally on their own. This is a process of language
learning.

What is Communication?

Communication as a term takes on different contexts resulting in people having different views
in communication types. Since communication is generally defined as the exchange of thoughts, ideas,
concepts and view between or among two or more people. Context is the circumstances or environment
in which communication takes place. Such circumstances may include the physical or actual setting, the
value positions of a speaker/listener, and the relevance or appropriateness of a message conveyed. It
focuses on certain communication process and even groupings of people that constitute a
communication situation. Different contexts can impact one‘s communication. Each communication
type is governed by a particular circumstance. Hence, it is essential to pay attention and interplay of
factors surrounding the context of communication which may be physical, cultural, social, and
psychological in nature.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ACCORDING TO MODE

A message may be imparted through these types; verbal-non-verbal and visual. While communication is
often thought of as verbal, the non-verbal mode is equally essential as it enhances one‘s message.

A. VERBAL COMMUNICATION
 (Linguistics) The process of sending and receiving messages with words, including
writing and sign language.
 It refers to the form of communication in which message is transmitted verbally.
 Communication is done by word of mouth and a piece of writing.

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VERBAL COMMUNICATION: ORAL

o Spoken words are used

o It includes face-to-face conversations, speech, telephonic conversation, video, radio,
television, voice over internet.
o Communication is influenced by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of speaking.

VERBAL COMMUNICATION: WRITTEN

o
In written communication, written signs or symbols are used to communicate.
o
In written communication message can be transmitted via email, letter, report, memo
etc.
o Written communication is most common form of communication being used in
business.
B. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
 Nonverbal communication is the sending or receiving of wordless messages. Such
gesture, body language, posture, tone of voice or facial expressions is called nonverbal
communication.
 It is all about the body language of speaker.

It has three elements:

1. Appearance (speaker) - Clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics; Appearance

(surrounding) – room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings

2. Body language - facial expressions, gestures, postures

3. Sounds - voice tone, volume, speech rate

C. VISUAL COMMUNICATION

 Visual communication, on the other hand, is the type of communication that uses visuals to
convey information and/or messages. Some examples are signs, symbol, imagery, maps,
graphs, charts, diagrams, pictograms, photos, drawings or illustrations, and even various
forms of electronic communication.
 Visual communication now occupies an important place in any work environment. For
instance, during presentations, instructors, managers, doctors, lawyers, legislators and the
like use visuals to transfer data into digestible information. Very likely, they have greater
success in catching the attention of the audience making the latter easily recall the
information.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ACCORDING TO CONTEXT

This sub-section, context in communication is referred to as composite of people interacting with each
other. Communication may also be classified according to context: (1) intrapersonal; (2) interpersonal

A. INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
 The Latin prefixes intra-means within or inside. Intrapersonal communication then
means talking to oneself. Some label it as self or inner talk, inner dialogue. Psychologists
call it with other names such as self-verbalization or self-statement.
 Intrapersonal communication can be defined also as communication with one’s self, and
that may include self-talk, acts of imagination and visualization, and even recall and
memory (McLean, 2005).

You read on your phone that your friends are going to have dinner at your favorite restaurant.
What comes to mind? Sights, sounds, and scents? Something special that happened the last time
you were there? Do you contemplate joining them? Do you start to work out a plan of getting from
your present location to the restaurant? Do you send your friends a text asking if they want
company? Until the moment when you hit the ―send button, you are communicating with
 Communications expert Leonard Shedletsky examined intrapersonal communication
yourself.
through the eight basic components of the communication process (i.e., source,

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receiver, message, channel, feedback, environment, context, and interference) as
transactional, but all the interaction occurs within the individual (Shedletsky, 1989).
From planning to problem solving, internal conflict resolution, and evaluations and
judgments of self and others, we communicate with ourselves through intrapersonal
communication. All this interaction takes place in the mind without externalization, and
all of it relies on previous interaction with the external world.
B. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal communication can be defined as communication between two people, but the
definition fails to capture the essence of a relationship. This broad definition is useful when we
compare it to intrapersonal communication, or communication with ourselves, as opposed to
mass communication, or communication with a large audience, but it requires clarification. The
developmental view of interpersonal communication places emphasis on the relationship rather
than the size of the audience, and draws a distinction between impersonal and personal
interactions. Family for many is the first experience in interpersonal relationships, but as we
develop professionally, our relationships at work may take on many of the attributes we
associate with family communication. We look to each other with similar sibling rivalries,
competition for attention and resources, and support. The workplace and our peers can become
as close, or closer, than our birth families, with similar challenges and rewards. To summarize,
interpersonal relationships are an important part of the work environment.

Topic 2: THE PROCESS AND ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

Learning Outcomes:

During the learning engagements, the learners are able to:

1. identify the elements of communication in various texts; and

2. illustrate the communication process.

In a survey conducted by the Katz Business School at the University of Pittsburg, organizations
rated communication skills as the most important factor used in selecting their management staff. The
study found that oral and written communication skills were important in predicting job success, as was
the ability to communicate well with others in the workplace (Mtd Training, 2010).

This result makes sense after all since communication is innate to us. Therefore for us to be able
to communicate well is important. If we are not able to communicate well, the messages we send get
lost in translation (Mtd Training, 2010). Similarly, Bernales, Balon and Biligan (2018) stated that when
the flow of information is blocked for some reason or the parties cannot make themselves understood,
then communication fails.

Communication is the art and process of creating and sharing ideas. Effective
communication depends on the richness of those ideas.

So how do we communicate effectively?

We must consider a deeper understanding of the process and elements of communication.

Communication process may be simple to complex depending on the situation. To understand the
process there is a need to know the elements or components of the process.

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION PROCESS

 Speaking and listening are vital elements of communication. Therefore, in any communication
situation, you are both speaker and listener. (Villamarzo, 2003)

 Eugene White (1960) mentions eight stages in the cycle of communication. These are:

o Thinking o Receiving

o Symbolizing o Decoding
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o Expressing o Reacting, and

o Transmitting o Monitoring

 Roman Jacobson mentions the following as components of communication:

o Addressor (speaker) o Contact

o Addressee (listener o Context (situation) o Code, and

o Message

 Gronbeck defines model as ―a picture or a representation of a thing or process that identifies the key
parts or elements and indicates how each element affects the operations of all of the elements.

 Communication Model, therefore, is a sketch that shows the basic elements of the communication
process, and how each element affects the other elements in the entire communication process as a
system.

COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

1. SPEAKER/ SENDER
 A person who sends the message
 A sender makes use of symbols (words or graphs or visual aids) to convey the message
and produce required response.
 Sender maybe an individual or a group or an organization
 The views, background, approach, skills, competencies and knowledge of the sender
have great impact on the message.
 The communication process begins with the sender, who is also called the
communicator or source. The sender has some kind of information – a command,
request, or idea – that he or she wants to share with others. In order for the message to
be received, the sender must first encode the message in a form that can be understood
and then transmit it.

2. MESSAGE
 Is the key idea that the sender wants to communicate
 It is a sign that elicits the response of the recipient.
 Communication process begin with decoding about the message to be conveyed.
 It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear.
 Message is what you communicate verbally or non –verbally
 The message or content is the information that the sender wants to relay to the
receiver. It is relayed between the parties. Put all three together and you have the
communication process at its most basic.
 It also refers to the thoughts, ideas, or information that you convey to your listeners.
 Verbal delivery of messages includes:
 Elements of voice (rate, volume, pitch, and quality)
 Articulation, and
 Pronunciation
 Verbal message consists of three variables:
 Content (is everything you say about something: referential or
relational)
Ref- all relevant to your topic; Rel – a suggestion of any relationship to
your listeners
 Structure ( the pattern of organization you follow
 Style (how you express your ideas)

3. CHANNEL OR MEDIUM
 Is the means used to exchange or transmit the message
 The channel or medium is the language you use.
 The means through which the sender must choose an appropriate medium for
transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed.

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 It is also called channel, the medium is the means by which a message is transmitted.
Text messages, for example, are transmitted through the medium of cell phones.

4. RECEIVER OR LISTENER
 a person for whom the message is intended, aimed or targeted
 The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various
factors such as: knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and the
reliance of the encoder on the decoder.
 The person to whom a message is directed is called the receiver or the interpreter. In
order to comprehend the information from the sender, the receiver must first be able to
receive the sender‘s information and then decode or interpret it.

5. FEEDBACK
 Is the main component of the communication process as it permits the sender to
analyze the efficacy of the message?
 It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder.
o Feedback maybe verbal or non-verbal.
 The communication process reaches its final point when the message has been
successfully transmitted, received, and understood.
 The receiver, in turn, responds to the sender, indicating comprehension. Feedback may
be direct, such as written or verbal response, or it may take the form of an act or deed in
response.
 The communication process is not always simple or smooth, of course. Two other
elements may affect how the message is transmitted, received, and interpreted.

6. NOISE
 This can be any sort of interference that affects the message being sent, received, or
understood. It can be as literal as static over a phone line or esoteric as misinterpreting
a local custom.

7. SITUATION or CONTEXT
 It refers to the time and place in which communication occurs
 This is the setting and situation in which communication takes place. Like noise, context
can have an impact of the successful exchange of information. It may have a physical,
social, or cultural aspect to it

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The goal of communication is to convey information—and the understanding of that

information—from one person or group to another person or group. This communication process is
divided into three basic components: A sender transmits a message through a channel to the receiver.
(Figure shows a more elaborate model.) The sender first develops an idea, which is composed into a
message and then transmitted to the other party, who interprets the message and receives meaning.
Information theorists have added somewhat more complicated language. Developing a message is
known as encoding. Interpreting the message is referred to as decoding.

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 The other important feature is the feedback cycle. When two people interact, communication is
rarely one‐way only. When a person receives a message, she responds to it by giving a reply. The
feedback cycle is the same as the sender‐receiver feedback noted in Figure 1. Otherwise, the
sender can't know whether the other parties properly interpreted the message or how they
reacted to it. Feedback is especially significant in management because a supervisor has to know
how subordinates respond to directives and plans. The manager also needs to know how work is
progressing and how employees feel about the general work situation.
 The critical factor in measuring the effectiveness of communication is common understanding.
Understanding exists when all parties involved have a mutual agreement as to not only the
information, but also the meaning of the information. Effective communication, therefore,
occurs when the intended message of the sender and the interpreted message of the receiver
are one and the same. Although this should be the goal in any communication, it is not always
achieved.
 The most efficient communication occurs at a minimum cost in terms of resources expended.
Time, in particular, is an important resource in the communication process. For example, it
would be virtually impossible for an instructor to take the time to communicate individually with
each student in a class about every specific topic covered. Even if it were possible, it would be
costly. This is why managers often leave voice mail messages and interact by e‐mail rather than
visit their subordinates personally.
 However, efficient time‐saving communications are not always effective. A low‐cost approach
such as an e‐mail note to a distribution list may save time, but it does not always result in
everyone getting the same meaning from the message. Without opportunities to ask questions
and clarify the message, erroneous interpretations are possible. In addition to a poor choice of
communication method, other barriers to effective communication include noise and other
physical distractions, language problems, and failure to recognize nonverbal signals.
 Sometimes communication is effective, but not efficient. A work team leader visiting each team
member individually to explain a new change in procedures may guarantee that everyone truly
understands the change, but this method may be very costly on the leader's time. A team
meeting would be more efficient. In these and other ways, potential tradeoffs between
effectiveness and efficiency occur. (―The Communication Process,” n.d.)

Topic 3: Principles of Communication

In communication, there are set of rules or guidelines which are necessary to be followed in
order to ensure effectiveness and proper communication. Any person which fails to meet or consider
these principles will likely to fail as a speaker or writer. There principles are also critical in
communicating as it completes everything about communication.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Since communication is a two-way process, it is significant that you know the principles to be
observed to make it effective. For both oral and written communication, one should be able to apply the
following principles:

1. Know your purpose in communicating. Are you communicating basically to inform, to entertain, or to
persuade? While you may have more than one purpose, there is still a more dominant objective or
reason why you communicate.

2. Know your audience. In both speaking and writing, you should know your audience as it will dictate
the speaking or writing style you are going to employ. Consider the age, educational background,
profession, culture, and other salient features of your listeners or readers.

3. Know your topic. You communicate essentially because you want to share something. In speaking
situations, speakers are invited because they have something to share. This also applies to writing. You
write because you wish that other people learn something from you. You may then utilize several or
multiple communication techniques to easily catch the attention of the audience.

4. Adjust your speech or writing to the context of the situation. The environment in which your speech
or writing is to be delivered determines the kind of language you will use.

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5. Work on the feedback given to you. Once you receive comments from the listeners/readers, work on
them. Take kindly to criticisms. In the long run, constructive criticisms will prove beneficial to you as you
learn to address them.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE ORAL COMMUNICATION

1. Be clear with your purpose. You should know by heart your objective in communicating.

2. Be complete with the message you deliver. Make sure that your claims are supported by facts and
essential information.

3. Be concise. You do not need to be verbose or wordy with your statements. Brevity in a speech is a
must.

4. Be natural with your delivery. Punctuate important words with the appropriate gestures and
movements. Exude a certain degree of confidence even if you do not feel confident enough.

5. Be specific and timely with your feedback. Inputs are most helpful when provided on time.

Topic 4: ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION

Ethics is defined as a set of rules or guidelines; these are theories as to which is right or wrong.
In communication, ethics is considerable important because it would likely guide everyone to effective
communication. Theses ethical principles are universal in the sense that all people should consider these
things because of their vitality in the communication process and effectiveness.

Communication ethics emphasizes that morals influence the behavior of an individual, group, or
organization thereby affecting their communication. For instance, given the unethical communication
practice of a certain company of concealing the non-remittance of deducted premiums from employees‘
salaries to the SSS or the Social Security System (or GSIS or Government Service Insurance System in the
case of government offices), the company‘s accountability to its employees is undoubtedly affected.
Compare this situation with that of an organization that observes ethical practice and remits the
employees‘ monthly contributions to the SSS or GSIS regularly. It is important to note that one‘s
behavior should be regulated by honesty, decency, truthfulness, sincerity, and moral uprightness.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

Completeness

The message must be complete and geared to the receiver‘s perception of the world. The
message must be based on facts and a complex message needs additional information and / or
explanation. A good subdivision of subjects will clarify the message as a result of which there will be a
complete overview of what is said.

Concreteness

Concrete business communication is also about a clear message. This is often supported by
factual material such as research data and figures. The words used as well as the sentence structure can
be interpreted univocally. Nothing is left to the imagination.

Courtesy

In addition to considering the feelings and points of view of the target group, it is also important
to approach the audience in a friendly and courteous manner. Use of terms that show respect for the
receiver contribute towards effective communication. The same goes for the manner in which you
address someone. Not everyone will be charmed if you use a familiar form of address and use of a
formal address could come across as too distant. By using the word “they” a larger audience is
immediately addressed.

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Correctness

A correct use of language has the preference. In written business communication, grammatical
errors must be avoided and stylistic lapses or a wrong use of verbs are not sufficient either in verbal
communication. A correct use of language increases trustworthiness and the receiver will feel that they
are taken seriously.

Clarity

Clear or plain language is characterized by explicitness, short sentences and concrete words.
Fuzzy language is absolutely forbidden, as are formal language and cliché expressions. By avoiding
parentheses and keeping to the point, the receiver will get a clear picture of the content of the message.
Briefly-worded information emphasizes the essence of the message. Coherence means the connection
of ideas at the idea level, and cohesion means the connection of ideas at the sentence level.

Consideration

Communicating with the target group (Consideration). In order to communicate well, it is

important to relate to the target group and be involved. By taking the audience into account, the
message can be geared towards them. Factors that play a role in this are for example: professional
knowledge, level of education, age and interests.

Conciseness

A message is clear when the storyline is consistent and when this does not contain any
inconsistencies. When facts are mentioned, it is important that there is consistent, supporting
information. Systematically implementing a certain statement or notation also contributes to clear
business communication. When statements are varied, they will confuse the receiver.

Observing a code of ethics is essential as it determines the kind of behavior that is proper and
desirable over one that is displeasing and offensive. A code of ethics sets the standards to be observed
by a person or a company that will create a good reputation or a positive image not only for an
individual but also for the organization. It will, therefore, pave the way for the attainment of the desired
results leading to the success of an individual or the entire company. Success in decision-making will
likewise impact the company‘s reputation.

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