P a g e | 84

UNIT
COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS
PURPOSES
3
This unit will introduce you on the vital roles of
communication when it is linked on its various purposes.
Communication serves five major purposes: to inform, to
express feelings, to imagine, to influence, and to meet
social expectations. Each of these purposes is reflected in
a form of communication.

In our daily life, communication or exchanging of

ideas is a common activity but how can we make it
somewhat productive and beneficial to us when it comes
to dealing things that involve creating awareness,
educating, changing knowledge, influencing perceptions,
attitudes and beliefs, promoting action and changing
behavior.

Furthermore, this unit aims to provide you relevant

information and activities to hone your communicative
skills both in verbal and non-verbal that is found to be
essential in our daily activities.

GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU

 P a g e | 89

Informative, Persuasive and

Argumentative Communication LESSON 1
(4HOURS)
pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
Meridel J. Tinonas , Mayline M. Villar and Jonas D. Singson

LEARNING OUTCOMES

UNIT 3: COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Demonstrate mastery in obtaining, providing and
disseminating information;
 Present ideas persuasively using appropriate verbal cue; and
 Create a public announcement employing the various
purposes of communication.

INTRODUCTION
Communication is a process of exchanging information,
ideas, thoughts, feeling and emotions through speech signals,
writing or behavior. In communication process, senders encode a
message using a medium. The receiver decodes the message,
sends feedback through a medium.

Communication is made for numerous purposes. The way

messages are crafted depends highly on the intention of the sender.
When people communicate with each other, they exchange various
forms of meaning, such as ideas and information, through a
common system of symbols. Typical communications can include
writing in a diary, watching television, talking with friends, and
speaking on the telephone. It has been estimated that people spend
more time communicating than they spend on any other complex
activities in life. Human communication takes place on many levels:
from the simplest interpersonal and small-group exchanges among
friends to mass communication, as experienced in public speeches,
magazines, or news broadcasts.

Communication is not limited to exchanges between people.

It also refers to activities that do not involve people—for example,
the word communication may be used to describe the ways that
animals relate to each other. Similarly, it is often said that electronic
devices communicate with each other. All such communication
happens because participants in the process share an
understanding of certain symbols and exchange them in a
systematic or orderly way.

GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU

 P a g e | 91

Informative, Persuasive and Argumentative UNIT

LESSON Communication 3
1

Let’s Analyze and Prepare

The picture depicts two persons

exchanging divergent or opposite
views. Therefore, the answer for
this picture is argue.

The second picture depicts a

person being prevailed to agree on
something, and another person
who tries to alter the belief of
another. Thus, the answer is
persuade for this picture.

The last picture shows different

images of an act of transferring or
imparting of knowledge or idea.
The correct answer for this photo
collage is inform.

The terms argue, persuade, and inform are words that differentiate the acts of
conversation. These words can also be called as the types of rhetorical modes in
communication.
GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU
 P a g e | 92

UNIT
• Informative, Persuasive and Argumentative
LESSON Communication 3
1

Let’s Discover
Informative Communication involves giving than asking. As an independent
communicator, you want your receivers to pay attention and understand. The main
purpose of informative communication or writing is to simply convey information
factually. Its goal is to input new learning, enhance prior knowledge, confirm a
concept, alleviate comprehension of an idea, or explain a process or procedure.

Osborn (2009) purports that informative communication arises out of

impulses:

a. We seek to expand our awareness of the world around us.

b. We seek to become more competent.

c. We have an abiding curiosity about how things work and how they are made.

When preparing for an informative exchange, ask yourself the following

questions:

1. Is my topic noteworthy to be considered informative?

2. What do my recipients already know about my topic?

3. What more do they have to know?

4. Am I knowledgeable enough of my topic to help my receivers understand it?

Example of Informative Communication

1. A teacher telling students about earthquake.

2. A student talking about her research.
3. A travelogue about the Tower of London.
4. A computer programmer speaking about new software.

Persuasive Communication is any message whose sole purpose is to get

the listener to support and transform their thinking in favor of the presenter’s
perspective. It is about creating an attitude change to influence social behavior. Your
audience’s thoughts are critical to the process so you need to think about your
listeners’ potential perspective, then it is often helpful to present refuting arguments
before they are brought up. This can add credibility to the speaker.

GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU

 P a g e | 93

Furthermore, Persuasive communication is an art of gaining fair and favorable

considerations for our point of view. It

a. provides a choice among options.

b. advocates something through a speaker.
c. uses supporting materials to justify advice.
d. turns the audience into agents of change
e. asks for strong audience commitment
f. gives importance to the speaker’s credibility
g. appeals to feelings.
h. has higher ethical obligation

Example of Persuasive Communication

• Advertisements
• Campaigns
• Propaganda
• Sales
• Parenting
• Managing
Argumentative Communication relies heavily on sound proof and reasoning. It
is logical and reasoned way to demonstrate one’s point of view, belief, conclusion or
position. It tries to make listeners/readers believe that your idea is better based on the
various reasons that you have at hand.

Modern approach to making decisions considers real argumentations where

rational communicators do the best that they can to justify their standpoints in a
certain context. This is considered to be argumentative communication, the art of
persuading based on reason, on facts and not on emotions.

• Debating: explaining reasons (thesis) why a certain theory can (or cannot) be
considered persuading

• Argumenting: persuading the audience to support the speaker’s thesis

• Audience: it’s the core focus around which an effective debate is conceived
and formulated.

GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU

 P a g e | 94

Argumentative personality:

 Argue out of habit

 Always need to be right
 Make a fuss about most trivial things, just to cause conflict
 Almost always on the defensive

Negatives of being around argumentative personality person

 Can be difficult to live and work with

 Many are very self-absorbed
 Have no insight into how their behavior impacts others.
 Feel threatened with people with views different from theirs.
 Chronic blamers.

Positives of being around argumentative personality person

 Being around them can helps you build motivation to stand up for
yourself
 Learning debate techniques from those who passionately defend their
views.

Lucas (2007) claims that to avoid defective argumentation, the following

must be avoided:

1. Defective evidence
• Misuse of facts
• Statistical fallacies
• Defective Testimony
• Inappropriate evidence

2. Defective Patterns of reasoning

• Evidential fallacies
a. Slippery slope
b. Confusing facts with opinion
c. Red herring
d. Myth of the mean
• Flawed proofs
• Defective arguments

GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU

 P a g e | 98

• Informative, Persuasive and Argumentative UNIT

LESSON Communication 3
1

Let’s Sum It Up

Communicative messages surround us. Most try to teach us something and/or

influence our thoughts or behaviors. As with any type of communication, some
messages are more engaging and effective than others.
• Informative (or informational) and persuasive communications are related, but
distinct, the goal is always to supply information and facts to the audience.
• Informative do not tell people what to do with the information; their goal is for
the audience to have and understand the information while persuasive
communication uses information.
• Persuasion basically means trying to influence the way someone thinks or
behaves with logical arguments that use facts and evidence.
• People argue for four main reasons:
• To clarify thinking as individuals or groups. Oftentimes, individuals and groups
do not know what they believe but are still faced with information that requires
interpretation. Argument can help individuals and groups learn about issues.
• To explain or defend actions or beliefs.
• To solve problems or make judgments. Argument helps facilitate decision-
making about what should and should not do.
• Argumentative Communication relies heavily on sound proof and reasoning. It
is logical and reasoned way to demonstrate one’s point of view, belief,
conclusion or position. It tries to make listeners/readers believe that your idea is
better based on the various reasons that you have at hand.
• Modern approach to making decisions considers real argumentations where
rational communicators do the best they can to justify their standpoints in a
certain context. This is considered to be argumentative communication, the art
of persuading based on reason, on facts and not emotions.

GEC 5: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION CAS-CPSU