COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES There are also GUIDELINES which you must follow in

nominating or restricting participants in a discussion.

Nomination refers to the act of the speaker wherein he or 1. The main speaker should state the topic that will be
she invites the participant to join in the conversation or discussed. It is necessary to give participants an idea on
discussion. Meanwhile, restriction refers to the act of the what will be talked about.
speaker wherein he or she restricts or limits participants 2. Calling the participants by their names is the proper way
from contributing to the conversation or discussion. of nominating them in the conversation. Also, the
speaker may use nonverbal cues, such as pointing at the
Analyzing the nature of nomination and restriction helps person to signal that he or she may share his or her
participants understand their roles in various types of ideas.
conversation. 3. Participants who wish to join the discussion can perform
verbal or nonverbal cues to express their interest. For
There are two factors to consider for nomination and example, a participant can raise his or her hand or say
restriction: social relationships and environment. “May I be allowed to speak?”
 Social relationships determine the specific role of the 4. When other participants try to join the discussion even
participants whether they can nominate or restrict other without nomination, the speaker may use verbal and
speakers from joining the conversation. nonverbal cues to restrict them. He or she can say “Let
o Higher authorities refer to those who are assigned me finish first, then I’ll get back to your question . . .”
to control the flow of the conversation. Their role is or announce before the discussion starts that “questions
to ask questions that will maintain the quality and or comments will be entertained after the presentation.”
productivity of communication. For example, Keep in mind that in restricting participants, the speaker
interviewers are considered to be a higher authority or the higher authority should approach them politely or
since they are responsible for asking questions to professionally.
the interviewees.
o Lower authorities refer to the participants who start Example:
as listeners and are then nominated to be speakers Read the situation below:
when called by the higher authorities. They are The class of Mr. Valdez just finished discussing the article
called using their names. They may also use written by Miss Maria Cusipag entitled “Teenage
nonverbal cues to initiate that they want to join the Pregnancy.” The article focuses on the consequences of
conversation. being pregnant at a very young age.
Mr. Valdez wants to know his students’ reaction to the
 Environment refers to the setting of the conversation. It
arguments presented by the author.
also determines the roles of the speakers. For example,
Mr. Valdez: The author states that teenage parents cannot
in a classroom discussion, teachers nominate or restrict
grapple with financial problems. Do you agree or disagree
the participants. If the setting is changed into a seminar
with the author? Let’s hear your insight, Dianna.
led by students, there will be a segment for entertaining
Dianna: I agree with the author. Teenage parents are too
questions or comments from the teachers. They may
young to get a financially stable job. If they get hired, they
nominate the teachers who will join the discussion and
are usually paid according to their educational
restrict others.
qualification.
o One-on-one communication: Tutorials and
Mr. Valdez: However, teenage parents have guardians to
interviews are common settings for nomination and
provide for their needs. Do you think they will allow them to
restriction. For example, in a job interview, the
spend for everything? Also, there are other sources of
interviewer interrogates the applicant about his or
income, such as putting up a small business. What can you
her personal, educational, and professional
say about it, Dominic?
backgrounds. While the interviewer is asking
Dominic: Exactly. However, the success in business
questions, the applicant is restricted from speaking
endeavors is not easily achieved. For a business to succeed,
as doing so may interrupt the interviewer. Once the
teenage parents should commit their time and effort. In this
interviewer is done asking a question, without
case, their attention will be divided to attending to the needs
having to explicitly mention the applicant’s name,
of their child and of their business. It will be a long and
he or she is nominated to answer.
difficult process, and it does not have any guarantee.
o Group communication: Panel discussion, class
Class: Students begin chatting with their seatmates to
discussion, forum, and debates involve nomination express agreement. Janna raises her hand.
and restriction. In a debate, while a participant Mr. Valdez: Class, please maintain silence. Yes, Janna?
delivers his or her piece, the other participant is Janna: I agree with Dominic that putting up and managing
restricted from speaking. He or she must wait for a business requires one’s dedication and full attention. There
his or her turn to present his or her argument. is no guarantee that a business will become successful or
Another example is in a forum. After the speaker profitable. Remember that children’s needs must be given
presents his or her piece, he or she nominates immediately.
participants by encouraging them to ask questions Mr. Valdez: Thank you for all your insights. Now let’s
about the presentation. proceed to the next argument: education.
Explanation: 2. Properly timed signals – Participants should wait
It was mentioned earlier that the main speaker decides who for verbal and nonverbal cues.
among the participants can join or are restricted from joining 3. Acknowledge understanding and provide
the discussion. Notice that, in the example above, Mr. Valdez attention – Participants should dedicate their
is the nominated speaker and those who are invited to join attention to or be interested in the discussion so that
the discussion are called by their names. they will know when to take turns.
Now let us assume that Mr. Valdez did all the talking and
does not call any of the participants. This means that the Example:
participants are restricted from joining the discussion. Mr. Sanchez is going to attend to his first job interview as a
Social relationships: In the case of the example above, Mr. civil engineer. He studied his résumé and prepared for the
Valdez is considered to be the higher authority. He has the responses to questions that might be asked. When he arrived
option to nominate or restrict the students, the lower at the office, he has been asked to wait for twenty minutes.
authorities, from joining the discussion. Once the interviewer calls his name, he may enter Room D.
Environment: The situation mentioned above is an example After twenty minutes, he, together with another applicant,
of a group communication with the classroom as a setting. has been asked to enter the room.
Here, the role of the teacher is important as he controls the Miss Santos: Good afternoon, Mr. Sanchez and Miss
flow of the discussion. Sarmiento. I am Miss Santos, the human resource officer.
(She then proceeds to provide information about the history
Turn refers to the opportunity given to a speaker to talk, of the company.)
whereas turn-taking is a process in which a participant Mr. Sanchez: Good afternoon, Miss Santos!
stops speaking and yields the floor to another participant so Miss Santos: Please take a seat.
he or she could begin to speak. Miss Sarmiento: Thank you, Ma’am!
Miss Sanchez: This is going to be a fifteen-minute interview.
There are three turn-taking acts: keep-turn, release-turn, and I will forward your applications to the supervisors if I find
take-turn. you–
1. Keep-turn suggests that a speaker must not stop Miss Sarmiento: Oh? Just a fifteen-minute interview?
until he fulfills his purpose in a conversation. Miss Santos: You heard it right. Let me finish first. I will
2. Release-turn suggests that a speaker is finished forward your applications to the supervisors if I find you
talking and is ready to yield the floor to another qualified for the position. Can you tell me something about
person to take his or her turn. He or she may use your academic background? Let’s start with you, Mr.
signals or pause in a conversation. Sanchez.
3. Take-turn suggests that another participant can Mr. Sanchez: I graduated as a summa cum laude in 2014. I
take the role of the speaker. have always treated my days in the university as a
preparation for my career. Also–
Signals and cues indicate that a speaker wants to keep, yield, Miss. Sarmiento: Me too! In fact, I have served as a student
or take his or her turn. leader during my second year in college. That was amazing!
 Intonation signals that a speaker wants to keep or yield By the way, do you have a position as a team leader?
his or her turn. Rising and falling intonations indicate Miss Santos: (Nods) We do. However, they are only open for
that a speaker is releasing his or her turn. Falling tenured employees. Mr. Sanchez, do you also want to work
intonation indicates that a speaker is about to end his or as a team leader?
her turn, while arising intonation implies that a speaker Mr. Sanchez: (Answers after three seconds) Yes, I do!
is asking the participants for clarification and However, I understand that I need to have an experience
confirmation or sometimes to express disbelief. first as a site engineer before leading a group of people.
 Verbal cues suggest that a speaker wants to yield or to Miss Santos: (Flips the résumé of Miss Sarmiento on the
keep his or her turn. For example, calling the second page)
participants’ names indicate that a speaker is releasing Miss Sarmiento: (Having seen the action of Miss Santos)
his or her turn. Meanwhile, using sentence connectors Oh, by the way, the second page does not contain any
such as “additionally,” “on the contrary,” “furthermore,” significant information, except character references.
“consequently,” or “likewise” suggests the speaker has Miss Santos: I am just looking at your résumé. Kindly wait
something more to say. for my next question.
 Nonverbal cues or gestures like raising one’s hand (Miss Santos continues asking questions. The interview lasts
show that a participant wants to take the floor or speak. for fifteen minutes.)
Also, when a speaker points to or fixes his or her gaze earn about it!
on a participant may mean that he or she wants that Explanation:
participant to speak. In the given example, you will notice various turn-taking
Aside from acts and signals and cues, turn-taking also has acts that were included. Miss Santos’s introduction of herself
rules. implied keep-turn. She did not stop in between, thus
1. Limit interruptions – Participants should wait for achieving her purpose of briefing the applicants about the
the speaker to finish first before interrupting. company.
Meanwhile, the act of Miss Santos calling Mr. Ramirez’s for us to help nearby communities.
name to answer her question means that she was yielding her Jerry: I agree with Anna. I have never imagined myself
turn. doing that. By the way, Anna, did your impression change?
Mr. Ramirez demonstrated the take-turn act when he Anna: Yes. I realized that even if we are still students, we
responded to Miss Santos’s question. can help other people in our own little ways.
Larry: (No one expressed disagreement.) That’s a good way
Topic Shifting to start our discussion. Since most of you agreed with her,
Topic shifting occurs when one intentionally or let’s now focus on the first project we have done: Community
unintentionally changes the direction of the flow of ideas in Development of San Andres. What challenges did you face in
a conversation. A speaker usually introduces a new topic the beginning? What were your thoughts about it?
when he or she is not familiar or not interested with the topic Jerry: Budget. That’s the greatest challenge we have
being talked about. encountered. The principal provided a budget plan, but it
would always depend on the situation. (He went on with how
There are two ways on how to shift a topic: speaking they solved the problem.) I am proud of our team. This did
topically and speaking on the topic. not cause any conflict with anyone unlike other groups.
 Speaking topically occurs when the listener (The members continued sharing their insights regarding the
concentrates on some phrases from the last statement questions.)
mentioned by the speaker. The idea develops and sticks
within the context of the situation. For example, May Explanation:
mentioned her impression of the community in one of In the situation, community development is the discourse
her class’s outreach programs. Andrew, her classmate, topic. This means that participants may contribute any
asked “What impression?” Note that although Andrew concepts related to it. The conversation does not include a
introduced a new topic by means of asking May to specific category. Meanwhile, in Jerry’s statement, “Budget.
specify her impression, his statement was still relevant That’s the greatest challenge we have encountered,” the
to the topic. sentence topic is budget. Notice that he is also speaking
 Speaking on the topic occurs when the listener topically since his response is connected with Larry’s
concentrates on a word, but the newly introduced idea question “What challenges did you face in the beginning?”
may not be related to the context of the topic. For Furthermore, Larry set the topic in the beginning of the
example, one of your classmates asked, “Who is your discussion when he said, “Let’s begin the discussion with
favorite basketball player?” Another classmate your insights.” He then limited or controlled the flow of
responded by saying how much he loves basketball. conversation when he reminded the students to share the
Although the response was still related to basketball, it challenges they faced in the beginning of the project.
was, in a way, out of context.
Interruptions are common examples of violations in a
Topic control occurs when the main or assigned speaker conversation. Since communication requires an interactive
manipulates the discussion so as to maintain its flow without exchange of messages within the speaker and participant,
moving away from or changing the topic. Participants should these violations should be repaired and terminated to avoid
be mindful of verbal cues as the main speaker uses misunderstanding among the participants. Thus, it is
statements such as “Let’s focus on . . .” or “Let’s important for each participant to know how to recognize
discuss . . .” to set the topic of the conversation or “As I was these violations so as to apply specific communication
saying . . .” or “Going back to . . .” to sustain or return to the strategies to fix them.
original topic. In a communication situation, violations refer to unnecessary
Topic control depends on the type of the communication acts of participants that often cause a misunderstanding or a
situation. Participants should recognize who controls the delay in the process or flow of the discussion.
conversation and who among the members are allowed to Common violations include grabbing the floor, overlapping,
speak. hogging the floor, and being silent.
 Grabbing the floor, also called interruption, is
Example: committed when a speaker is not able to fulfill his or her
Read the situation below. purpose because a participant takes over the role of
Larry conducted a team building among the officers of the being a speaker, without allowing him or her to finish
student council. He facilitated the group discussion by his or her turn first.
asking questions. Meanwhile, anyone is allowed to share  Overlapping is similar with grabbing the floor.
their insights. However, instead of a participant giving up his or her
Larry: For our group discussion today, we will talk about turn to another, both of them are talking at the same
community development. We have accomplished several time.
programs for this advocacy. Let’s begin the discussion with  Hogging the floor occurs when a speaker ignores others
your insights. who try to join or take over the discussion.
Anna: When I first heard about community development, I  Being silent, or dead air, happens when no one wants
was hesitant because I honestly thought that it’s exhausting. to speak or take the floor.
I initially thought that, as students, it would be impossible
 Mr. Gomez: I understand. Going back to what I was saying,
Repair and Termination the Filipino Club can take over if no one disagrees.
 Repair and termination are communication However, if one team shows interest, we should hold another
strategies used to fix violations in various meeting. Are we clear?
communication situations. Speakers who control Mr. Philip: (Raises his hand and is called by the facilitator)
the discussion are responsible for applying these Well, I appreciate your intention, Mr. Yvan. It is a great
strategies once a violation occurred. However, they honor to our school. However, we cannot grant your
have to do it cautiously, without being rude. Here request.
are some guidelines on how to repair or terminate: Mr. Yvan: (Raising his hand but being ignored by Mr. Philip)
o Recognizing the violation is the first step Mr. Philip: We have announced it last summer that students
to repairing a conversation. When a who are interested to join contests related to the current
participant interrupts or overlaps, the main theme for “Buwan ng Wika” can prepare as early as now.
speaker should recognize this situation and We can’t cancel it. We have provided the schedule.
address it briefly. The speaker can say “I Mr. Gomez: Please be reminded that no organization is
appreciate your comment. I will respond to allowed to release a schedule without our consent.
that after I have discussed a few more
slides.” (Everyone is silent for a while.)
o Shifting back to the main topic is the next
step after recognition. One may use verbal Mr. Gomez: I hope this incident will never happen again,
cues such as “anyway,” “going back,” or Mr. Philip.
“as I was saying.” Mr. Yvan: Anyway, since the announcement has been made,
o Asking leading questions are necessary to we would like to host the events for September instead. We
let other participants know that they have hope we can be given enough time to announce the events
returned to the original topic. Yes-no and honor the members of the Robotics Club on August 8.
questions are usually used to confirm Mr. Gomez: That is not a problem. I think the issue has been
understanding among members. resolved. Anyway, it is already 12 noon. You may take a
o After disregarding unnecessary topics, break and come back at 1:00 p.m.
speakers may choose to end or terminate
the conversation by taking a (Everyone leaves the room.)
break, shifting to a new topic, or
rescheduling a conversation.

Example:
Analyze the situation:

There is a gathering among the presidents of the

organizations for the annual planning of events. Each month,
there will be an assigned group to host several events. Mr.
Gomez, a faculty member, is the facilitator of the meeting.
He asks who among the organizations would like to handle
the events for August. The Filipino Club assumes that they
should host the events since the Philippines
celebrates Buwan ng Wika (Appreciation of the Filipino
Language). However, another group wants to take over.

Mr. Gomez: Next item in the agenda is the host for August.
Every group is–
Mr. Philip: (Interrupts Mr. Gomez) Since we celebrate
“Buwan ng Wika” every August, the Filipino Club should be
the host for August.
Mr. Gomez: Thank you for volunteering! It has been a
tradition of every school. Does everyone agree? If no one
disagrees–
Mr. Yvan: (Without raising his hand, he starts talking along
with Mr. Gomez.) But we have to consider that our school
has recently won a robotics competition. The award will be
given in August. We, the Science Club, would like to host the
events too. It is a good way of promoting it. Is that possible,
Mr. Gomez?