GNED 05

What is Communication?
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HANDOUT 1

What is communication?

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. discuss what is communication;

2. identify the elements of communication:
3. differentiate the types and levels of communication;
4. explain the principles of communication; and
5. demonstrate communication ethics.

Questions to ponder:
1. What is communication?
2. When can we consider a scenario as a communication process?
3. How do we develop effective communication skills?

Communication is a process by which people share information, thoughts,

ideas, feelings, and even attitudes. It is a very important part of human civilization. It is through
communication where people get to provide information, build relationships, persuade
behaviors and share opinions. Wood (2003), also defined communication as a systematic
process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings. In
addition, communication is simply a process of sharing meaning in any context.

You should know that communication being a process includes the following elements or
components:

First is the CONTEXT, context refers to the setting in which communication takes place. This
can be physical, meaning the actual place where the communicators are in. If it is classroom
discussion, then the physical context is the classroom. Also, physical includes lighting,
temperature, weather condition and other environmental factors. It can also be social, meaning
the kind of relationship that the communicators maintain, whether they are husband and wife,
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mother and daughter, father and son, etc. Remember that when you communicate to other
people it varies depending on the relationship that you have with them. There is also the
historical context, it refers to the kind of previous encounter that the participants had in the past.
If the participants had a favorable history then it will have a positive impact to the present
encounter. Lastly in context is the psychological, it refers to the moods and feelings that each
person brings to the communication process. Sad, happy, angry, bored, etc.

Second element of communication is PARTICIPANT; participants are the people involved in the
communication process. As a participant you can either be sender or receiver or vice versa.

MESSAGE is another component of communication. Messages are information that are

encoded and decoded in a communication process. It may be in the form of verbal or non-
verbal messages.

The component of communication that carries the message is called the CHANNEL. According
to Verderber (1999), channel is both a route traveled by the message and the means of
transportation. Messages may be transmitted through verbal and nonverbal symbols if it is a
face-to-face communication.

NOISE is a component of communication that is not as relevant as the others, because even
without it still communication will be successful. It is only included in the components of
communication simply because most of the time there is noise. Noise can be categorized as
external, internal or semantic. External noise refers to a kind of noise, sights and sounds that
distracts people from paying attention. For example, noisy students outside the classroom.
Internal noise on the other hand includes our thoughts and feelings that intervene with the
communication process. For example, while attending your class you are thinking of the fight
you had with your parents. Lastly for noise is the sematic noise. It refers to unintended meaning
caused by symbols. For example, words with double meaning when used without context.

Lastly for components of communication is FEEDBACK, it shows how the message sent is
heard, seen and understood.

Communication may be verbal or non-verbal. Verbal communication includes any form of

communication that involves words, spoken, written or signed. Non-verbal communication on
the other hand includes body language such as gestures, facial expressions, eye contact and
posture.

Moreover, communication occurs in three levels. First, is the intrapersonal level, it occurs
within one person. The sender and the receiver of the message is oneself. It is often referred to
as personal communication or self-talk. Motivating oneself and decision-making are examples
of intrapersonal communication. Second, is the interpersonal communication; it refers to
communication that occurs between individuals. Interviews, small group discussion and casual
conversations are forms of interpersonal communication. Lastly, is public communication, it is
when a speaker sends a message to an audience. Public communication could be face-to-face
delivery or indirect through radio and television broadcast.

Why do you think people communicate?

Communication serves some significant functions in our lives. These are the following:
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1. We communicate to meet needs. In order to meet our human needs like water, food,
shelter, clothing, etc. we need to communicate. In addition, humans are social being, we
need to be with people and communicate with them.
2. We communicate to enhance or maintain our sense of self. We get to know more
about ourselves by communicating with others. We discover who we really are and we
are capable of doing.
3. We communicate to fulfil social obligations. Being a social being means we have
social obligations to fulfil. We can only fulfil these obligations if we greet, talk and
communicate with people. For example, as a student in order for you to fulfil your social
obligations, then you have to talk and communicate with your teachers as well as your
classmates.
4. We communicate to develop relationships. Relationships are developed, deepened
and maintained through communication.
5. We communicate to exchange information. Through communication we become well
informed.
6. We communicate to influence others. We persuade and encourage others to take
actions like motivating a sibling to pursue his/her desired course.

Now that you have learned already the definition, components, functions, and types of
communication, my question is, what are the principles that guide communication?

The following are the principles of communication:

1. Communication is purposive. When you communicate with other people the purpose
can be anything under the sun, and the success of communication is only achieved if
the purpose is accomplished.
2. Communication is continuous. Communication does not stop the moment you stop
talking. According to Verderber (1999), even nonverbal behavior represents reactions to
your environment and to the people around you. You have to be aware and conscious of
the nonverbal behavior you constantly send.
3. Communication messages vary in conscious encoding. Communication may be
spontaneous or could also be based on learned script, or it could be based on the
understanding of a situation.
4. Communication is relational. In communication, you not only share meanings but also
negotiate and enhance relationships. Communication develops, maintains and even
dissolves relationships.
5. Communication has ethical implications. Ethics is non-negotiable in communication,
when you communicate you always have to recognize some ethical standards.
6. Communication is learned. Communication is a skill that can be learned. To say that
talking is communicating is a misconception, because communication involves listening,
processing of thoughts and then speaking. Communication skills is learned through
practice.

COMMUNICATION ETHICS

Ethics are values that have been instilled in us, we have knowingly or unknowingly
accepted them and govern our actions.
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We all acknowledge that “a speaker who uses language that degrades or injures human
personalities by exaggeration, pseudotruths, twisting of words and name calling is clearly acting
unethically.” (Berko, 1995)

Ethical communicators or speakers according to Berko (1995) should:

1. speak with sincerity;
2. not knowingly expose an audience to falsehood or half-truths that can cause
significant harm;
3. not premeditatedly alter the truth;
4. present the truth as she or he understands it;
5. raise the listeners level of expertise by supplying the necessary facts;
6. employs message that is free from mental as well as physical coercion;
7. not invent or fabricate information; and
give credit to the source of information.

Activity: Illustration of the Communication Process

Instructions: Think of a scenario that will best represent the process of communication. Make
sure that the scenario is not an actual picture of people performing the act of communication.
Draw the scenario that you came up with in a bond paper. Do not forget to label each part of the
illustration with the components of communication. Take a picture of your drawing and upload it
in the COMMUNICATION PROCESS BIN that you will find in our Google classroom.

Below is an example of an illustration of communication using real life scenario.

feedback

noise

channel
sender message
receiver