TOPIC 1: COMMUNICATION PROCESSES, 5. Decoding.

The receiver’s mental processing of your message; the

PRINCIPLES, AND ETHICS reverse of encoding.
6. Receiver. The person or group of people who will get your
COMMUNICATION message. The receiver gets the message by using the sensory
 A transaction in which the participants are mutually skills (listening, feeling, smelling, hearing, seeing, viewing)
engaged in the process of creating the same meaning 7. Feedback. Receiver’s response to your message. If you get the
(Comeaux, 1996; Opina et al., 2016). desired result, your communication is successful, otherwise,
 A basic and dynamic social process which includes the miscommunication happens.
sending and receiving messages at a conscious or 8. Context. Refers to the situation in which the communication
unconscious level. takes place. It includes (a) the environment, (b) relationship
 It came from the word ‘communis’ meaning ‘to share’. between the communicators, (c) respective cultural
backgrounds, (d) topic/subject of communication.
THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
The communication process involves eight parts and steps, Barriers. Elements that hinder successful communication.
which is illustrated below:
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Intrapersonal Communication with oneself. (eg. Self-
meditation, diary-writing, etc.)
2. Interpersonal Communication with one or more persons
but one-way limited. This level may be dyadic or group.
3. Public. One-way communication with a large number of
people. (eg. Conference, seminars, classroom lectures, etc.)
4. Multi-channel communication with a large number of people
which requires the use of media and may even be recorded
for further dissemination to areas unable to listen live. (eg.
News reports, celebrity interviews, events coverage, eg.)

KEY PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

1. Interpersonal communication is inescapable. Humans always

1. Source. This is you: the sender of the message. communicate. Even the very attempt of not wanting to
2. Message. The information you want to convey. This is the reason communicate communicates something. You always
for communicating. This may be an idea, an opinion, a belief, an communicate and receive communication from others not
attitude, a feeling, an emotion, a viewpoint, an instruction, a only through words but also through voice tone, gesture,
command, or request. posture, bodily movement, facial expression, clothes worn,
3. Encoding. The process of converting your ideas or thoughts into and so on. Because of this fact, you are often judged through
verbal and/or nonverbal symbols that can be understood by the your behavior and not your intention or purpose.
receiver of the message. 2. Interpersonal communication is irreversible. Once you have
4. Channel. The Manner which your message or information is uttered something, you can never take it back. This principle
conveyed. (eg. Face-to-face communication, telephone call, video is best expressed in a Russian proverb which says, “Once a
conference, drawings, images, symbols, etc.) word goes out of your mouth, you can never swallow it again.
 3. Interpersonal communication is complicated. Whenever you 1. Mutuality. Pay attention to the needs of others, as well as yours.
communicate with anyone, you simultaneously interpret 2. Individual dignity. Do not cause another person embarrassment
both his verbal and nonverbal language. Some factors that or a loss of dignity.
complicate communication are: 3. Accuracy. Ensure that others have accurate information. Tell
 A word does not have just one meaning. them everything they have a right and need to know, not just
 Nonverbal symbols are more vague than words since they are what is true.
interpreted in many ways. 4. Access to information. Never bolster the impact of your
 Communication is culture-bound communication by preventing people from communicating with
 There are at least 6 persons involved in communication: one another or by hindering access to the supporting
a. The person you think you are. information.
b. The person you think the other person is.
c. The person you think the other person thinks you are. 5. Accountability. Be responsible and accountable for the
d. The person you think the other person thinks he is. consequences of your relationships and communication.
e. The person the other person thinks you are. 6. Audience. As audience or receiver of the information, you also
f. The person the other person thinks you think he is. have ethical responsibilities. A good rule of thumb is the “200%
rule” where both the message is understood, and that ethics are
4. Interpersonal communication is contextual. Communication followed. This is a 100/100 rule, not a 50/50 rule.
is affected by several factors. 7. Relative truth. As either sender or receiver of information,
a. Psychological context—who you are and what you bring to the remember that your own point of view may not be shared by
interaction: needs, values, desires, beliefs, personality, and so on. others and that your conclusions are relative to your perspective,
b. Relational context—which concerns your reactions to the other so allow others to respectfully disagree or see it differently.
person based on relationships—as boss, colleague, friend, 8. Ends vs means. Be sure that the end goal of your communication
sibling, parent, etc. and the means of getting to that end are both ethical although no
c. Situational context—involves the psycho-social ‘where’ you are rule can be applied without reservation to any situation.
communicating. 9. Use of power. In situations where you have more power than
d. Environmental context—includes the physical ‘where’ you are others (eg. A teacher with a student, boss with a subordinate,
communicating: objects in the room and their arrangement, parent with a child), you also have more responsibility for the
location, noise level, temperature, season, and time of day. outcome.
e. Cultural context—all learned behaviors and rules that affect the 10. Rights vs responsibilities. Balance your rights against your
interaction. For instance, bodily movement, facial expression, responsibilities even if you live in a wonderful society where
gesture, distance and eye contact vary in different cultures. your rights are protected by law; not everything you have a right
to do is ethical.
ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION

Morals are our own set of rules, so others are neither expected nor
required to follow them.
Ethics are rules set and accepted by the society, so they are imposed
upon everyone.

Deirdre D. Johnston, cited by Chase & Shamo (2013), pointed out 10

ethics in communication: