Chapter 4 COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES

Lesson 1: Informative, Persuasive, and Argumentative Communication

Communication is made for numerous purposes. The way messages are crafted
depends highly on the intention of the sender. In a supermarket, a sales agent makes
sure that the way a product is promoted gets consumers buying. A news anchor
delivers information in such a way that all the facts are clearly stated doing away
with words that may cause confusion. On the other hand, a criminal lawyer must
design his arguments supported by facts to convince the judge and the jury.

Informative Communication

Informative Communication involves giving than asking. As an informative

communicator, you want your receivers to pay attention and understand, but not to
change their behavior. By sharing information, ignorance is reduced, or better yet,
eliminated. The informative value of a message is measured by how novel and
relevant the information is or the kind of understanding it provides the receivers.

Osborn (2009) purports that informative communication arises out of three

deep impulses:
1. We seek to expand our awareness of the world around us.
2. We seek to become more competent.
3. We have an abiding curiosity about how things work and are made.

When preparing for an informative exchange, ask the following questions:

1. Is my topic noteworthy to be considered informative?
2. What do my recipients know already 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?

Persuasive Communication

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 material 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.

Argumentative Communication

Argumentative Communication relies heavily on sound proof and reasoning.

The nature of proof has been studied since the Golden Age of Greece and has been
improved through time. According to Aristotle, logos, ethos, and pathos are the three
primary forms of proof. In our time, however, many have confirmed the presence of
a fourth dimension of proof, mythos, which suggests that we respond to appeals to
the traditions and values of our culture and to the legends and folktales that
embody them.

Lucas (2007) claims that to avoid defective argumentation, the following must
be avoided:
1. Defective evidence such as
misuse of facts defective testimony
statistical fallacies inappropriate evidence
2. Defective patterns of reasoning
flawed proofs defective arguments
evidential fallacies such as:
slippery slope,
confusing facts with opinion
red herring
myth of the mean

Classroom Activity: Fill in the table by listing essential preparations when

communicating to inform, to persuade, and to argue.

To Inform To Persuade To Argue

Lesson 2: Public Speaking

You have probably delivered a speech before an audience once, twice, or

thrice in high school in the forms of reporting, research presentations, or creative
presentations or you might have read Biblical passages in church. How did the
experience make you feel? If the experience made you wish to speak more in public
or made you confident of yourself, then you belong to the few who do not fear
public speaking or who have overcome it. If the experience made you feel the
opposite, you are not alone. Jerry Seinfield was quoted saying:

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking.

Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to
the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than
delivering the eulogy.”

Fear if public speaking is, therefore, common to most people, but despite this
fact, many have turned public speaking into their ticket to success. Brian Tracy
phrased this idea in his statement below:
“Your ability to communicate with others will account for fully 85% of your success in your business
and in your life.”

Public speaking is one of the most important yet the most dreaded form of
communication. It is the way of sharing information with an audience, which includes
speaking to audience of any size, from a bunch of seminar participants to large
number of group of people watching on television.

What apparently matters is your reaction to fear of public speaking. How

should you handle fear? Mark Twain suggests: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery
of fear—not absence of fear.” Your awareness of your fear of public speaking is a
good starting point. With your awareness, you acknowledge that you need to take
actions to overcome that fear. You might also need a strong reason to overcome that
fear. While it is true that not all professions require public speaking skills, you must
consider the fact that public speaking is an essential skill in your academic life. Also
in many professions such as those in business, education, mass media, etc. public
speaking skills are a requirement. In some other professions, public speaking has long
been the tool for activism that paved way for social and political changes.

By this time, you must have decided that public speaking is highly relevant t
your academic, professional, and personal life.

Three Reasons Why Public Speaking is Important

1. To win over the crowd. To make a strong case, the ability to speak publicly is not
only important, but essential to make forward strides.
2. To motivate people. A great public speaker attains the power to motivate his or
her audience to do something, stop doing something, change a behavior, or reach
objectives.
3. To inform. Once you have their attention, a good informative speech sharing your
knowledge of a subject with an audience, enhances their understanding and makes
them remember your words long after you’ve finished.

Public Speaking is a process of speaking in a structured, deliberate manner to

inform, influence or entertain an audience.

Speech is the term used to refer to the body of spoken expressions of

information and ideas. A speech may be delivered in any of the following modes: read
froma manuscript, memorized and delivered extemporaneous or impromptu. The choice
of mode of speech delivery is determined by factors such as length of preparation,
complexity of message, purpose, and occasion.

Reading from a Manuscript is appropriate when the speech is long and when
details are complicated and essential such as that they need to be given completely.
Reading is also appropriate when one is asked to deliver a prepared speech on behalf
of another speaker. Reading may pose the least challenge in public speaking but the
speaker may be tricked into thinking that no preparation is needed. When a message
is delivered through reading, the force, naturalness, and eye contact may be
diminished because the eyes have to travel from page to the audience and vice
versa.

Memorized speech requires a speaker to commit everything to memory. This

method is excellent for short messages although it is also used for long pieces in
oratorical, declamation and other literary contests. Just like a read speech, a
memorized speech also poses challenge in naturalness. The worst experience one
could have in delivering a memorized speech is to forget the lines and fail to shift
smoothly to another mode of delivery.

Extemporaneous Speaking may have a short or long preparation. The speaker

may use an outline to guide him through his speech to achieve better organization
and to avoid leaving out details. But unlike reading, extemporaneous speaking
necessitates the speaker to formulate his sentences while he is speaking.
Extemporaneous is a method that most lecturers and teachers use. A good
extemporaneous speaker must be spontaneous.

Impromptu means speaking at the spur of the moment. Since there is very
minimal or no time for preparation given for impromptu, the content and organization
may suffer. Impromptu may not deliver the best thought in the best way but it
brings out the most natural thing to say at the moment.

Public speaking tips that will help reduce your anxiety, dispel myths, and improve
your performance:
1. Nervousness Is Normal. Practice and Prepare!
2. Know Your Audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not You.
3. Organize Your Material in the Most Effective Manner to Attain Your Purpose.
4. Watch for Feedback and Adapt to It.
5. Let Your Personality Come Through.
6. Use Humor, Tell Stories, and Use Effective Language.
7. Don’t Read Unless You Have to. Work from an Outline.
8. Use Your Voice and Hands Effectively. Omit Nervous Gestures.
9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic End.
10. Use Audiovisual Aids Wisely.

Becoming a Better Speaker

1. Plan Appropriately
2. Practice
3. Engage With Your Audience
4. Attention to Body Language
5. Think Positively
6. Cope With Nerves
7. Watch Recordings of Your Speech

Classroom Activity! On the Spot

Pick from the teacher’s box a quote or a question. From either a quotation or
question, develop a one minute impromptu speech. You may explain, argue, support,
and/or illustrate your answer.
Lesson 3: Making Inquiries

You probably texted or called people to obtain information you needed several
times already. Did you get the information you needed? Did you use the same
language and tone in all your queries through phone calls and text messages?

You might have also received queries via text messages, conversations, and
phone calls. Were there times when you felt the language or the tone of the caller
or message sender was inappropriate? Were you able to provide the information
sought satisfactorily?

Both obtaining and giving information are a part of our daily activities.
Information provide individuals basis for actions, plans, and decisions.An individual’s
skill in finding information helps him save time and make well-informed decisions, and
actions. Likewise, giving information effectively is of great help to others.

INQUIRY LETTER
An inquiry letter is written when a person needs more information about
products, services, internships, scholarships, or job vacancies offered by companies,
associations, or individuals. Often, inquiry letters are sent when a person has specific
questions that are not addressed by the general information available provided by
brochures, websites, advertisements, classified ads, etc.

An inquiry may also be in the form of telephone or personal interview.

Depending on the immediacy and specificity of the need, one of these modes may
prove more responsive to your need.
Both interview and letter require correct and appropriate language use. Both
require correctness, conciseness, clarity of language, and courtesy. While letters
require correctness of spelling, punctuations, capitalizations, indentions, margins, etc.,
interviews require clarity of words, correct pronunciation, intonation and pauses,
spontaneity, pleasing personality, and confidence.

Content and Organization of Letter of Inquiry

Just like any business letter, letter of inquiry has the following basic parts:
1. Heading or Letterhead
2. Date
3. Inside Address
4. Salutation
5. Body of the Letter
6. Complimentary Close
7. Name and Signature
 The body of the letter is usually composed of three paragraphs.

First Paragraph: It provides a background of your inquiry such as how, where, and
when you first learned of the information. State your purpose in one or two
sentences.
Middle Paragraph: This section should specify the information you are seeking.
Final Paragraph: Express your expectation from you addressee and thank him—i.e.
the recipient, in advance for his favorable action.

The format of an inquiry letter follows any of the following most commonly
used formats: pure block or full block, semi-block, or modified block. The format
below illustrates the basic business letter content using the pure block format.

_____________
_____________
_____________

_____________
_____________
_____________

_____________:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________.

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________.

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________.

_____________,

_____________
Emails

More frequently used now in inquiry are emails. Emails gained popularity
because of speed and convenience. Generally, email messages are less formal than
letters, although there are still expectations for appropriate and effective email
communication. The formality is determined by the sender’s familiarity and
relationship to the receiver, the classification and objective of the message to be
sent, and other factors that shape the context of communication. In academic emails,
for example, it is more appropriate to sound formal and professional. The use of
wanna and gonna and abbreviations such as tnx and gbu, and emoticons is
inappropriate. In other informal contexts, however, abbreviations and emoticons is
inappropriate. In other informal contexts, however, abbreviations and emoticons may
be effective. In academic and other more formal emails, correctness and other
qualities that apply to business letters should be observed.

For more effective email communications , remember the following:

1. Be courteous. Courtesy does not only mean greeting, thanking, or using
polite expressions. It also means considering the feelings of the
receiver, thus, the writer needs to use the appropriate or positive tone.
2. Keep messages as concise and clear as possible.
3. Proofread and spellcheck before sending.
4. Provide a short but descriptive subject line. The subject line will help the
receiver readily identify the content type and the urgency of the
message.
5. Although some parts of the email are optional, it is enabling to know all the
other parts.

The parts of the email are explained below:

From: Name of the person sending the email
Sent: Date and Time
To: Name of the recipient
CC: Other person receiving the email (CARBON COPY)
BCC: Another person receiving the email without the other recipient
knowing it (BLIND CARBON COPY)
Subject: Content (title) of the email
Attachment: Document sent separately, not included in the email (but attached)
Salutation: Greeting or opening
Body: (of the email) message
Closing: Ending
Name/Signature: Name and title (Below it may include company and address,
telephone number, URL or website, and social media link)
Interviews
Interview is a special type of purposive
conversation. Interviews are classified into
different types according to purpose, but basic
to all types of interview is to obtain desired
information. Interview requires real time for
both the inte r viewee an d inte r viewe r.
Whatever your specific purpose is, it is always
advantageous to consider the following tips in
conducting an interview.

Before the Interview

1. Remember that if you are seeking for information from people (e.g. interview for
research), you are asking them a favor; thus make appointments with your
interviewee at their most convenient time.
2. Prepare the list of questions.

During the Interview

3. Be punctual.
2. Wear appropriate attire.
4. Observe good manners.
5. Speak clearly and be attentive.
6. If your have follow-up questions, ask politely.
7. Allow the interviewee sufficient time to answer.
8. Rephrase questions to clarify vague points.
9. Acknowledge answers of the interviewee to assure him of your attention.
10. Graciously thank the interviewee for his time.

Parts of the Interview

1. Opening—includes the initial contact of the interviewer and the interviewee.
Rapport should be established by creating positive impression. Although
introduction might have been done during the appointment, introduce yourself
briefly.
2. Body—includes several questions to achieve your specific objectives.
3. Conclusion—includes expressing gratitude and hope of meeting the interviewee
again in the future.

Source: Wakat, G. etal., (2018). Purposive Communication. Manila: Lorimar Publishing Company.