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Communication Theory

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16 views

Communication Theory

Uploaded by

Nhlanhlakazi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 21

1

Mr Alan Geldenhuys
Course Content 2023

2
English
(year course)

3
TEXTBOOK

Use the 2nd or 3rd edition 4


UNIT 1:
COMMUNICATION
THEORY BASICS
COMMUNICATION THEORY
FOCUS ON MODEL AND CATEGORIES

DEFINITION

MODEL

EFFICIENCY

CATEGORIES / CONTEXTS
DEFINING COMMUNICATION

• Communication – two-way process between two or more


people.
• The focus is on language and on creating meaning
(understanding).
• The sender expresses and the receiver interprets.
THREE IMPORTANT
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN WE
COMMUNICATE (R A C)
REASON: Why are you communicating? What is your reason or purpose
for communicating? What results do you want to achieve?
AUDIENCE: Who are you communicating with? What are the demographic
factors of your intended audience (gender, age, education, vocation, nationality,
culture and experience). You may have to modify your style, depending on who
your audience (receiver) is. Do you know your receiver, and can you predict
his/her response?
CONTEXT: What is the context (environment/situation)? Do not get side-
tracked. What is it that you want to communicate? Adapt the content according
to the context.
How does it work?
The communication process
can be explained through a
model
COMMUNICATION MODEL
ELEMENTS / COMPONENTS
• Sender (encoder)
• Receiver (decoder)
• Code (language) (verbal or nonverbal)
• Message (text/idea/information/content)
• Medium (how the message is conveyed / written or
spoken)
• Audience (must be considered – also the purpose)
• Feedback (response) – how can it be improved?
• Communication environment (the situation)

Can you apply this to a scenario?


EFFICIENCY OF
COMMUNICATION

• How successful was the communication process?


• Accurate understanding is desired but not always possible.
• Apply this to a scenario
CATEGORIES / CONTEXTS
OF COMMUNICATION
• Intrapersonal (speaking to oneself)
• Interpersonal (two or more person)
• Small group (three to 12 people)
• Public (public speech)
• Mass (mass media - involves mass media technology, always one-
sided and there is no feedback)
• Organisational (communication in an organisation)
• Intercultural communication (communicationbetween different
cultures)
Understand and apply each to a practical example
COMMUNICATION
BARRIERS
PERCEPTUAL BARRIERS
• Age
• Occupation
• Cultural background
• Past experience
• Selection
• Needs (understand Maslow’s pyramid of
needs)
• Education
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
LANGUAGE / SEMANTIC BARRIERS (diff lang; diff lang varieties;
diff meanings; jargon; diff words; insensitive lang; pronunciation;
long sentences; grammar, spelling and punctuation errors)
PHYSICAL BARRIERS (outside your control; people speaking
loudly when you need to work; hard seats; stuffy classroom; weak
internet signal; lack of data; illegible handwriting; speaker’s untidy
appearance; lettering that is too small)
PHYSIOLOGICAL BARRIERS (feeling unwell: e.g., headache
prevents you from communicating well)
PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS (your mental state: e.g., angry or
depressed - prevents you from communicating well)
VERBAL AND NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• Verbal - Communicating with words
• Nonverbal - Communicating without words

What are the functions of verbal communication?


• To express meaning; create understanding

What are the functions of nonverbal codes?


• To express meaning
• To modify (adapt) verbal messages (complementing
(=adding to); accenting; repeating; substituting or
contradicting)
IMPORTANT: A GOOD COMMUNICATOR WILL:

• Know something of the receiver and predict


the response
• Choose the most suitable way to share
information clearly, minimising any
interference or noise
THANK YOU

21

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