GE 7 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

BASIC COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
The term communication is derived from the Latin word ‘communis,’ which means common. It
is the process of two or more people or groups exchanging information, ideas, opinions,
thoughts, and feelings. It is a basic human activity that enables individuals to communicate with
one another and exchange ideas, feelings, and experiences.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
• Verbal Communication – words, whether spoken or written, are used to communicate a
message. It falls into two categories: written and oral. Face-to-face interactions, phone calls,
and presentations all fall under the category of oral communication. Emails, letters, and
text messages are all examples of written communication.
• Nonverbal Communication – body language, facial emotions, and other nonverbal
indicators (body language, posture, and vocal tone)
• Visual Communication - this makes use of visual components including pictures, videos,
and graphics. It can also be in charts, infographics, and advertising. It is frequently
employed to simplify and enliven difficult information.
• Interpersonal Communication – information and ideas are exchanged between two or more
persons during this style of conversation. It can take the shape of written messages, phone
calls, or face-to-face interactions and can be formal or informal.
• Intrapersonal Communication – an individual’s internal communication with her/himself.
• Mass Communication – this style of communication uses mass media, including television,
radio, newspapers, and the internet. Information that needs to be widely disseminated is
frequently done so through mass communication, such as news updates, ads, and PSAs.
• Electronic Communication – digital technology, including the internet, social media, and
mobile devices are used to spread a message.
• Communication across Cultures – people from many cultural backgrounds exchange
information and ideas through this style of communication. It can involve both verbal and
non-verbal communication, and because of the varied languages, traditions, and values of
other cultures, it can be difficult. To foster mutual understanding and cooperation between
many cultures, intercultural communication is crucial.

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
• It enables people to communicate their thoughts, ideas, and feelings to others and makes it
easier for them to comprehend the messages of others.
• Building and maintaining connections, both personal and professional.
• Accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives in a professional setting.

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 • Effective decision-making.
• People can gather and evaluate data, express their viewpoints, and come to agreements.
• Used for marketing, sales, and customer service. It promotes client happiness and brand
loyalty.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNICATION
• Communication is a two-way process: It is not complete unless and until the message has
been understood by the receiver in the same sense.
• Purpose: Message is a Must.
• Form: e.g. order, instruction, report, queries etc. It may be verbal or written. It may be
formal or informal.
• Scope: Communication penetrates all human relationships. It is essential in all type of
organizational and at all levels of management.
• Communication is a dynamic process: The way a message is accepted depends upon the
fact that the fine sensory organs of the receiver are active at that time.
• Communication is much more than words.
• Communication’s primary purpose is to motivate a response.
• Communication is an interdisciplinary science: anthropology (study of body language),
sociology (study of human behavior), psychology (study of attitude) etc.
• It flows up and down and from side to side: Flows downward from a superior to
subordinate and upward from subordinate to a superior. It also flows between two or more
persons operating at the same level of authority.

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
• Source – a message is crafted through a sender who initiates the communication process.
It can be an author of a book, a public speaker, a teacher who discusses a lesson, or an
individual who posts a topic on social media platform.
• Message – a content sent by the speaker to the receiver.
• Channel – is the means or ways of communication. Examples are phone in calls and
letters/emails sent in business transactions.
• Receiver – is the one who receives the message.
• Feedback – an understood message is confirmed through the response of the receiver.
Feedback may be written, spoken, or acted out, such as a thumbs-up given by a listener.
• Context – meaning conveyed from the message sent by the sender to the receiver is called
context. It is necessary that both the encoder and decoder share a common understanding
to achieve effective communication.
• Environment – the sender and receiver’s feelings, mood, place, and mindset. Both sender
and receiver must consider the setting where communication takes place. This factor may

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 also hinder effective communication where barriers may interfere such as noise from the
buses or poor signal in phone calls.
• Interference / Barrier – factors that hinder the communication process.

BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION
• Psychological – thoughts that hamper the interpreted message received by the receiver.
• Physical – any form of physical restriction such as intrusive sounds, dim illumination, or a
lack of personal space.
• Linguistic and cultural – word differences are present in different cultures, which may
result in ineffective communication.
• Cognitive – when individuals have varying degrees of comprehension or understanding.
• Technological – can arise when people have varying degrees of access to or expertise with
technology.
• Noise – refers to any external or internal factors that can interfere with or disrupt the flow
of information between people.

LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
• Interpersonal level – is an exchange of information between two or more persons. It makes
use of verbal and non-verbal cues to achieve several personal and relational goals. Apart
from information and ideas, the individuals also get engaged in the exchange of feelings.
• Intrapersonal communication – is the communication with oneself. It is regarded as the
communicator’s internal use of language or thought. It includes the acts of imagination,
self-talk, and visualization.
• Organizational level – takes place within organizations. The individuals are in the form of
a hierarchy. The communication takes place downward, upward, and horizontally.
• Mass communication – is referred to as the medium of imparting information to large
number of individuals. This term is not only limited to the field of journalism but also is
utilized in other fields such as film, public relations, advertising, corporate communication,
and so forth.

MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
A. LINEAR MODELS
• Aristotle’s Communication Model (300 BC) – a Greek philosopher and scientist;
communication occurs when a speaker gives a message to the listener. It’s three
characteristics are: Ethos or speaker’s authority and reputation in the topic discussed;
Pathos or how emotionally invested the listener/s is to the topic and; Logos or the message’s
logical component.

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achieve the intended outcomes for this course. I understand that these materials and resources are the property of Saint Louis College and
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Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/aristotle%E2%80%99s-
communication-model/

• Lasswell’s Communication Model (1948) – since he was an American political scientist,

his communication model focuses on the message’s function in the society. Lasswell
highlights the following: Surveillance of the environment or how the environment observes
the message and its effects; Correlation of components of society and; Cultural
transmission between generation.

Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/lasswells-model/

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 • Shannon-Weaver Communication Model (1948) – Shannon, an American mathematician
and electronic engineer, and Weaver, an American scientist; made the model to improve
technical communication with the “noise” affecting the process.

Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/shannon-and-weaver-model-of-

communication/

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achieve the intended outcomes for this course. I understand that these materials and resources are the property of Saint Louis College and
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 • Gerbner’s General Model (1956) – he was one of the pioneers of communication research;
the model highlights the dynamic nature of communication which affects the reliability of
communication. Perceptual dimension involves selection, context, and availability
(attitude, mood, culture, personality).

Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/gerbners-general-model/

Privacy notice: I recognize that, as a student enrolled in this course, I am privileged to access all materials and resources that will enable me to
achieve the intended outcomes for this course. I understand that these materials and resources are the property of Saint Louis College and
copyrighted to the respective authors of each material or resource. I shall use these materials and resources only for the intended purpose of learning
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 • Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication (1960) – he was an American communications
theorist; it emphasizes the various factors under each stage of communication process.

Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/berlos-smcr-model-of-communication/

B. INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION MODELS

• Osgood-Schramm Model (1954) – both were communication theorists; breaks the sender
and receiver model of communication and shows a dynamic and endless communication
process.

Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/osgood-schramm-model-of-

communication/

Privacy notice: I recognize that, as a student enrolled in this course, I am privileged to access all materials and resources that will enable me to
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 • Westley and MacLean’s Model of Communication (1957) – both were huge contributors
in journalism studies; communication does not begin when one person starts to talk, but
rather when a person responds selectively to her physical surroundings. This model
considers a strong relation between responds from surroundings and the process of
communication. Communication begins only when a person receives message from
surroundings. Each receiver responds to the message they received based on their personal
understanding.

X1, X2, X3, and X4….—are news articles or information, Feedback (f), Clients (A), Reader
or Audience (B), and Gate Keeper (C)
Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/westley-and-macleans-model-of-
communication/

Privacy notice: I recognize that, as a student enrolled in this course, I am privileged to access all materials and resources that will enable me to
achieve the intended outcomes for this course. I understand that these materials and resources are the property of Saint Louis College and
copyrighted to the respective authors of each material or resource. I shall use these materials and resources only for the intended purpose of learning
in this course. I shall ensure that these materials are not reproduced, shared, or used outside of the Institution and for purposes not consistent with
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 • Convergence Model of Communication (Rogers and Kincaid, 1981) – Rogers was a
communication theorist who focused on intercultural disciplines and social change while
Kincaid was an American communication researcher who focused on social and behavioral
science; the model stressed the importance of information and the way information links
individuals together in social networks. They described communication as a process in
which individuals create and share information with one another to reach mutual
understanding. This cyclical process involves giving meaning to information that was
exchanged between two or more individuals as they move towards one another, and to
unite in a common interest or focus. In explaining the matter in which the convergence
process was thought to operate, they indicated that communication always begins with “and
then…” to remind us that something has occurred before we begin to observe the process.

Figure from Shairn, L. & Hollis-Turner, S. (2008)

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 C. TRANSACTIONAL COMMUNICATION MODELS
• Barnlund’s Transactional Model of Communication (1970) – a humanities and
communication educator who advocated to put the creation of meaning at the center of
communication; The transactional model recognizes that communication is not a linear
process but a circular one, with feedback loops between sender and receiver.

Link to the figure: https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/barnlund-transactional-model-

communication

Privacy notice: I recognize that, as a student enrolled in this course, I am privileged to access all materials and resources that will enable me to
achieve the intended outcomes for this course. I understand that these materials and resources are the property of Saint Louis College and
copyrighted to the respective authors of each material or resource. I shall use these materials and resources only for the intended purpose of learning
in this course. I shall ensure that these materials are not reproduced, shared, or used outside of the Institution and for purposes not consistent with
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 • Dance’s Helical Model of Communication (1967) – he was a communications professor;
The name helical comes from “Helix,” which means an object having a three-dimensional
shape like that of a wire wound uniformly around a cylinder or cone. In the Helix structure,
the bottom is very small then it gradually moves upward in a back-and-forth circular
motion which forms the bigger circle to the top and it is still moves further. The whole
process takes some time to reach. In the process, the communicators repeat messages and
share more portions of themselves.

Link to the figure: https://www.communicationtheory.org/helical-model-of-communication/

Privacy notice: I recognize that, as a student enrolled in this course, I am privileged to access all materials and resources that will enable me to
achieve the intended outcomes for this course. I understand that these materials and resources are the property of Saint Louis College and
copyrighted to the respective authors of each material or resource. I shall use these materials and resources only for the intended purpose of learning
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REFERENCES:
Businesstopia. (n.d.). Barndlund’s Transactional Model of Communication. Retrieved January 19,
2025, from: https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/barnlund-transactional-model-
communication
Communicationtheory,org. (n.d.). Communication Theory. Retrieved January 19, 2025, from:
https://www.communicationtheory.org/types-of-communication-models-briefly-explained/
Geeks for Geeks. (2024, January 23) What is Communication?. Retrieved January 15, 2025, from:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/what-is-communication/
Kapur, R. (2020). The Levels of Communication. University of Delhi.
Mandolado-Bolintao, J. et al. (2024). Purposive Communication New Edition. St. Andrew
Publishing House.

Shairn, L. & Hollis-Turner, S. (2008). Higher Education Business Writing Practices in Office
Management and Technology Programmes and in Related Workplaces. Cape Peninsula University
of Technology.

Privacy notice: I recognize that, as a student enrolled in this course, I am privileged to access all materials and resources that will enable me to
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