LECTURE NOTES IN PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

Lesson 6. Communication for Various Purposes

A. Purposes of Communication
Communication is defined as an interchange if thought or understanding. Information among
person in an organization and is a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening, and is
considered as one if the basic human activities, which may be used for varied purposes.

What are the different purposes of communication?

1. To INFORM
▪ This is to impart knowledge, to clarify information, and to secure understanding.
2. To EVOKE
▪ To evoke means to rely on passion and controversy to make a point.
▪ Evocative communication center in controversial topics that typically use emotion to make
a point.
▪ Evocative communicators must show a lot of enthusiasm and concern for the topic and
must use personal experience to draw the audience.
▪ Using government research, statistics and data can all help make their topics more believable
and more engaging.
3. To ENTERTAIN
▪ To entertain is to transmit a feeling of pleasure and goodwill to the audience. ▪ The
communicator is considered gracious, genial, good-natured, relaxed, and demonstrates to his or
her listeners the pleasant job of speaking to them.
4. To ARGUE
▪ To argue is to persuade, to assent/approve to the plausibility of the communicator’s side of a
debatable question.
▪ The speaker’s purpose is to appeal to the intellect of his or her listeners so that they will be
convinced.
5. To PERSUADE
▪ To persuade is to move the listeners to action. The communicator should demolish the
listener’s objection, and prove the acceptability of his or her argument or position.

B. The Communication in the Workplace and its Channel

▪ Communication is essential in building and maintaining relationship in the workplace. It transpires
when there is transmission of information between one person and group of persons in an
organization. Communication does not occur until information and understanding have passed
between sender and receiver.
What is effective communication in a workplace?
▹ Communication plays a vital role in the success of every organization. It can be effective if the
intended message is indeed the same message received by the receiver.
▹ A workplace becomes harmonious if every employee is given the avenue to communicate well.
▹ On the other hand, communication in the workplace becomes unprofessional if one fails to
communicate with courtesy and respect.
▹ Also, communication can be professional yet ineffective. One can speak courteously but the
ideas can be unclear.

Employee’s Top Skills and Qualities

- Communication Skills - Strong Work Ethics
- Teamwork - Skills
- Analytical Skills - Initiative

Top 10 Communication Skills for Workplace Success

▹ Non-Verbal Communication ▹ Clarity and Concision ▹ Friendliness
▹ Picking the Right Medium ▹ Feedback ▹Confidence
▹ Respect ▹ Open-mindedness ▹ Empathy
▹ Listening

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C. Flow of Intra-organizational Communication in the Workplace
What is INTRA-ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION?
▹ Intra-organizational communication means communication within the organization—for
example, between different teams, or between levels in the hierarchy.
▹ Longest (2000) explains that communication in the workplace can flow upwardly, downwardly,
horizontally, and diagonally.

What is UPWARD COMMUNICATION?

▹ It provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning. Subordinates can use upward
communication to convey their problems and performances to their superiors. It can also
be used by employees to share their views and ideas and participates in the decision
making process.
▹ Upward communication can lead to a more committed and loyal workforce in an
organization because the employees are given the chance to raise and speak
dissatisfaction issues to higher levels.
▹ The managers on the other hand can get to know about the employees’ feelings towards their
jobs, peers, supervisor and organization in general.

How to increase the effectiveness of Upward Communication?

a. Grievance Procedure
▸ Employees can make an appeal upward beyond their immediate supervisor. This protects the
individual from arbitrary action by their direct supervisor. This encourages communication
about complaints.
b. Counselling, Questionnaires, and Exit Interview
▸ The Human Resource Department can facilitate confidential counselling, administer
attitude questionnaires, and exit interviews.
▸ Information obtained from these forms of communication can be used to make
improvements.

c. Participative Decision-Making Technique

▸ This technique uses informal involvement of subordinates, quality improvement teams, and
union management committees.
▸ Employees can make valuable contributions to the organization as they participate in the
decision-making process.
d. Ombudsperson
▸ The use of an ombudsperson provides an outlet for persons who feel they have been
treated unfairly.
e. Open Door Policy
▸ This is an invitation for subordinates to come in and talk to their superior about things that
trouble them.
What is DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION?
▹ It starts from a higher level in an organization to a lower level. This communication
flow is used by managers to transmit work-related information to the employees at the
lower levels.
▹ Employees require this information for performing their jobs and for meeting the
expectations of their managers.
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 What are the purposes of DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION?
▹ Providing feedback on employees performance;
▹ Giving job instructions;
▹ Providing complete understanding of the employee job as well as to communicate them;
how their job is related to other jobs in the organization;
▹ Communicating the organization’s mission and vision of the employees; and
▹ Highlighting areas of attention.

What is HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION?

▹ This happens among employees of equal rank like committees, task forces, and
cross functional project teams.
▹ It is also called lateral communication as it takes place at same levels of hierarchy
in an organization.

What are the advantages of HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION?

▹ Time -saving;
▹ Facilitates coordination of the task;
▹ Facilitates cooperation among team members;
▹ Provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational members;
▹ Helps in solving various organizational problems;
▹ A means of information sharing; and
▹ Can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other department or
conflicts within a department.
What is DIAGONAL COMMUNICATION?
▹ It crosses work areas and organizational level. Under this communication, any employee can
communicate to other employees without considering the hierarchy or level of employees.
▹ This communication crosses the formal network of communication and chain of command.
▹ Diagonal communication is especially used by expert groups to communicate expert ideas
to the different levels of employees.

What is FEEDBACK?
▹ According to Keyton (2000), feedback is any information that individuals receive about their
behavior.
▹ As Liebler and McConnel (2004) explain, it can also be in activities like market research,
client surveys, accreditation, and employee evaluation.
▹ Feedback should not be viewed as a negative process, instead it should be used as a strategy
to enhance goals, awareness, and learning.

What are the different forms of FEEDBACK and it’s intent?

1. Descriptive Feedback
▸ A feedback that identifies or describes how a person communicates.
2. Evaluative Feedback
▸ A feedback that provides an assessment of the person who communicates.
3. Prescriptive Feedback
▸ A feedback that provides advice about how one should behave or communicate.

What are the FOUR LEVELS of FEEDBACK?

1. Task or Procedural Feedback
▸ This level involves issues of effectiveness and appropriateness, specific issues include the
quantity or quality of a group output.
2. Relational Feedback
▸ This level provides information about interpersonal dynamics within a group.
3. Individual Feedback
▸ This level provides feedback that focuses on a particular individual in a group.
4. Group Feedback
▸ This level provides feedback that focuses on how well the group is performing.

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D. Written Communication Materials in the Workplace
▹ Written communication is a given in any workplace, hence it’s a good idea to ensure you’re
doing it well. Clear, concise and well-structured written communication is effective,
engaging, and will help you to achieve your business goals.
1. MINUTES OF THE MEETING
▹ Minutes are written or recorded documentation that is used to inform attendees and
non attendees about what was discussed and what happened during a meeting.
▹ The meeting minutes taken or recorded by a note taker or minute taker during the meeting.
Who is the note taker/minute taker?
▹ An employee who takes the meeting minutes, he or she is usually a member of the team
and takes the notes while participating in the meeting.
▹ The note taker must have an ear for details to record accurately. He or she must also multi-
task effectively to participate in the meeting while recording the minutes?

What does a minute taker need?

a. Concise Notes
b. Informative Notes
Elements of the Meeting Minutes
▹ Heading
▹ Attendees
▹ Approval of the previous minutes
▹ Action items
▹ Announcement
▹ Next meeting details
▹ Sign off signature

Examples of Minutes of a meeting

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2. Communications via Computers (Electronic Correspondence)
▹ It is a known fact that most of us rely more on computer-mediated communication that that of the
traditional way of transmitting information. The most widely used medium is electronic mail or
e-mail.

Source: https://tabular.email/blog/parts-of-an-email

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 Problems with Electronic Mails
▹ It is a poor medium for communicating emotions.
▹ It reduces politeness and respect.
▹ It is a poor medium for ambiguous, complex, and novel situation.
▹ It contributes to information overload.
Etiquette in Electronic Mail Correspondence
▹ Consider the audience and occasion.
▹ Use a courteous tone in your message.
▹ Indicate the subject of the message.
▹ Greet the addressee appropriately.
▹ Organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely.
▹ Keep email messages brief and to the point.
▹ Use proper English grammar and spelling; proofread before sending.
▹ Sign your name to the message.
▹ Read messages you received carefully before responding.
▹ If you need time to compose a reply, send a brief message acknowledging receipt
and communicating when you intend to respond in full.
3. Memorandum
▹ It is written to communicate policies, procedures, or related official business within
an organization. It is often written from one-to-all perspective.
▹ The purpose of a memorandum is to inform, but it occasionally includes an element of
persuasion or a call to action. All organizations have informal and formal
communication networks.

Memo Format
A memo has a header that clearly indicates:
▸ Sender,
▸ Recipients,
▸ Title of the individual/s,
▸ Date,
▸ Subject line, and
▸ A message that contains a declaration, a discussion, and a summary.

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 4. Business Letters
▹ Letters are brief messages sent to recipients that are often outside the organization. They are
often printed on letterhead paper, and represent the business or organization in one or two
pages.
▹ Shorter messages may include emails or memos, either hard copy or electronic, while reports
tend to be three or more pages in length.

Parts of Business Letters

a. Return Address
This is your address where someone could send a reply.
b. Date
▸ The date should be placed at the top, right or left justified, five lines from the top of the page
or letterhead logo.
c. Reference (Re:)
▸ This is where you indicate what the letter is in reference to, the subject or purpose of the
document.
d. Salutation
▸ A common salutation may be “Dear Mr. (full name).” But if you are unsure about the titles (i.e.,
Mrs., Ms., Dr.), you may simply write the recipient’s followed by a colon. A comma after the
salutation is correct for personal letters, but a colon should be used in business.
e. Body
▸ If you have a list of points, a series of facts, or a number of questions, they belong in the body
of your letter.
f. Complimentary Close
▸ Closing statements are normally placed one or two lines under the conclusion and
include a hanging comma, as in Sincerely.
g. Signature
▸ Five lines after the complimentary close, you should type your name (required) and, on the
line below it, your title (optional).

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