UNIT II: The Process of Communication 2.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION - Language is a

form of symbol. “The medium shapes the
DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION message.”
“sending” or “receiving” 3. SYSTEMATIC - Consist of group of
 Connotes something one person does or elements which interact to influence each other
give to someone else and the system as a whole.
“sharing” 4. MEANING IS PERSONALLY
 connotes something that two or more CONSTRUCTED - Meanings are in people, not
people do together. in words.
Black and Bryant (1922) define
communication as: ELEMENTS OF THE PROCESS
 the process by which individuals share Berlo’s Model of Communication (1961)
meaning.
 the process by which an individual (the
communicator) transmits stimuli (usually
verbal symbols) to modify the behavior of
other individuals (communicate).
 occurring whenever the information is
passed from one place to another. SOURCE
 Not simply the verbal, explicit, and  refers to a person or a group of persons
intentional transmission of message; it “with a purpose, a reason for engaging in
includes all those processes by which communication” (Berlo, 1961).
people influence one another.  The source initiates the communication
Communication is... process.
 transmission of information, ideas,  Also referred to as the encoder, sender,
attitudes or emotion from one person or information, source or communicator.
group to another (or others) primarily RECEIVER
through symbols (Theodorson and  refers to the person or group of persons at
Theodorson, 1969). the other end of the communication
 may be defined as “social interaction process.
through messages” (Gerbner, 1967)  He or she is the target of the
 a process by which a source sends a communication (Berlo, 1961).
message to a receiver by means of some  The receiver listens when the source talks;
channel to produce a response from the the receiver reads what the source writes.
receiver, in accordance with the intention MESSAGE
of the source (SRA, Sourcebook, 1996)  A source must have something to transmit.
According to Kincaid and Schramm:  His or her purpose is expressed in the form
 Not all communication has to be human of a message.
communication.  The message may be an idea, purpose or
 Not all participants in a communication intention that has been translated into a
process have to be present at the same code or a systematic set of symbols (Berlo,
time. 1961).
 Communication can take place over large A message has three factors:
distances of space and time. 1. Message code – any group of symbols that
 Not all communication takes place in can be structured in a way that is meaningful to
words. some person. Thus, language (sounds, letter
 Communication not always require two or and words) is a code because its contains
more participants. elements that are arranged in
 Thinking is a form of communication meaningful orders.
Communication as a process 2. Message content – is the material in the
and its four attributes: message selected by the source to express
1. DYNAMIC - On-going; ever-changing, with his/her purpose. Ex: research report (included
no clear beginnings and endings.
writers assertion’s, information presented,  A communication that employs
conclusions drawn). technological devices (radio, television,
3. Message treatment – decisions that the films) to disseminate symbolic content to
communication source makes in selecting and large, heterogeneous, and widely
arranging both code and content. Ex: A dispersed audiences (Janowitz, 1968 and
journalist writes an article (what information to McQuail, 1981).
include, the angle of the story, the words he  Communicating with large group of people
will use.) at one time through the use of social media.
CHANNEL 3. Small Group
 modes of encoding and decoding the  Interaction when small number of people
messages (e.g. speaking) met together
 message vehicles (sound waves)  Communication is goal-directed and
 vehicle carriers (air) requires and understanding of group
 determined by: availability, money, source dynamics
preferences, which channels are received 4. Public Communication
by most people at the lower cost, which  Act of dispersing a message to a specific
channels have the most impact; which group through the use of various tools or
channels to the purpose most adaptable of methods
the source; which to the content of the are  Happens when individuals and groups
adaptable channels are message. engage in dialogue in the public sphere in
EFFECT order to deliver a message to a specific
 The outcome of a communication or the audience.
response of the receiver to the message of 5. Organizational Communication
the source.  refers to the communication that takes
 Sometimes it adheres to the desired place between people who are working
outcome of the source, sometimes the towards common goals within an
effect is not the desired outcome. organization.
1. Overt Effect – obvious or visible; responses  Consists of interactions that take place for
include non-verbal cues (nodding of head, the purpose of working together towards
signing of a contract). these goals or conducting business in
2. Covert Effect – non-observable but general.
sometimes they are the most important.
 Communication can result in motivation or
persuasion. It may lead to awareness,
interest, decision, or action.
FEEDBACK
 When an individual communicates with
himself, the messages he encodes are fed
back into his system by his decoder (Berlo,
1960).
 A communication response is feedback to
both source and receiver.
 Feedback could take form of non-verbal or
verbal cues.
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Intrapersonal Communication
 communication with oneself.
2. Interpersonal Communication
 often defined as face-to-face
communication
 person-to-person communication –
communication between one person, a
group, or a room full of people at one time
but still on a person-to person basis.
3. Mass Communication
ENVIRONMENT OF COMMUNICATION CLASSIFYING COMMUNICATION
 Even the most experienced BARRIERS
communicators among us have been 1. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
misunderstood at one time or another.  How accurately the message can be
 Distortion of Messages transmitted (ex. radio, static, bad cellular
 Misinformation data)
 Lack of information 2. SEMANTIC PROBLEMS
 A second look of effective  How precisely the meaning is convey (ex.
communication translating a publication to one language
 Berlo explained: Effect is the difference to another)
between what a receiver think, feels, and 3. EFFECTIVENESS PROBLEMS
does before & after exposure to a  How effectively does the received
message. Thus, best expressed in message affect behavior (ex. editor makes
behavioral terms. comments from the purpose of making
 The communicator has one or more piece of writing more concise and precise)
purposes:  A group of scientist classifying barriers of
 To gain attention communication into three: PHYSICAL,
 Understanding PSYCHOLOGICAL-CULTURAL, and
 Acceptance SOCIAL.
 Elicit Action A - Channel
 Jamias used the following formula to B - Environmental
explain the factors that contribute to C - Semantic
effective communication D - Sociopsychological
E - Others
1. CHANNEL NOISE
 These affect the channel, medium or
Where, instrument used in transmitting messaging
EE= Sc + Mc + Cc + Rc + Re
= Effect in gurn, they affect fidelity of the message.
Sc = Characteristics of Source  Fidelity means that the message received
Mc = Characteristics of Message is faithful to one sent.
Cc = Characteristics of Channel  Ex. static, wrong spelling, letters to small
Rc = Characteristics of Receiver to read, dead air on radio.
Re = Source available to the receiver 2. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
 Barriers that are present in the
NOISE environment in which a communication
 Any interference with the message effectiveness is hampered.
traveling along the channeling which  Ex. uncomfortable sitting arrangements,
may lead to the signal received being rooms are too hot.
different from sent (Chandler, n.d) 3. SEMANTIC NOTES
Examples:  It happens when the message received
 In the middle of meeting, the phone rings sent but the meaning was different from
insistently meaning sent.
 While rushing to revise paper whose  Occurs when we use, hear, or read words
deadline was yesterday, the electricity with double meaning.
goes off and you lose half of what you  Language serves as a bridge between
have already typed. people & culture, however, it can also
 You’re explaining s product to a group of serve as barriers.
new freshmen who looks nothing you’ve  Ex. gay meant happy or joyful.
said so far has made sense to them. 4. SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
 Static over telephone lines  Emotional blocks, charisma, stereo-typing,
 Blaring of the radio first impression, and absent-mindedness.
 Cars horns outside window  STEREOTYPING: judging people before
 Cultural Difference you know all the facts about them,
 Undiagnosed learning difficiency believing that they have common
characteristics common among member of
each group.
5. OTHER BARRIERS communication choices they make.
 ETHNOCENTRISM: In viewing a group  Situation requirements: relationships they
or culture as superior to all others. have with others in a group; goals of the
 Ex. We interpret messages from the communicator in light of the group's goals.
context of our experiences. VALUES
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION  The desire to avoid previous mistakes and
COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE find better ways of communicating with
 Rotwell (1992) noted that knowing what group members (Rothwell).
constitutes human communication does  Commitment to better communication.
not automatically make you an effective LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION
communicator. He points out that one CULTURE
must first understand what it means to  is the complex whole which includes
communicate competently. knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,
QUALITY OF A COMPETENT customs and habits and any capabilities
COMMUNICATOR acquired by man as a member of society
1) They understand communication (Taylor, 1871)
effectiveness. “Someone who knows  is the customary beliefs, social forms and
what changes in communication material traits of a racial, religious or social
behavior need to be made, want to group (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
make these changes, but never does  the set of shared attitudes, values, goals
can hardly be deemed a competent and practices that characterizes institution
communicator” (Rothwell, 1992) or organization (Merriam Webster
2) They have sense of appropriateness. Dictionary)
Complexity communicator must have a  "The world is multicultural, and societies in
sense of context. “Avoid violating social most countries are multicultural. We all
or interpersonal norms, rules or need to learn about people whose
expectations” (Spitzberg & Cupach, religions, skin color, histories, and cultures
1989, Rothwell, 1992) are completely different from ours".
FOUR BASIC COMPONENTS OF MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE  relating to or constituting several cultural
(LITTLE JOHN & JABUSCH) or ethnic groups within a society (Oxford
1. Understanding Dictionary).
2. Communication Skills MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
3. Intrapersonal Sensitivity  a society, where people with different
4. Ethical Responsibility nationalities, languages, religions and
SHOCKLEY-ZABALAK (1998) modified ethnicity live together.
these into 4 easily remembered elements: MULTICULTURALISM
A - KNOWLEDGE  the view that cultures, races, and
B - SKILLS ethnicities, particularly those of minority
C - SENSITIVITY groups, deserve special acknowledgement
D - VALUES of their differences within a dominant
KNOWLEDGE political culture.
 Knowing what to do, when to do, and CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
how to do it.  the communication between people who
 Know when to keep quiet and know have differences in any one of the
when to stop. following: styles of working, age,
 Knowledge of how to communicate with nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual
different kinds of people. orientation, etc.
SKILLS  it is how people belonging to different
 Ability to demonstrate your knowledge in cultures communicate with each other.
actual situations (Rothwell, 1992).  refers to the attempts that are made to
 Communication skills, both verbal and exchange, negotiate and mediate cultural
non- verbal, are intrinsic to the success differences by means of language,
of any individual. gestures and body language.
SENSITIVITY IMPORTANCE OF CROSS CULTURAL
 Competent communicators must be COMMUNICATION
sensitive to the consequences of the  Globalization
 Business opportunities
 Job opportunities
 Sharing of views and ideas
 An understanding of diverse market
MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
1) BERLO MODEL
 David Berlo 5) OSGOOD AND SCHRAMM’S MODEL
 SMCRE Model  Wilbur Schramm and Charles Osgood
 In his book, Process of Communication  Compares their model to Shannon and
(1981), he also discusses the element of Weaver's (focus on channel)
feedback.  Schramm and Osgood model focuses
on the actors in the communication to
be equal in performing the tasks of
encoding, interpreting, and decoding
messages.

2) LASWELL’S MODEL
 Harold D. Laswell, an American political
scientist.
 Limitations: omits the elements of
feedback; the model took for granted
that the communication is mainly a
persuasive process.
 No feedback 6) DANCE'S HELICAL MODEL
 Portrays the communication process as
moving.
 Shows the dynamism of the
communication process.
 May be used to illustrate information gaps
3) SHANNON AND WEAVERS and the thesis that knowledge tends to
“MATHEMATICAL” MODEL create more knowledge.
 Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver
were engineers working for Bell
Telephone Company.
 the model answered the questions one-
way linear model
 introduced the element of noise - in
technical aspect, noise is anything that 7) KINCAID’S CONVERGENCE MODEL
disrupts the transmission of a signal; in  D. Lawrence Kincaid
human communication context, noise is  Shows a process of convergence to which
anything that disrupts the smooth flow of participants share information so that
communication. mutual understanding is reached.
 Once mutual understanding is reached,
there is mutual agreement, then collective
action can be taken.
4) NEWCOMB’S MODEL PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS OF
 Introduces the role of communication in COMMUNICATION
a society or social relationship. 1. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
 Communication maintains equilibrium - are they well versed in terminologies relevant
within a social system. to your topic, or should you use common
 If A and B have similar attitudes about X, words.
then the system is in equilibrium. Should 2. KNOW YOUR PURPOSE
their attitudes differ, then there is no - you need to know what it is you're trying to
equilibrium and A and B must do before you can do it.
communicate to find a way to put their 3. KNOW YOUR TOPIC
system in balance. - if you don't know sufficient detail about your
topic and rely on the audience having even
less knowledge you aren't being effective. conclusions you have. This level of detail
4. ANTICIPATE OBJECTIONS AND BE will be different in different situations, and
PREPARED TO ACCEPT THEM you should adjust your communications
5. FOLLOW THROUGH ON WHAT YOU accordingly.
SAY  In addition, you should make things as
- go into detail don't mention one thing and easy as possible for the recipient. For
talk about something else. example, if you are issuing a "call to
6. COMMUNICATE A LITTLE AT A TIME action", provide explicit guidance on that
- giving lots of information can completely action. Increasingly it's common to include
lose an audience if they can't take it at all. things like hyperlinks in written
Breaking it down can help. communications or to attach FAQs, both of
7. PRESENT INFORMATION IN SEVERAL which help audiences access a complete
WAYS set of information while also ensuring that
- perhaps showing images or using a core communications focus on core
presentation as well as speaking. messages.
8. DEVELOP A PRACTICAL, USEFUL 4. CONCRETE
WAY TO GET FEEDBACK  When shaping your communication you
- Question and Answer sessions (open must ensure that you are specific and that
forum) are a way to get feedback. the logic and messages that you're using
9. USE MULTIPLE COMMUNICATION fit together, build on each other and
TECHNIQUES support each other. Your arguments
- hand gestures, talking, videos etc. are all should be based on solid facts and
different ways to get a message across. opinions from credible sources and you
7C’S OF COMMUNICATION should share irrefutable data to support
1. CLEAR your argument.
 There are several stages to clarity.  It may be important to help bring the solid
Firstly, it's important to be clear about nature of what you've created to life for
the purpose of the message you're your audience through examples that
delivering. The recipient should be made show the relevance of your messages for
aware of why they are receiving the them as individuals.
message and what you're trying to 5. CONCISE
achieve by delivering it. If there are  When communicating messages of this
multiple goals, each should be laid out nature it's important to stick to the point
separately. and keep your messages short and simple.
 Secondly, it's essential that the content Don't use 10 words if you can use five.
of the communication is itself clear. You Don't repeat your messages.
should avoid jargon, use simple  The more you say, the more risk there is
language, use simple structures and of confusion, Avoid that risk by focusing
focus on the core points of your solely on the key points you need to
message. deliver.
2. CORRECT 6. COURTEOUS
 It's essential that both the factual  People are not always courteous.
information and the language and  You can increase the effectiveness of your
grammar you use are correct. If your communications by being polite and
audience spots errors in either, they will showing your audience that you respect
be distracted and your credibility will be them. Your messages should be friendly,
greatly reduced. This will reduce the professional, considerate, respectful, open
effectiveness of your communication. and honest.
Some communications simply must be  To help ensure you are courteous, you
correct, clear and concise. should always use some empathy and
3. COMPLETE consider your messages from the point of
 Completeness is often one of the most view of the audience.
important of the 7 Cs of communication. 7. COHERENT
 When creating a message, it's important  The last of the 7 Cs of communication is
to give the recipient all of the information coherence. If your communications are not
they need to follow your line of coherent they will not be effective. To help
reasoning and to reach the same make sure your communications are
 coherent you should have a logical flow
and your style, tone and language
should be consistent throughout.
 In addition to making sure that each
communication you issue is coherent
within itself, you should also ensure
consistency of message when delivering
multiple communications.
ETHICS
 A system of moral principles
 Deals with the value relating to human
conduct, with respect to the rightness
and wrongness of an action and to the
goodness and badness of motives and
ends of such actions.
ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
 communicating in a manner that is clear,
concise, truthful, and responsible.
 enhances human worth and dignity by
fostering truthfulness, fairness,
responsibility, personal integrity, and
respect for self and other.
 a type of communication that is
predicated upon certain business values,
such as being truthful, concise, and
responsible.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL
COMMUNICATION
1. BE TRUTHFUL AND HONEST
2. ACTIVE LISTENING
3. SPEAK NON-JUDGMENTALLY
4. SPEAK FROM YOUR OWN
EXPERIENCE
5. CONSIDER THE RECEIVER’S
PREFERRED COMMUNICATION
CHANNEL
6. STRIVE TO UNDERSTAND
7. AVOID A NEGATIVE TONE
8. DO NOT INTERRUPT OTHERS
9. RESPECT PRIVACY AND
CONFIDENTIALITY
10. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY.