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 MIDTERM TOPIC OUTLINE

MODULE NO. LESSONS COVERED

1 Nature and Elements of Communication

Definition of Communication
Barriers of Communication
2 Communication Models
Types of Communication
3 Functions of Communication

4 Strategies Used in Communicative

Competence
5 Types of Speech Context

6 Types of Speech Style

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MODULE 1:
NATURE AND
ELEMENTS
 LEARNING TARGETS

 I can identify the barriers of communication.

 I can explain the nature and process of communication.

 I can design and interpret the process of communication.

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Directions: Check the column that determines how often you practice what the statements
say. Do this as objectively as possible. Bear in mind that there are no wrong answers.

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 The act or process of using words, sounds, signs,
or behaviors to express or exchange information; or to
express ideas, thoughts, and feelings to someone. It can also
be defined as the transmission of message and information
between a sender and a receiver.

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 ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATION
▸ Communication is divided into elements which help us
better understand its mechanics or process. These
elements are the following:

1. Sender – the source of information or message

2. Message –the information, ideas, or thoughts conveyed by

the speaker in words or in actions

3. Encoding –the process of converting the message into

words, actions, or other forms that the speaker understands

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 ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATION
4. Channel –the medium or the means, such as personal or
non-personal, verbal or nonverbal, in which the encoded
message is conveyed

5. Decoding –the process of interpreting the encoded

message of the speaker by the receiver

6. Receiver –the recipient of the message, or someone who

decodes the message

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 ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATION
7. Feedback –the reactions, responses, or information
provided by the receiver

8. Context –the environment where communication takes

place

9. Barrier –the factors that affect the flow of communication

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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Physical - Physical barriers in the workplace include:

 Marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers

are not allowed
 Closed office doors, barrier screens, and separate areas for people
of different status
 Large working areas or working in one unit that is physically
separate from others

 Research shows that one of the most important factors in building

cohesive teams is proximity.

▸ As long as people still have a personal space that they can call
their own, being close to others aids communication because it
helps people get to know one another.
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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
2. Perceptual
 It can be hard to work out how to improve your communication skills.
 The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently.
 The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts, assumptions and perceptions shape
our own realities.
▸ A traveler was walking down a road when he met a man from the next town.
▸ "Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight. Can you tell me what the
townspeople are like?"
▸ "Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in the last town you visited?"
▸ "Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a fool. Over-charged me for
what I got. Gave me very poor service."
▸ "Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the same there."
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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
3. Emotional - The emotional barrier is comprised mainly of fear,
mistrust and suspicion.

 The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and
infancy when we were taught to be careful about what we said to others.

▸ "Mind your P's and Q's."

▸ "Don't speak until you're spoken to."
▸ "Children should be seen and not heard."

As a result, many people hold back from communicating their thoughts and
feelings to others.

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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
4. Cultural – These are the behaviors that the group
accepts as signs of belonging.

 The group rewards such behavior through acts of recognition,

approval and inclusion.
 In groups that are happy to accept you, and where you are
happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest and a high
level of win-win contact.
 Where there are barriers to your membership of a group, game-
playing replaces good communication.

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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
5. Language - Our language may present barriers to others who are
not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words and jargon.

 When we couch our communication in such language, it excludes others.

 In a global marketplace, the greatest compliment we can pay another

person is to talk to them in their own language.

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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
 One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev who said to the Americans at the United
Nations:
▸ "We will bury you!"
▸ This was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation.
▸ However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev's words would
have been:
▸ "We will overtake you!“

 By this, he meant economic superiority. It was not just the language used
that was the problem.
▸ The fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union led to the
more alarmist and sinister interpretation.
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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
6. Gender

• There are distinct differences between the speech patterns of

men and women.
• A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day
whereas a man speaks between 7,000 and 10,000.
• In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and at the age of
three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys.
• The reason for this lies in the wiring of a man's and woman's
brains

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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
7. Interpersonal

 There are six ways in which people can distance themselves from
one another:

Withdrawal
▸ Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both
refusal to be in touch and time alone.
Rituals
▸ Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real
contact.
Pastimes
▸ Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial
activities.
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 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
Working
▸ Work activities follow the rules and procedures of contact but
no more than that.
Games
▸ Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about
winning and losing. They include "rackets" and "stamps".
Closeness
▸ The purpose of interpersonal contact is closeness.

 Good interpersonal contact promotes honesty and acceptance.

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Learning Target: I can explain the nature and process of communication.

1. How important is communication in dealing with other people?

2. Given the picture below, explain the process of communication based on what you have
learned today.

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Picture
Analysis

Learning Target: I can identify the barriers of communication.

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END OF MODULE 1

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