Lesson 2:

Communication Principles and Ethics

MOTIVATION:

Do you have any experience in engaging in a public talk? How does it feel talking to a large audience? What are the
factors that you considered? How about communicating to a superior or colleague through writing? How did you
come up with a good communication with each other?

In this lesson, you will be able to know the different types of communication models and realize their importance
because they play important roles in the communication process.

Hence, at the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Identify and explain various communication models,
2. Determine the principles of effective oral and written communication.
3. Discuss the value of communication in enhancing one’s personal and professional relationships.
4. Recognize the importance of a code of ethics in communication.

INCULCATING CONCEPTS:

COMMUNICATION MODELS
What is a model?

❑ It is often abstract and graphically represented.

❑ It is a representation of a real world phenomenon applied to different forms.
❑ They help us understand how communication process works.

There are many conceptual models for human communication but in this lesson, you will be exposed to only four:
1) Aristotle’s model; 2) Laswell’s model; 3) Shannon-Weaver’s model; and 4) David Berlo’s model of
communication.

1. Aristotle’s Communication Model

Aristotle emphasized that there are three variables in the communication process: speaker, speech, and audience
as illustrated in the communication flow below:

The speaker variable is very important. Without the speaker, there will be no speech to be produced. Depending on
the profile of the audience, the speaker adjusts his/her speech. The considerations for the audience demographics
are age, sex, background, culture, race, religion, gender, social and economic status, and political orientation or
inclination, among others. Even beliefs, views, and attitudes also play an important role when talking about
audience consideration since oftentimes, the audience bring these with them when they decode a message in any
given situation.

2. Laswell’s Communication Model

Harold Dwight Laswell described communication being focused on the following W’s: Who says What in Which
channel and to Whom and with Whom and with What effect as seen in the model below:

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While this model is like Aristotle’s in the sense that both are linear and have the same components, Laswell’s also
differs in that there are five variables involved, with the addition of two: medium and effect.

Example of Laswell’s Communication Model

• CNN NEWS – A water leak from Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear power station resulted in about 100
times the permitted level of radioactive material flowing into the sea, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co
said on Saturday.
• Who : Tokyo Electric Power Co.
• Says What : A water leak from Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear power station resulted
in about 100 times the permitted level of radioactive material flowing into
the sea.
• In Which Channel : CNN News (Television)
• To Whom : Public/ People of Japan
• With What Effect : Make the people aware and prepare

3. Shannon and Weaver

Social scientists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this model based on the following elements:
▪ An information source, which produces a message.
▪ A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals.
▪ A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission.
▪ A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from the signal.
▪ A destination, where the message arrives.

Practical Example of Shannon & Weaver Communication Model

Mr. X made call to his assistant “Come here I want to see you”. During his call, noise appeared
(transmission error) and his assistant received “I want” only. Again, assistant asked Mr. X
(feedback) “what do you want Mr. X?”.

Sender : Mr. X
Encoder : Telephone (Mr. X)
Channel : Cable
Noise : distraction in voice

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 Reception : Telephone (assistant)
Receiver : Assistant

***Due to transmission error or noise, assistant can’t be able to understand Mr. X

messages. *The noise which affect the communication flow between them.

4. Berlo’s Communication Model

In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) linear model of communication and created the
SMCR Model of Communication. The Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver Model of communication separated the
model into clear parts and has been expanded upon by other scholars to include noise, hence the acronym SMCRN.

The major variables involved in the communication process are 1) source, 2) message, 3) channel, 4) receiver.

The source being the originator of the message acts as the encoder. As such, the encoder should practice
communication skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing: His/ Her attitude towards the audience or
the subject as well as his/her knowledge about the topic on hand likewise counts along with the social system that
he/she is in which includes values, beliefs and practices, and culture.

The second variable which is message includes 1) content; 2) elements such as the language used and gestures
employed; 3) treatment or the manner by which the message is transmitted; and 4) structure which refers to the
arrangement of parts or flow of the message. The code shows how the message is sent; that is, the language (verbal
code) used and the accompanying gestures (non-verbal code) employed. Note that there should be no mismatch
between the verbal and non-verbal codes.

The third variable which is channel refers to the different senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

Finally, the fourth variable is receiver, the one who decodes the message. Note that the components of this last
variable are like those of the first since for communication to be effective, both the source and the receiver should
have good communication skills.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

(Madrunio & Martin, 2018) For both oral and written communication, you should be able to apply the following
principles:

1. Know your purpose in communicating. Are you communicating basically to inform, to entertain, or to
persuade?
2. Know your audience. In both speaking and writing, you should know your audience as it will dictate the
speaking or writing style you are going to employ. Consider the age, educational background, profession,
culture, and other salient features of listeners or readers.

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3. Know your topic. You communicate easily
because you want to share something. In speaking
situations, speakers are invited because they have
something to share. This also applies to writing.
You write because you wish that other people
learn something from you. You may then utilize
several or multiple communication techniques to
easily catch the attention of the audience.
4. Adjust your speech or writing to the context of
the situation. The environment in which your
speech or writing is to be delivered determines
the kind of language you will use.
5. Work on the feedback given to you. Once you
receive comments from the listeners/ readers,
work on them. Take kindly to criticism. In the long
run, constructive criticisms will prove beneficial
to you as you learn to address them.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE
 Be clear with your purpose. You should know by heart your objective
in communicating.
 Be complete with the message you deliver. Make sure that your
claims are supported by facts and essential information.
 Be concise. You do not need to be verbose or wordy with your
statements. Brevity in speech is a must.
 Be natural with your delivery. Punctuate important words with the
appropriate gestures and movements. Exude a certain degree of
confidence even if you do not feel confident enough.
 Be specific and timely with your feedback. Inputs are more helpful
when provided on time.

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: THE 7Cs

1. Be CLEAR about your message. Always be

guided by your purpose in communicating.
2. Be CONCISE. Always stick to the point and
do not beat or run around the bush. Be brief
by focusing on your main point.
3. Be CONCRETE. Support your claims with
enough facts. Your readers will easily know
if you are bluffing or deceiving them
because there is nothing to substantiate
your claims.
4. Be CORRECT. It is important that you
observe grammatical correctness in your
writing. Always have time to revise and edit
your work. Even simple spelling errors may
easily distract your readers.
5. Be COHERENT. Your writing becomes
coherent only when you convey a logical
message. The ideas should be connected to
each other and related to the topic. Make
sure that you observe a sound structure that
will present a smooth flow of your ideas.
Use transitional or cohesive devices so that the ideas cohere with one another.
6. Be COMPLETE. Include all necessary and relevant information so that the audience will not be left
wanting of any information. Always place yourself in the shoes of the audience, who is always interested to
receive new information.
7. Be COURTEOUS. The tone of your writing should be friendly. Avoid any overtone/undertone or
insinuation to eliminate confusion and misinterpretation.

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 ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION

Communication ethics emphasizes that morals influence the

behavior of an individual, group or organization thereby
affecting their communication.

A code of ethics sets the standards to be observed by a person or

a company that will create a good reputation or a positive image
not only for an individual but also for the organization. It will,
therefore, pave the way for the attainment of the desired results
leading to the success of an individual or the entire company.
Success in decision-making will likewise impact the company’s
reputation.

Be guided by the following to achieve ethical communication:

1) Establish an effective value system that will pave the way for the development of your integrity as a person.
One’s behavior and decision-making style affect, in turn, the operations of an organization.
2) Provide complete and accurate information. Whether it is needed or not, the data you provide should
always be contextualized and correct.
3) Disclose vital information adequately and appropriately. Never conceal or hide information that are
necessary for purposes of transparency.