Purposive Communication

Module 3: Forms of
Communication

Title of the Module Forms of Communication

Module No. 3

Time 3 hours a week

Writer Ma. Laila T. Mira-ato

Introduction This module focusses the forms of communication, this topic overlaps
with the lessons on communication mode which is the focus of this
lesson. Thus, it is important for you to know how communication
types and modes complement each other to achieve good
communication. This module also discusses Communication and
Technology.It will let you demonstrate your knowledge about the use
of social media in Asia and in the rest of the world.

Aim This module aims to use these forms of communication and modes
appropriately depending on the context of the communication
situatuion. It will give you an experience through role-playing and
it will show how you can initiate a conversation with a stranger or
strangers. Moreover, this module also enable you to fully
understand the significance of technology in the field of
communication.
Learning Outcomes At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Show the importance of face-to-face, audio, virtual, text-based,
and other forms of communication particularly in targeting
different types of audience in local and global settings.
2. Identify the various communication modes and how they help
expressing one’s communicative intent;
3. Identify the positive and negative dimensions of the use of
technology in communication;
4. Demonstrate your knowledge about the use of social media in
Asia and the rest of the world

Contents I. Forms of Communication

A. According to Channel or mode
a. Face-to-face
b. Video
 c. Audio
d. Text-based communication

II. Communication and Technology

A. Communication in Social Media
 Teaching-Learning Lecture- (Gmeet)
Strategies Recitation
Research

Assessment Activity
Podcast
Video presentation

Reference Madrunio, M.R., Martin, I.P. Purposive Communication using

English in Multilingual Contexts. C&E Publishing, Inc. 2018.

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

Motivation Question:

How do you think has communication mode changed or improved over time? What
modes are now being utilized and which were not present before? What are the
advantages and/ or disadvantages of each mode?

COMMUNICATION MODES

Communication mode refers to the channel through which one expresses his/her
communication intent. It is the medium through which one conveys his/her thoughts. Views or
feelings can be communicated through face-to-face interaction, video, or audio, The mode
may also be text-based.

The most common of all these modes is the face-to face interaction. It is an informal or
casual conversation between two or more people. People engage in social conversations to
establish relationships or maintain them. It is one way of gaining new acquaintances or
friends. How to speak, what to speak, when to speak, and to whom one is speaking are all
important considerations in building relationships.
How then do you initiate conversations? Faced with a group of new people who you do not
know in a social gathering, you should be able to begin a conversation. You will be able to test
the saying: “First impressions last.” In this case,depending on the kind of impression you leave
to your audience, you create either a positive or a negative image of yourself. One advantage
of face-to-face interaction is that aside from directly hearing the message being conveyed, you
are able to note visual cues through facial expressions, gestures, movements, or even objects
or realia from the person/s you are communicating with.

Dau Voire suggests: “ Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.” This simply
means that even if the people surrounding you in a social event are strangers to you, you
need to be confident enough to meet new faces and initiate an interesting conversation. But
what kind of topics matter to strangers you are meeting for the first time? In a social gathering
like a wedding, for instance, you do not dwell on topics that are never-ending in nature. You
do not discuss politics and religion as these are sensitive issues that may impinge on one’s
beliefs and practices. Instead, start a conversation focusing on what you experience at the
moment- ambience or atmosphere of the wedding reception, music, food, relationship to the
bride or groom. These are topics sufficient until the reception ends. Note that one topic may
lead to another. You should should be able to hold a conversation at a social event without
offending the other party. In other words, topic initiation should be followed by topic
maintenance, topic change or shift, and finally, topic closure.
Margaret J. Wheatley states: “ All social change begins with a conversation.” Indeed, this
is so especially if that one single and simple conversation blossoms into a deeper contact.
Eventually, you and your newfound friend may find yourselves enjoying each other’s
company, sharing the same interests, and deciding to work on some significant projects. Later
on, all of these will result in changes that yield profound social consequences.
As Diana Wheatley aptly puts it:
“ Meaning is made in conversation,
Reality is created in communication,
And knowlegde is generated through social interaction...
Language is the vehicle through which we create our understanding of the world.”

Another mode of communication is Video. Web cameras are used so that two or more
people who cannot interact face-to-face can communicate. If there are no technical glitches
encountered, this could be a very effective mode of communication especially a conversation
via Skype with your loved ones especially during significant, meaninful or memorable
occassions. You are able to hear clearly the voice and see up close the face of your beloved.
Other electronic applications that allow video calls are viber, WhatsApp, Apple FaceTime, and
Facebook Messenger, among others. In more formal settings, people can also engage in
video-conferencing. While this is a convenient communication mode for people who want to
reach out to each other despite distance, a disadvantage is the time zone difference between
countries. In this case, one of them should make the necessary adjustments to pave the way
for a successful communication.

The third mode of communication is Audio. Audio means transmitted sound. Thus, in this
mode of communication, only the voice of the speaker is heard. Ordinarily, someone’s voice is
heard through the telephone or an answering machine when the other party is not able to
answer a call. In Skype, when a person cannot be contacted or is not online, a voice message
or voice mail can be sent. An obvious downside of this mode is not being able to see the body
language or cues of the person you are talking to.
The audio communication mode is quite difficult especially if you are listening to people
with different accents. For instance, in relation to the World Englishes paradigm, other
speakers of English apart from those who speak it as a native language may find it peculiar
listening to the accent of Filipinos. Some Filipinos are not able to distinguish the sound of /I/
and /i/ in English words as in the examples sin and seen. Some are not able to produce the
sound of hard and soft /th/ and simply substitute /d/ as in the examples those and dos and
thing and ting. Some also interchange /v/ with /b/ and /f/ with /p/.

The fourth and last mode is Text-based communication such as e-mail, facsimile, text
messaging, and instant messaging. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram likewise offer text-based interaction. While text-based communication mode does
not originally provide video and audio benefits, it has a wider reach and can disseminate
information to a bigger audience quickly.
The last three modes are all virtual in nature. Those engaged in communication are able to
hear and/or see each other in real time simulating the actual physical setting.
Exercise 1
Comprehension Questions:
Check your understanding of the input by answering the following questions:

1. What are the different types of communication mode and how do they differ from each
other?
2. What are the other forms or modes of communication that have not been discussed
and which have recently become part of virtual communication technology?
3. Explain Diana Wheatley’s quote and give one illustration:
“ Meaning is made in conversation,
Reality is created in communication,
And knowlegde is generated through social interaction...
Language is the vehicle through which we create our understanding of the world.”

4. As a speaker of English as a second language, what can you say about the difficult of
the other speakers in understanding the Philippine English variety that you are?
5. With the advent of computer-mediated communication or CMC, how can you be more
responsible with what you post in your own account as a way of conveying messages
to the audience?

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA

There are various mode through which we communication with each other. In the past, these modes took
the form of handwritten messages, short telegrams, computer- encoded texts, as well as landline telephone
conversations, and audio/video recorded messages. Because each mode of communication is distinct from the
other, the ways in which we craft our messages differ. For example, there is a greater tendency for us to write a
longer more visually detailed message if we encode it using a computer. If we handwrite the same message, or
deliver it through an audio recording the message will not be the same.
Today, with the rapid rise and spread of Internet connectivity the old forms of communication have given
way to new forms that make communication easier and faster Read the following news and report about the use
of social media in the Philippines.

PINOYS TOP SOCIAL MEDIA USERS ACCORDING TO STUDY

By Miguel R. Camus (2007)
(1) Filipinos spend more time on social media sites than anyone else in the world, going online roughly
four hours and 17 minutes a day according to a report released on Tuesday.
(2) Filipinos spend most of their online time sites such as Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, said the
report called Digital in 2007, and prepared by social media platform Hootsuite and United Kingdom-
Vased consultancy We Are Social Ltd.

US AMONG BOTTOM HALF

(3) Brazilian and Argentinians followed closely behind spending three hours and 43 minutes and three
hours and 32 minutes on social media respectively, the report said.
(4) The United States where many of these social media players were founded, is among the bottom
half, with the Americans spending an average of just two hours and six seconds per day. The least
active were the Japanese who log on an average of just 40 minutes daily.
(5) “ It’s Probably due to the same cultural dynamics that made us the text messaging capital of the
world “ , said Ramon Isberto, spokesperson for telecoms giant PLDT and Smart, referring to mobile
phone text messaging in the past decade that is now giving to internet- based applications.
(6) “Filipinos like to keep in touch, “ Isberto said.
SLOWEST IN ASIA- PACIFIC
(7) The Philippines’ social media usage was in stark contrast to its internet speed. Fixed-broadbrand
speed here is among the slowest in Asia- Pacific, while mobile connections are among the fastest,
according to the most recent Akamai report.
(8) There appeared to be a relationship between poor foxed- broadband speed and time spent on social
media.
(9) The Philippines, Brazil and Argentina have an average fixed-line broadband speed of 4.2 megabits
per second (mpbs), 5.5 mbps and 5 mbps repectively.
(10) The fastest was South Korea, with
26.3 mbps and its citizens just spend about 1 hour and 11 minutes a day on social media.

INTERNET USE ON THE RISE

(11) According to the report, the Philippines’ internet and social media users grew by over 25 percent up 13
million and 12 million over last year, respectively
(12) Mobile was also a fast-growing platform, accounting for 38 percent of all Web traffic in the country, up
almost a third over 2016.
(13) The Philippines so far, had a social media penetration rate of 58 percent higher than the average of 47
percent in Southeast Asia.
(14) Around the world, internet users grew 10 percent or an additional 354 million people, while active social
media users jumped 21 percent, or an additional 482 million.
(15) Global active netizens using mobile phones and other devices surfed 30 percent, or another 581 million
people.

DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY
16. The total internet penetration rate stoon at 50 percent or 3.77 billion people the report showed.
17. “Half of the world’s population is now online, which is a testament to the speed with which digital
connectivity is helping to improve people’s lives” said Simon Kemp, a consultant at We Are Social.
18. “The increase internet users in developing economies is particularly encouraging” Kemp added.
19. The report complies data from the world’s largest studies of online behavior conducted by organizations
including Global Web Index, GSMA Intelligence, Statista and Akamai in “ a comprehensive state” of social
media reference.
20. The 2016 report has been downloaded 70,000 times and read 2.5 million times on Slide share so far.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS???
The input above reports is about the rise of social media by Filipinos. Sharpen your understanding of the
reading text by answering the following questions:

1. How much time in spent on social media sites by Filipinos? Japanese ? Brazilians ? Americans ?
Argentinians ?
2. What Conclusion can you draw from your answer is no.1?
3. How would you compare the Internet speed in the Philippines with that in Brazil? Argentina ? South
Korea ?
4. What conclusion can you draw from your answer in no. 3?
 5. The author claims that global Internet use is on the rise What facts does the author provide to support this
claim.

TASK TO DO

In groups of five or six members, do research and conduct interviews that will help you generate data and
information about 1) various forms of communication, and 2) the advantage and disadvantages of using these
forms. The groups may be organized as follows:
Group 1 Telegrams ( or telegraph messages)
Group 2 Handwritten letters or messages
Group 3 Typewritten letters or messages
Group 4 E-mail messages
Group 5 Text ( orSMS) messages
Group 6 Facebook posts
Group 7 Tweets
Group 8 Instagrams posts

Report your findings to the class through an oral presentation.

Take down notes from the oral presentation of the other groups.
Table will be given.

TASK 2
Imagine that you had just won the top award in a prestigious international contest. You would like to express
your thoughts and feelings about this big event. Share these thoughts and feelings through one of the following
forms of communication ( 20 points).

Option 1: a handwritten letter to your parents or teachers

Option 2. An e-mail message to your parents or teachers
Option 3 A public Facebook post
Option 4 A public Twitter post; and a text message to your parents or teachers