INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION
Find common ground even in an
argument – Finding a common ground can
Communication
- Comes from the Latin word communicare,
which means to share or make common.
- Defined as the process of understanding
and sharing meaning (Pearson, J. &
Nelson, P.)
Ways to Become a Good Communicator
9. Find the best way to frame your
1. Learn to Listen - Pay attention to others
in order to respond effectively.
2. Pay attention to body language - take
notice of the audience and your own
body language to effectively read the
atmosphere.
3. Observe how others communicate in
different contexts – Understanding
Benefits of Effective Communication
how people talk in different
situations is key to understanding the
audience.
4. Don’t be afraid of a bit of Silence –
Occasional lapses are not a problem,
so do not let it add to the
nervousness.
5. Use action verbs and confident
language – Avoid using “Uh” “Um” since it
diminishes the confidence of the speaker.
Using strong action verbs can counteract
the lack of
confidence.
6. Ask Questions – Asking questions can
make sure that you understand the
flow of the conversation while also
checking if your audience is listening.
7.
avoid
altercations and can make the
conversation more enjoyable.
8. Be prepared and know what you’re
talking about - Understanding your
conversation topic will make conveying
your ideas easier.
story – Figuring out the perfect
frame for your conversation is key
to make it interesting and
engaging.
10. Relax – Being relaxed during a
conversation contributes greatly to the
quality of speaking and immensely boosts
one’s confidence.
1. Builds trust effectively – Effective
communication builds trust with
others. Being able to listen to each
other and
compromise with other’s opinions
enables people to trust one another.
2. Helps prevent or resolve problems –
effective communication could
potentially clarify any
misunderstanding and can be the key
to peaceful solutions.
3. Providing clarity and direction – With
effective communication skills you can
clearly and concisely give directions to
your team.
 4. Creates better relationship – Good
listening and providing quality feedback
and helps improve relationships.
5. Increases engagement – With people
feeling more confident in their work
and in their understanding of what
they need to do, they become more
engaged with their work as a whole.
6. Improves productivity - With
effective communication, conflicts
are resolved
quickly, employees can better manage
their workload and distractions are
minimized.
LESSON 1: The Basics of Communication
Definition of Communication
• The process of using messages to generate
meaning
• The process of sending and receiving
messages sometime through spoken or
written words, and sometimes non-verbally
through facial expressions, gestures, and
voice qualities.
• A process of sharing opinions and
information, ideas and feelings
• A systematic process in which people
interact with and through symbols to
create and interpret meanings
• The transmission of a message from a
source to a receiver
• The process of sending information to
oneself or another entity, usually via a
language
Four key terms to define communication
• Process
- constantly moving and continuously
changing
- It is an activity itself in which you
participate
 System
- An interrelated part that affect one
another
- To effectively communicate and interpret a
message, it is important to understand the
system (culture, religion, ethnicity,
nationality, socio-economic status, age,
sex, political affiliation and others).
 Symbols
- are concrete representation of something
abstract
- Allow people to perceive abstract,
arbitrary, and ambiguous representation of
things using the senses
- Communication is symbolic as it involves
interaction with and through symbols.
 Meanings
- Can be viewed as an “end” in
itself, which means that when
people communicate, they attach
meaning to the symbols they use
(either verbal or non-verbal) with
the intent that the person/s they
are communicating with share the
same meaning as intended
- The goal is to generate common
meaning through the messages
provided or received.
Communication has two levels of meaning
  Putting concepts and other definitions
together, communication can be defined
as a continuous activity (process) that
operates within a certain context (system)
in which people exchange words, gestures
and other verbal and non-verbal (symbols)
behavior to create and understand
information or messages (meaning).
Elements of Communication
- Harold Laswell (1948), a political scientist,
came up with a set of questions to
conveniently describe what comprises
communication.
 Comprehensive components of
communication
1. People – assume two roles-both as sources and
receivers
- Source initiates a message
- Receiver is the intended target of the
message
- These roles are not performed
independently and successively but rather
continually and simultaneously
- Simply put, roles in communication are not
mutually exclusive but rather co-existent
with one another
2. Message – the verbal and non-verbal form of the
idea, thought, or feeling that one intends to
communicate to another person or group of people.
- Verbal message pertains to the language
one utters; it comes in the form of words,
phrases, and sentences which can be oral or
written
- Non-verbal message refers to gestures,
body movements, sign languages, and facial
expressions that carry with them their own
meaning
- One has to be cautious through with the
use of non-verbal messages as they are
more susceptible to various interpretations.
3. Channel– refers to the means with which
the message is delivered.
- As the message moves from the source to
the receiver, it passes through a medium
(plural is media) or a channel which can be:
o Airwaves and cable (channels for
receiving television messages)
o Sound waves (for radio messages)
o Sound and light waves (for face-to-face
communication allowing the receivers
to see and hear the sender)
- With the advent of technology, social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Viber, Skype, and Pinterest
among other, have been used as media to
send and receive messages.
4. Feedback – the receiver’s verbal and non-
verbal response to the source’s message;
response does not necessarily have to be
verbal for it be considered a feedback
- Students do not need to give explicit
remarks about their agreements or
disagreements on a lecture delivered by
their professor
- Instead, they can nod their heads to express
agreement or shake them to express
disagreement
5. Code – pertains to language; a systematic
arrangement of symbols used to create
meanings in the mind of another person/s.
- For example, if someone yells “stop” as you
approach a street, the word stop serves as a
symbol that you are like to interpret as
warning or danger.
- certain medium (in what channel?) towards
6. Encoding and decoding
o Encoding is defined as the
process of translating an idea or
a thought into a code
o Decoding is the process of
assigning meaning to an idea.
- For example: suppose you describe your
ideal partner in a class-the one with long
black hair, light brown eyes, silky smooth
skin as fragrant as chrysanthemum, and
alluring as Aphrodite
- The translations of the mental image into
a verbal description (the code) of your ideal
partner is the process of encoding.
- When your classmates hear these verbal
descriptions, they start using these words
and develop their own mental image.
7. Noise or Barrier – noise refers to any
interference in the encoding and decoding
processes which affect the clarity and
understanding of a message.
The Communication Process
• The definition of communication and its
elements can also be further understood in
the light of a framework or model to see
their interrelatedness. The common models
of communication that have been utilized
over the years are as follows.
1. Linear Model – also called the transmission
model, a linear model assumes that
communication is transmitted in a
straightforward manner-from a sender to a
receiver. This clearly reflects that
communication is one-way process.
 Laswell’s Verbal Model(1948)- appears to
be the simplest; communication flows in
one direction from the sender (who?) with
a message (says what?) which is sent via a
the receiver (to whom?) to bring about a
certain result (with what effect?)
Shannon and Weaver’s Linear Model of
Communication
 Their model is linear in nature; the eight
components are:
o Source (the person whom the message
comes from
o Message (content of the transaction)
o Transmitter (the instrument through which
the message passes like a telephone)
o Signal (which flows through a channel
o Channel (a carrier or medium such as air,
light, electricity, radio waves, and postal
system for written communication
o Noise (interference that disrupts and
distorts the understanding of the message
o Receiver (refers to the receiving instrument
such as telephone lines, ears to hear
sounds, and eyes for gestures in face-to-
face communication)
o Destination (person/s who receive/s and
process/es the message)
 2. Interactive Model is in contrast with the
linear one which considers communication
as flowing only in one direction, from a The key features of the transactional model are as
sender to a receiver. follows:
- communication is a two-way process which
involves an exchange or an interaction
between the sender and the receiver this
 It has time element which influences how
indicates that the receiver is not just a
people communicate
mere absorber of the message from the
- For instance, freshmen college students are
receiver the message that I delivered back
more reserved at the start of the semester
to the sender is called feedback which is
since they are still getting to know their
depicted by Wilbur Schramm (1955) as the
classmates.
second form of message in his model
- This will change over time as they become
- in this model the personal fields of
more comfortable with their classmates due
experience, whether shared or not by the
to their frequent interaction.
communicator, are very important
- according to Scharmann, the
• It depicts communication as
communicator’s fields of experience explain
varying (not constant) and dynamic
why misunderstanding occurs.
(not static)
3. Transactional Model was adopted from Wood
• The outer lines in the model
(1997) in response to the failure of the interactive
indicate that communication
model to portray the dynamism of human
occurs within systems that
communication.
influence what and how people
communicate; this system may
- the linear model is sequential that it only
include culture, context and family
looks into communication as a process in which one
background.
communicates to another who then sends
feedback to the former
• Finally, the model does not label
one as the sender and the other as
- likewise, it designates a person as a sender
the receiver.
and a receiver when both communicators can send
and receive messages
• Instead, are communicators who
actively, equally and
- another shortcoming of the interactive
simultaneously participate in the
model is that it does not depict communication as
communication process.
changing over time as a result of the dynamism of
transactions among people.
• In sum, the transactional model is
a model in which people interact
with and through symbols
overtime to share and create
meaning.

Principles of Communication
• Aside from defining communication,
identifying its elements and describing its
nature, it is equally important that you
learn the different principles which serve as
guides in the practice and continuous
improvement of your communication skills.
1. Communication is transactional – it is a
two-way process; when a message is sent, a
reply is expected.
2. Communication is inevitable – it is an
indispensable part of daily life.
3. Communication is goal-oriented – its goal is
to understand each other; when
communicating either through speaking or
writing, its purpose is either to persuade, to
entertain, to inform, to express one’s
feeling, ideas or emotions and to influence
others.
4. Communication has various levels:
o intrapersonal refers to the communication
that occurs when we do “self-talk” or
engage in self-reflection
o Interpersonal involves two persons who
interact with each other usually based on
common communication goals
o Small group involves three to twenty
people
o Public involves more than twenty people as
in the case o f a public official delivering a
speech an audience. emotions and to
influence others
5. Communication complex – it entails a lot of
processes, which can occur simultaneously
or successively
• there are implications and considerations
which are perceived consciously or
unconsciously
• In communication, the focus is not just on
the message but also on the kind of
relationship the communicators have,
including their backgrounds:
• Personal
• Religious
• Cultural
• Educational
• Socioeconomic
6. Communication can be learned– despite
the complexity of communication, it is a
skill which can be learned; the foundational
knowledge in this chapter is your first step
to learning and eventually improving your
communication skills.
7. Communication is relational – in any
communication setting, aside from sharing
meaning, the process how meaning is
created also echoes two vital aspects of the
relationships of the communicators:
• Immediacy shows a verbal expression of
friendliness
• Control is the degree to which one
participant shows dominance or power.
8. Communication is guided by culture –
culture maybe defined as a system of
knowledge shared by a relatively large
group of people.
1. The system includes shared beliefs,
values, symbols and behaviors.
2. How messages are created and
processed in order to foster
understanding is greatly influenced
by the cultural background of
communicators.
3. When one communicates with
others whose cultural backgrounds
 differ from his or her own, he or
she need to look at himself or
herself.
4. His or her sensitivity must always
be given to communication
behavior as a way of practicing
cultural sensitivity
5. Regardless of cultural identity and
ethnicity, sensitivity must always
get given to the sex, age, class and
sexual orientation of the
participants in the process of
communication
Ethics in Communication
• Ethical considerations in communication
shape how you communicate.
Ethics deals with one’s judgment of rightness or
wrongness, appropriateness or inappropriateness of
a course of action or decision
It is a set of moral principles guiding the society to
maintain social order.
Guidelines for becoming an ethical communicator
1. Ethical communicator are honest – in
communicating your thoughts, ideas and
feelings, you have to be truthful;
• good communicators never lie and
deceive other people
• To fully realize the end purpose of
communication, thoughts, ideas
and feelings should be expressed
with the best intentions.
2. Ethical communicator are aware of the
consequences of their thoughts and
actions – there is a need to think before
communicating whether it is in the spoken
or written form.
- The way to communicate can build or run
one’s reputation
- There is a need to take accountability in
doing and saying
- Communication is irreversible which means
that once uttered or written something, it
cannot take it back
- Therefore, there is a need to be very
cautious with the choice of words and be
responsible with thoughts and actions.
3. Ethical communicators value diversity and
respect other’s opinions – respect means
showing regard or consideration for others
and their ideas even if you do not agree
with them.
• People differ in terms of
backgrounds, interests, beliefs, and
value system.
• They formulate different opinions
and insights about various topics
and issues.
• Their ideas may be like or, often,
different from yours
• whatever the case, you must
respect others by listening to their
points of view and genuinely trying
to understand them
• You may still disagree with other
people without sounding rude or
offensive.
• This is an indication that you
demonstrate respect amidst
differences.
 4. Ethical communicators are just and fair –
to be just and fair is to be impartial and
objective.
• You do not hastily make decisions
or judgments based on hearsays,
gossips, prejudices and personal
biases
• An ethical communicator exerts
every effort to gather relevant
facts or pertinent information
related to a situation before
deciding.
• Think about the judges who decide
on cases filed in their respective
jurisdiction
• They are examples of people who
should adhere to standards of
fairness
 The foundation for the better
understanding of communication has been
laid by defining it, identifying its elements,
discussing its process through various
communication models, and citing some
principles and characteristics of ethical
communicators.
LESSON 2: Communication in Multicultural Setting
Communication Contexts
1. Personal context
 It involves the background of both sender
and the receiver of the message.
Communication and culture are intertwined
 It includes their education, religion,
socioeconomic status, marital status and
beliefs that greatly influence what and how
they communicate.
2. Physical context
 It pertains to the environment where
communication takes place. It involves
tangible factors which can be perceived by
the senses as temperature, humidity, odor,
lighting, and noise level among others.
 It includes proximity, how far or how close
the participants are to each other, as well as
the medium used in sending the message.
3. Social context
 It refers to the kind of relationship that
exists between the sender and the receiver.
 It gives one to communicate with other
people who are closer to him and as such
he easily gains their respect and
understanding.
4. Psychological context
 It includes the emotions and feelings of the
participants in the communication process.
 It involves their opinions, judgments,
prejudices, attitude and perception toward
each other which can play part in the
transmission of messages.
5. Cultural context
 It is one of the vital considerations in
communication.
 It includes sets of beliefs, value systems,
ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation,
gender identity, and religion with which
communication happens.
6. Communication and Culture
 Culture is a set of unique and shared
beliefs, values, and norms that guide a
certain group of people on how to think,
behave, and act.
 Filipino culture pertains to the beliefs,
values, and practices unique to Filipinos,
shared by Filipinos, and exhibited by
Filipinos.
 - Communication and culture are
intertwined. In fact, they are inseparable.
Americans are more direct or
straightforward when they deliver their
messages. Whereas Filipinos, on the other
hand, are non-confrontational. They use
polite words or expressions in place of ideas
that may come across as offensive, rude, or
harsh.
- Filipinos use “I will try” instead of saying an
outright “No, I will not attend.”
To increase awareness and to develop competence
in communicating in a multicultural setting, it is
essential to unlock some cultural dimensions,
provide examples, and explain how they affect
communication as adapted by Verderber et al.
(2015) from the early work of Edward T. Hall, and
more recently by Gerard Hendrik Hofstede.
Cultural Dimensions in Communication
1. Individualistic culture emphasizes the needs and
desires of individuals over those of the group and
the relationships of individuals with respect to other
individuals.
- It is when the culture focuses on the individual’s
needs and looks for happiness on an individual
level before looking to the group. An example of an
individualistic culture would be the United States,
Canada, Northern and Western Europe.
2. Collectivist cultures emphasize the needs and
goals of the group over the needs and desires of
each individual. In such cultures, relationships with
other members of the group and the
interconnectedness between people play a central
role in each person's identity.
o Cultures in Latin America, East and
Southeast Asia, and Africa are collectivist.
Context
Categories of Context
o Low-culture culture views explicit words as
a way to convey messages while high-
context culture uses subtle non-verbal
behaviors and implicit information to
convey meaning.
o High-context culture uses subtle non-verbal
behaviors and implicit information to
convey meaning.
People in the USA, Germany, and Scandinavia have
low-context culture. Their verbal messages are
direct, definite, and detailed while in Latin America
and most Asian cultures have high-context culture.
3. Chronemic pertains to how we use and observe
time. Its standards are determined by place and time
(our culture). Age and role can play in how people
interpret timing, too.
Monochronic culture advocates punctuality, time
completion of tasks, and accomplishment of one
task at a time. Schedule matters in a monochronic
culture e.g USA.
Polychronic culture has a more fluid and flexible
concept of time. In this culture, task interruption and
multitasking are acceptable practices and
maintaining relationships is more important than
strictly following a schedule. Latin American, Arab,
and Southern European cultures are more flexible
when it comes to time.
4. Uncertainty avoidance refers to the need to
foresee what is going to happen.
- Low-uncertainty avoidance culture is
tolerant of unpredictable and
uncontrollable situations. It usually
maintains few rules as possible and allows
for the spontaneity of responses to
situations.
- High-uncertainty avoidance values
precision and always attempts to anticipate
risks to possibly reduce them. To make this
possible, rules and systems are created.
People from the US, Sweden, and Denmark
are more tolerable of unpredictable people,
events, or situations because of their low-
uncertainty avoidance orientation while
people from Germany, Portugal, Greece,
Peru, and Belgium have low tolerance to
uncertainty and tend to control
unpredictable people or situations because
of their high-uncertainty avoidance.
5. Power distance is a term that describes how
people belonging to a specific culture view power
relationship - superior/subordinate relationships -
between people, including the degree that people
not in power accept that power is spread unequally.
- Individuals in cultures demonstrating a high
power distance are very deferential to
figures of authority and generally accept an
unequal distribution of power, while
individuals in cultures demonstrating a low
power distance readily question authority
and expect to participate in decisions that
affect them.
- Power distance is one of the dimensions of
Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions
theory. The other dimensions include
individualism, masculinity, uncertainty
avoidance index, and long-term orientation.
 Low-power distance culture values equal
distribution of power. Mostly observed in
Austria, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and
USA.
 High-power distance culture recognizes
that unequal distribution of power is
normal. Mostly observed in the Middle East,
Malaysia, Guatemala, Venezuela, and
Singapore.
6. Masculinity or Femininity Culture
• Masculine culture or masculine society is
one that stresses different expectations for
men and women. In a masculine culture,
men are expected to be assertive,
competitive, and focused on material
success. Women are expected to be
nurturing and focused on people and
quality of life. In contrast, Hofstede says
a feminine culture or feminine society is
one where gender roles are more fluid.
Both men and women are expected to be
nurturing and focused on people and
quality of life.
Masculine culture or masculine society follows strict
adherence to conventional gender roles and
behaviors. In this culture, masculine roles are more
valued that feminine roles.
Female cultures are based on the premise that men
and women assume varieties of roles and thus, are
both valued regardless of their sex and gender. In
Mexico, Italy, and Japan have highly masculine
cultures in which the role of males is highly valued
that the role of females. Whereas in Sweden,
Denmark, and Norway, there seems to be no make
supremacy because males and females are viewed
equally in terms of their role in society.
7. Long-term orientation culture refers to how
patience is valued in waiting for the outcomes of
actions. Long-term culture is more laid back that it
has more patience in waiting for the outcomes of an
action.
It values perseverance towards the achievement of
goals.
8. Short-term orientation culture is characterized by
being very performance driven. It emphasizes quick
results, fulfillment of social obligations, and efficient
revenue generation. Therefore, its values rewards.
In conclusion, A competent intercultural
communicator interprets and shares meanings with
individuals from different cultures with accuracy,
respect, and a high level of sensitivity. As the adage
says. “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” The
same is true of cultural nuances and differences.
COMMUNICATION THROUGH VERBAL AND NON-
VERBAL
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
-It is a type of oral communication wherein the
message is transmitted through the spoken words.
NON-VERBAL
-use of body language, gestures, facial expressions,
and even posture to communicate
LANGUAGE VARIETY AND REGISTER
-System of rules, also known as “grammar”, sound
system (phonology) and a vocabulary (lexicon)
-is a set of arbitrary symbols which create possible
combination of utterances primarily used for
communication. (Ex. “Elevator” and “lift”)
LANGUAGE REGISTER
-is the level of formality with which you speak.
Different situations and people call for different
registers.
-depends upon the audience (who), the topic (what),
purpose (why) and location (where).
FORMAL REGISTER
-is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature.
It is usually impersonal and formal. Formal Register
o Formal Setting: one-way in nature (ex.
Speech, sermon, pronouncements by
judges etc..)
o Professional context: highly structured,
impersonal, serious tone, vocabulary, and
grammar. (Workplace, school, business,
industries, etc.)
INFORMAL REGISTER
-a casual, personal and more intimate in its tone,
sentence, and choice of words.
-for family, relatives, and friends
-used during informal gatherings such as family
dinner and other informal encounters.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
-Noted by John Stoker, 93% of communication is
manifested through non-verbal behaviors
-Refers to cues through body language, posture,
gesture, movements, facial expressions, and
appearance
-According to Verderber et. al (2015), 4 categories:
kinesics, paralanguage, proxemics, and chronemics
۰ Kinesics: Use of body
- a term “RAY BIRDWHISTELL”,
considered founder of this area of study
-systematic study if the
relationship between nonlinguistic body
motions such as blushes, shrugs, or eye
movements.
-non-verbal behavior related t
movement of any part of the body or the
body as a whole.
۰ Paralanguage: Use of Voice
-refers to the meaning through
“non-lexical tokens”, or non-words, like
“huh”, “hmm”, or “well”
-nonverbal communication that
allows people to add layers of meaning to
their spoken utterances through the
manipulation of the manner or speech.
-Stress is the emphasis put on a
certain syllable or word/s
۰ Proxemics
-deals with the amount of space
that people feel it necessary to set
between themselves and others
۰ Chronemics
-study of how time affects
communication. Time can be classified into
several different categories,
 including biological, personal, physical, and
cultural time (Andersen, 1999)
Globalization
• Globalization is the spread of products,
technology, information, and jobs across
national borders and cultures. In economic
terms, it describes an interdependence of
nations around the globe fostered through
free trade.
• Globalization is the process by which people
and goods move easily across borders.
Mediated Communication
• The most significant development in
communication is the advent of
smartphones and the accessibility of the
internet that have made communication
fast, accessible, virtual, and global.
Communication has now become
“mediated.” This suggests that there are
other options by which one can
communicate such as:
-Text messaging
-Video calling/conferencing
-Emailing
-Chatting online, and
-Posting on social media
Factors/Drivers of Globalization
• Trade
Trade is the buying and selling of goods and
services between different countries around
the world. Goods that are brought into a
country are called imports and those that
are sold to another country are called
exports
• Financial Flow
• It involves the movement of money around
the world. Global financial flows allow
nations to secure funding that is not
available in the domestic economy.
• Technology, Transport and Communication
• Whether it’s economic or health related for
the sake of improving the lives of many
people one step at a time (Ex invention of
container ships, airplanes, delivery trucks
and many more). With the help of different
web platforms such as social media, without
a doubt internet assisted on delivering
almost any goods to places where they are
needed or solely just for trade.
The Effects of Globalization
• Increases business opportunities
• Fewer Cultural Barriers
• Increases economic growth
• Makes production more affordable
• Promotes working together
• Brings opportunities to less developed
countries
• Unequal economic growth
• Lack of local businesses
• Exploits cheaper labor markets
• Causes job displacement
COMMUNICATION FOR A PURPOSE
Guide for effective communication
-Be clear
-Use simple Words
-Be other centered
-Give respect
-Expand your vocabulary
-Avoid length manners
-Be authentic
-Have a call t action
-Inspire and motivate
-Align your words with deeds
-Review yourself
Purposive Communication
-Persuasion (Obj.)
-Purpose: informing, expressing
feelings, imagining, influencing, and
meeting social expectations. 
Social Communication
-Connection (Obj.)
 -signal to others (verbally and
nonverbally) our intentions and attitudes,
whether those be friendly, or romantic, or
aggressive and challenging
-how we “read” the intentions and
attitudes of others around us

Technical Communication
۰ Understanding (Obj.)
۰ Communication of technical
information; computer and scientific
instruments/intricacies of
meditation/oral and visual
presentations
۰ Transactional
-entails a purposeful
transaction between sender and
receiver that provides specific
information for practical and specific
purposes (informing, instructing,
persuading) and is usually geared
towards the needs of a specific
audience