Unit 1 – PROCESS AND ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

Hello everybody! Welcome to Unit 1 of Purposive Communication. The unit comprises

four lessons which are The Importance of Communication, Communication Principles,
Communication Ethics, and The Globalization of English.

After this unit, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate effective verbal, non-verbal, listening, and written communication skills;

2. Explain the process/cycle of communication, principles, and ethics;
3. Illustrate the connection of communication to globalization;
4. Distinguish the common English dialect differences of American, British and Australian
speakers.

Lesson 1 - The Importance of Communication Skills

Engage

Can you recall an interesting conversation you had with your friends about the movie they
watched? You may think of it in this context communication as sharing of ideas. Yes, communication
is sharing or exchange of thoughts, ideas, and information between two or more people. When you
hear an announcement about the arrival of a plane at an airport, communication is happening by
way of passing information. Also, when the teacher teaches a lesson to you in the classroom, she is
imparting knowledge by way of communication. I am communicating with you right now when you
are reading this line—I am also trying to share with you the knowledge and information I have about
learning communication skills.

In this lesson, you will learn effective communication skills in the areas of verbal, non-verbal,
listening, and written.

Specifically, you should be able to:

1. Illustrate a greater understanding of the keys to effective communication;

2. Use effective listening skills.
3. Identify ways to avoid communication roadblocks to facilitate effective communication
skills
 Explore

Activity 1: Ways to communicate

Think about a partner. He or she may be a friend or a member of your family.

How do you say “hello”? besides greeting somebody, “Hello!”.
Describe one (1) creative way to do it in 35 words or less. (15 points)

Visit your Facebook groups page. Write your answers in the comment section of the post for
this question.

Explain
The Communication Process

Communication (came from the Latin term ‘ commūnicāre ’ which means to share) is the act
of conveying meaning to a person or group of people using mutually understood symbols, gestures,
behaviors and semiotic rules. As much as communication is acquired skills, not everyone can
communicate properly not unless they exert effort to develop and refine their communication skill.
Communication plays a significant role in a day to day basis since it is used to persuade, inform,
entertain and motivate. It is important to develop variety of skills depending on its purpose, as well
as to know how to interpret conversation and information coming FROM others. Knowing your
audience and understanding how they need to receive information is equally important as knowing
ourselves.

The goal of communication is to transmit information and the understanding of information

— from one person or group to another person or group. The communication process is divided
into seven basic elements:

1) Sender also known as the speaker or encoder is the one who sends the oral or written
message.

2) Receiver also known as the listener or decoder is the one who listens and decodes the
conveyed message. The receiver is also responsible for providing feedback to the sender.

3) Message is whatever the sender communicates to the receiver or the information received
by the receiver from the sender. Messages are ideas and feelings that make up the content of
the process of communication.
4) Channel is the medium or means through which the message is transmitted. Some familiar
channels are radio, television, records, newspapers and magazines in the mass media. Other
channels communicate nonverbal messages through the use of other human senses such as
touching, smelling, and tasting.

5.) Noise is also known as the interference that keeps a message from being understood or
accurately interpreted such as physical, psychological, physiological, and semantic noise.

a) Physical noise is interference that is external to both speaker and listener; it hampers
the physical transmission of the signal or message

• Physiological noise refers to bodily processes and states that interfere with a
message. For instance, if a speaker has a headache or the flu, or if audience members
are hot or they’re hungry, these conditions may interfere with message accuracy.
• Psychological noise refers to mental states or emotional states that impede message
transmission or reception. For example, if someone has just broken up with a
significant other, or if they’re worried about their grandmother who is in the hospital,
or if they are thinking about their shopping list, this may interfere with
communication processes as well.
 • Physical noise refers to the actual sound level in a room. Loud music playing at a
party, a number of voices of people talking excitedly, a lawnmower right outside the
window, or anything that is overly loud will interfere with communication.
• Semantic noise refers to the use of complex, technical, grammatical language and
whoever receives it does not understand the message. This occurs when the person
who emits the message uses a word or phrase whose meaning is not known, or is used
in a different way from the recipient.
• Cultural Noise refers to hindrances to effective communication between people
of different culture.
Ex. The issue on trans genders might be different to other countries like in Europe
wherein trans genders were legalized unlike in other conservative countries like in
the Philippines before until such time that our country has eventually accepted the
said view or idea.

6.) Situation is the time and place in which communication occurs. Communication adapts to the
setting. For example, the language of students in the classroom is quite different from the
language they use at home.

7.) Feedback is the message receivers send to the source in response to the sender’s message.
Feedback can be in the form of verbal or non-verbal response.

Communication in an ordinary sense means getting our basic functions fulfilled through the
use of language and communication strategies. For example, in our everyday life we interact with
vegetable sellers, sidewalk vendors, attending classes, etc. However, effective communication
happens when you are able to achieve positive results using communication to express your desired
goals.