Types of

Communication
Week 2 Coverage
Big Picture in Focus
At the end of the unit, you are expected to:

▪ articulate the types of communication, ethics, and

principles of Communication.
 1 Types of communication according to the
number of person/s.

This categorizes the communication according to the

number of people involved in the communication. To
enumerate, they are the following:

1. Intrapersonal communication. This is a communication

within the “self,” a person communicates with
themselves internally. One example is deciding what to
eat for breakfast or what clothes to wear.
Cont’d.

2. Interpersonal communication. This is mostly “dyadic” in

nature. This means a person communicates with another
person. An example is when a student asks a teacher for
his/her exam result.
Cont’d.

3. Group communication. It is composed of three persons

or more, but if more than the number of participants, this
may be better defined in terms of the relationship
between the sender and receiver who interact actively
with each other.
Cont’d.

4. Public communication. This is quite similar to group

communication, but this is basically larger in size.
However, like group communication, this type may be
better defined in terms of the relationship between the
sender and the receiver. In this type, the person speaks
in front of an audience in a one-directional flow.
Cont’d.

5. Mass communication. This is purposeful, especially when

the audiences are remote or when they cannot be
gathered in one place. Hence, there is a need for a
newspaper, telephone, cellular phone, radio, television,
internet, among others, to establish contact.
 2 Types of communication according to
medium employed.

This is another category of communication that

classifies communication to the medium or channel
used by the sender and receiver in the
communication process.
Cont’d.

1. Verbal communication. Verbal communication employs

the use of words in sending and receiving the message
in the communication process. Verbal communication
may be both written and oral.
Cont’d.

1.1. Written communication. Written communication sends

messages through the use of written signs and symbols.
These signs and symbols may be employed via printed,
handwritten, and projected on the screen. A few examples
of written communication are e-mails, memoranda, letters,
manuals, postcards, etc.
Cont’d.

1.2. Oral communication. In this type of communication,

your message is verbally or orally transmitted to your target
listener/audience. Oral communication can either be
formal (business presentations, classroom lectures,
valedictory speech, etc.) or informal (face-to-face
conversation, telephone conversation, etc.)
Cont’d.

2. Non-Verbal Communication. This comprises gestures,

facial expressions, actions, or even unconscious
behavior that may either reinforce or hamper
communication. For communication to be effective,
there should be consistency in the verbal and non-
verbal communication systems. It may be classified
according to the following:
Cont’d.

2.1. Kinesics. This involves your body movement, such as

your eye contact, your gestures, how you sit, how you walk,
etc.
2.2. Haptics. This involves communicating through the use of
touch. This includes non-verbal actions such as hugs, kisses,
taps on the shoulder, etc.
Cont’d.

2.3. Vocalics. This is to communicate through the use of

your voice, such as your rate or speed of talking, the
volume of your voice, the rising and falling of your
intonation, etc.
2.4. Proxemics. This involves space and its role in the
communication process. Proxemics can be categorized
into:
Cont’d.

▪ Intimate space. We share this space with our loved ones

and closest friends.
▪ Personal space. We share this space with our friends and
acquaintances.
▪ Social space. We share this space with people we are
within social events and gatherings.
Cont’d.

▪ Public space. We share this space with people when we

are in public spaces such as streets, markets, airports, etc.
▪ Personal presentation and environment. Our personal
presentation is the manner of how you present yourself,
how you look, how you dress, and your characteristics.
These are all parts of how people understand and accept
the messages that you try to send.
 3 Ethics and principles of communication.

These are the standard basis for what is considered right

and wrong in communicating with someone, especially in a
multicultural world.

Successful communication requires certain ethical rules for

a communicator to follow. Andrew Button, as cited in
Castigador (2018), suggests four basic rules to observe:
Cont’d.

▪ Honesty. This quality is very important for communication

to succeed. Webster defines honesty as the act, quality, or
condition of being truthful. Perhaps there may be
instances when a person may be forced to lie, as in
misleading an enemy in a war, who is asking important
information about the whereabouts of friendly forces.
Button opines that honesty is more than just not lying. It is
being open and offering whatever information you have,
even if it puts your own short-term interests at stake.
Cont’d.

▪ Openness to other views. Your willingness to be open to

views, which differ or even run against your ideas, is one
crucial factor for communication to succeed. An
environment where people are not free to express their
ideas, especially if they may be unpopular, is not ethical.
The free flow of communication is vital to the welfare and
development of an organization and the country, for that
matter
Cont’d.

▪ Commitment. Webster presents an interesting definition of

commitment, i.e., being bound emotionally/intellectually
to a course of action or another person. Commitment is a
promise or agreement to do something. It is also a state of
being pledged or engaged.
Cont’d.

▪ Build consensus. The consensus is a general agreement

among the members of a given group or community,
each exercising some discretion in decision-making.
 4 Principles of Communication

To be an effective communicator, one should be able to

use some fundamental assumptions or rules. These
regulations or assumptions are called principles. Castigador
(2019) enumerated at least six basic principles that could
be utilized to make communication successful:
Cont’d.

▪ Relevance. An important consideration in sending your

message is the value or relevance of your message to
your receiver. Thus, foremost, a speaker or a writer should
ask him/herself the following questions: what is the value
of my message to my receiver? Will my message appeal
to the interest of my receiver? Will my message add value
to my receiver or the company of my receiver?
Cont’d.

▪ Be positive. Formulate your message with an open and

positive attitude. It is an accepted rule in physics that
action requires an equal amount of reaction. If a speaker
or a writer has a positive attitude, then his message would
be received positively by the audience/reader.
Cont’d.

▪ Choose the best medium. An equally important principle

in communication is the medium that a speaker or a writer
uses as a channel of communication. It is advisable that
the speaker or the writer utilize effective communication
systems to drive through the message.
Cont’d.

▪ Study your audience. It is a must that a speaker or writer

knows the audience or reader. Thus, the speaker or writer
should study the socio-economic profile, the interests, and
the aspirations of his/her audience/reader; more
importantly, what appeals to them. If your
audience/reader is politically inclined, then talk of
something related to current political issues.
Cont’d.

▪ Be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is a very important quality of a

speaker or writer. It is defined as divine inspiration or frenzy.
Simply said, enthusiasm is the intensity of feeling,
excitement, interest, or eagerness.
Cont’d.

▪ Maintain intense focus. To be an effective speaker or

writer, one should be fired with intense feelings or be
passionate. Webster believes that the communication
sender should be given to strong feelings, sometimes even
romantic and sexual.
The End.