Lesson 1:

Communication Principles,
Processes, and Ethics
GEPCM01X: PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
The Basics of
Communication
Lesson 1
Focal Points
• This lesson, and in the following weeks to come, will introduce you to
the basics of communication: It's nature, elements, frameworks or
models, and functions in various and multicultural contexts. It
provides new insights into communication such as the varieties and
registers of spoken and written language, culturally appropriate
terms and expressions and ethics.

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Focal Points
• It also lays the foundation for effective communication skills vital to
becoming successful in your personnel, social, civic and professional
lives. Finally, the cultural and global issues that affect communication
are discussed so that you will ultimately appreciate the impact of
communication on society and the world.

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• Code – It is a systematic
arrangement of symbols used
to create meanings in the mind
of another person.
• Content Level - It refers to the
literal meaning of the message.
It is parallel to the denotative,
meaning of the message.
• Feedback – it is the response of
the receiver after processing
the message that was sent to
him or her.
• Message - It is the content of
the communication process. It
is the one being encoded by the
sender and decoded by the
receiver.

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• Noise – It refers to any interference
in the encoding and decoding
process which affects the clarity and
understanding of a message.
• Receiver – the one who receives and
hear the message. The decoder.
• Relationship level – It expresses the
relationship between
communicators. This can be the
connotative meaning of a message.
• Sender – the one who creates the
message. The encoder
• Symbol - It is represented by
language and is indicated by spoken
or written words and facial
expressions, gestures, and voice
qualities.

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Basics of Communication

• There are four key terms

that should be defined to
fully understand
communication: process,
systems, symbols and
meanings (Wood, 2012)

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 I. Process
• Process implies continuity. In the
context of communication, one never
stops from communicating as it is an
ongoing activity. It is a dynamic as it
continually changes. Communication is
never static.

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 I. Process
• Communication is considered a
process because it is an activity on
itself. It is not an object that you can
just simply perceive using one of your
senses. But it is an activity in which you
participate. (Pearson et. al., 2011)

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 II. System
• Wood (2012) defined system as
interrelated parts that affect one
another. It is a collection not of
random parts, but of organized wholes.
For instance, in classroom
communication, each student of the
class is part of the system.

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 II. System
• Communication is likewise affected by
the larger system within which it
operates. For example, culture is
considered a large system.

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 II. System
• Thus, to effectively communicate and
interpret the message, it is important
to understand the system (culture,
religion, ethnicity, nationality, socio-
economic status, age, sex, political
affiliation and others) within which
communication takes place.

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III. Symbols
• In Palta’s definition, symbol is
represented by language and in Ober
and Newman’s, it is indicated by
spoken or written words and facial
expressions, gestures and voice
qualities. For others, it is embedded in
the term message.

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III. Symbols
• All these suggest the use of symbols in
communication. When people
communicate, they rely on symbols – a
concrete representation of something
abstract.

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 IV. Meanings
• At the heart of communication is meaning. It can
be viewed as an “end” in itself. This 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.

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 IV. Meanings
• Communication has two levels of meaning:
content level and relationship level (Wood, 2014;
Pinker, 2008; Watzlawick, Beavin & Jackson,
1967)

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 Type Meaning Example

Content Level It refers to the literal If someone asks, “May

meaning of the you attend the meeting?
message. It is parallel to The content-level
the denotative meaning meaning is that the
of the message. person is simply
requesting your
presence in the meeting.

Relationship Level It expresses the However, if the same

relationship between question is asked by
communicators. This can your boss. You might
be the connotative interpret the
meaning of a message. relationship-level
meaning as delegating
the task to you being the
top performer, or
someone who can be
trusted in your team.

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Definition of
Communication Overall,

• Putting the concepts and other

definitions together, communication
can be defined as continuous activity
(process) that operates within a certain
context (system) in which people
exchanged words, gestures, and other
verbal and nonverbal (symbols)
behavior to create and understand
information or messages (meaning).

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Elements of
Communication

• Harold Laswell (1948), a political

scientist, produced a set of questions
to conveniently describe what
comprises communication. The
following are the questions and their
corresponding components of
communication.

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 Who A Source

Says what? Sends a message

Through which channel? Through a medium

To Whom? To a receiver

With what effect? Producing some effect

Figure 1.1 Laswell’s Components of Communication

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Elements of Communication

• Pearson et al. (2011) provided more comprehensive

components of communication which include
people, messages, codes, channels, feedback,
encoding and decoding and noise or barrier.

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Comprehensive Components of
Communication
• 1. People – They are the ones involved in the communication
process. They have the roles of being the source who initiates a
message and the receiver as the intended target of the message.
• 2. Message – This is the verbal and non-verbal form of idea, thought,
or feeling that one intends to communicate to another person or
group of people. Verbal message pertains to the language one utters
while non-verbal message refers to gestures, body movements, sign
languages, and facial expressions that carry with them their own
meaning.

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Comprehensive Components of
Communication
• 3. Channel – it refers to the means with which the message is
delivered.
• 4. Feedback – It is the receiver’s verbal and non- verbal response to
the source’s message.
• 5. Code – It is a systematic arrangement of symbols used to create
meanings in the mind of another person.

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Comprehensive Components of
Communication
• 6. Encoding and Decoding – Encoding is defined as the process of
translating an idea or thought into a code. On the other hand,
decoding is the process of assigning meaning to an idea or a thought.
• 7. Noise or Barrier – In the context of communication, noise refers to
any interference in the encoding and decoding processes which affect
the clarity and understanding of a message.

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The Communication Process

• The definition of
communication and its
elements can also be
furthered, 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:

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I. 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 a
one-way process.

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 A. Laswell’s Verbal Model

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 • In this model, communication flows in one
direction from the sender (who?) with the
A. Laswell’s message (says what?) which is sent via a certain
Verbal Model medium (in what channel?) towards the receiver
to bring about a certain result (with what effect?).
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 B. Shannon and Weaver’s Model

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II. Interactive Model
• This model is in contrast with the linear one which considers
communication as flowing only in one direction from a sender to a
receiver (Gronbeck, 1999). In this model, communication is a two-
way process which involves an exchange or an interaction between
the sender and the receiver.

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II. Interactive Model
• In this model, the personal fields of experience, whether shared or
no by the communicators are very important. According to Schramm,
the communicators’ fields of experience explain why
misunderstanding occurs.

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II. Interactive Model
• Schramm pointed out that when there are more overlaps in the
communicator’s fields of experience (meaning they share the same
experience), the better they understand each other.

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 II.
Interactive
Model

Figure 1.3 The Interactive Model of Communication

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III. Transactional Model
• This model was adapted from Wood (1997) in response to the failure
of the interactive model to portray the dynamism of human
communication.

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 III.
Transactional
Model

Figure 1.4 The Transactional Model of

Communication

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The key features of the 1. It has a time element
transactional model are as which influences how
people communicate. For
follows: instance, freshman college
students are more
reserved at the start of the
semester since they are
still getting to know their
classmates. This will
change overtime as they
become more comfortable
with their classmates due
to their frequent
interaction.

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The key features of the
2. It depicts
transactional model are as communication as
follows: varying (not constant)
and dynamic (not static).

2. The outer lines in the

model indicate that
communication occurs
within systems that
influence what and how
people communicate.
The system may include
culture, context, and
family background.

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The key features of the
4. Finally, the model does
transactional model are as not label one as the
follows: sender and the other as
the receiver. Instead, are
communicators who
actively, equally, and
simultaneously
participate in the
communication process.
In sum, the transactional
model is a model in which
people interact with and
through symbols overtime to
share and create meaning.

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Principles of
Communication
1. Communication is transactional - It is a
two-way process which involves an
exchange. When the message is sent, a
reply is expected.
2. Communication is inevitable – It is
impossible not to communicate. The
moment you wake up, you already start
communicating by merely thinking of
how your day will look like.

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Principles of
Communication

3. Communication is goal oriented - When

you communicate, you have goals in
mind. You do not just say something or
write a message on a piece of paper for
no reason at all. Your goal can be
persuading, entertaining, informing or
expressing one's feelings, ideas or
emotions; to build and maintain
relationship and to influence others are
some of the purposes of communication.
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Principles of
Communication

4. Communication's various levels - There

are various levels of communication:
intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group
and public or mass. The intrapersonal
level refers to the communication that
occurs when we do “self-talk” or engage
in self reflection.

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Principles of
Communication

5. Communication is complex – You may

perceive communication as simply
sending a text message, talking over the
phone, or using hand gestures. However,
communication is so complex that it
entails a lot of processes which can occur
simultaneously or successively. Likewise,
there are implications and
considerations which are perceived
consciously or unconsciously.
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Principles of
Communication

6. Communication can be learned –

Despite the complexity of
communication, it is still a skill which can
be learned.
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 and control.

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Principles of
Communication

8. Communication is guided by culture –

Culture may be defined as a system of
knowledge shared by a relatively large
group of people. The system includes
shared beliefs, values, symbols and
behaviors.

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Ethics in
Communication
• Ethical consideration 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.

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 Ethics in
Communication

• It is a set of moral
principles guiding the
society to maintain
social order. Below are
some guidelines for
becoming an ethical
communicator.

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 1. Ethical communicators are honest. In
communicating your thoughts, ideas and feelings,
Ethics in you must be truthful. Good communicators never lie
Communication and deceive other people.

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 2. Ethical communicators are aware of the
consequences of their thoughts and actions. You
Ethics in need to think before you communicate whether it is
in the spoken or written form. Delete, communicate
Communication can build a ruin your reputation. Thus, you need to
take accountability for what you are doing and what
you are saying.
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 3. Ethical communicators value diversity and respect
other’s opinion. Respect means showing regard or
Ethics in consideration for others and their ideas. Even if you
do not agree with them.
Communication
4. Ethical communicators are just and fair. To be just
and fair is to be impartial and objective.

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