LESSON 1: COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS
Effective communication is a key interpersonal skill. It sounds so simple: multiculturalists – those who are engaged with and respectful of people with
say what you mean. But all too often, what you try to communicate gets lost in
translation despite your best intentions. You say one thing, the other person hears
something else, this is very true in the absence of physical, face-to-face
communication.
Communication is beyond simply putting words into thoughts and
emotions. It is done effectively only when information is transmitted without
changing both the content and the context of the message. It comes in many forms:
 verbal communication, which includes the use of language, sounds, and tone of
voice
 non-verbal communication, which includes body language and facial
expressions
 written communication, such as through journals, emails, blogs, and text
messages
 visual communication, which involves signs, symbols, pictures, graphics, and
emojis
IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is integrated in all parts of our lives:
 ACADEMICS
 PROFESSIONAL
 PERSONAL
 CIVIC
 or tools they use in the process of communication. A style may sometimes depend on
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Another aspect that needs consideration in analyzing the audience is
identifying and trying to overcome possible communication barriers. These are not
confined to physical noise and physiological issues, but could also include cultural
difference, varying levels of expectations and experiences, and difference in
perspectives and communication styles.
PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Effective communication requires a certain level of connection between
and among people, allowing a series of exchanges of thoughts and emotions,
eventually leading to mutual understanding.
 Clarity - pertains to both the message and the purpose why the message has to
be sent. By using appropriate language and communication channels, but equally
important is that the reason for sending and receiving the message must be
understood by both sender and receiver.
 Conciseness - The message should be as brief as may be required depending on
one’s purpose. It should be devoid of trivial details that would hinder
communication.
 Completeness - Despite its conciseness, the message should still be complete
and accurate. Whenever necessary, background information should be given.
 Organization - Effective communication is usually planned in order to ensure
the systematic flow of ideas and transition from one point to another.
 Empathy - The sender of the message should be sensitive to the needs and
interests of the receiver. In case of face-to-face communication, the speaker
must always be conscious of the reaction of the listener.
 Flexibility - Different people have different communication styles and different
expectations. Effective communicators know how to adapt to the varying
needs and expectations of their audience, modify the message or the way the
message is sent to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
Globalization has affected the way people and companies communicate
with each other. In some cases, cultural differences have accentuated cultural
insensitivity, which is most felt in the business world.
In addition, digital technology has erased territorial boundaries among
countries and among people with varying cultures. The notion of being a ‘stranger’
has been revolutionized as the people whom we used to treat as strangers are now our
co-workers, classmates or friends – albeit some only in social media.
Hence, there is a need to develop graduates and professionals who are
different cultures.
ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION
Effective communication is ethical communication. Communication is
ethical only when it is genuine, open, cooperative and sensitive to one’s cultural and
social beliefs and practices. If there is an intent to conceal the truth, or bring
damage to any organization, group or individual person, communication is
considered unethical. Even in situations when there is no intent to harm, but
damage to a certain group is inevitable because of the message or the channel used
to relay the message, it is still unethical.
Past experiences inevitably affect people’s communication styles in the
future. When their audience responded positively to their message, chances of them
repeating the same style are relatively high.
SHOWING COMMITMENT AND GENUINE INTEREST
A key component of ethical communication is showing commitment in
the communicative situation. Being committed means giving sufficient time and
resources to any discussion or conversation, and being open about any issue that
may arise. Commitment also involves volunteering important information, even if
it puts a person’s own short-term interests at risk, as long as it is for the benefit of the
majority. Encouraging a communicative environment of trust can go a long way in
promoting ethical communication in any academic or business setting.
ETHICAL COMMUNICATORS ARE:
1. Respectful of their audience
2. Consider consequences of their communication
3. Respect the truth
4. Use information properly
5. Do not falsify information
6. Respect the rights of others to information
LESSON 2: COMMUNICATIN STYLES IN VARIOUS MULTICULTURAL
CONTEXTS
Communication style refers to the choices people make and the strategies
the demands of the communicative situation, as well on the needs and requirements of
the target recipients.
The model, developed by Dr. Eileen M. Russo, shows four different
communication styles (direct, spirited, systematic and considerate), categorized
further into two different dimensions (level of assertiveness and level of
expressiveness). All of these must be considered because people with different
cultural contexts tend to have varying levels and styles of communication. The
combination of these levels results to the basic communication styles:
• Spirited = High E + High A
• Considerate = High E + Low A
• Direct = Low E + High A
• Systematic = Low E + Low A
You are a combination of all 4 styles, Have one dominant and secondary styles. Want
to be flexible.
TROUBLE SPOTS AND KEY WORDS
 Direct- impatient, poor listener, overlook details (Be Bright, Be Brief, Be Gone)
 Spirited- poor listener, doesn’t hear details, exaggerated (Involve Me)
 Considerate- avoids conflict, prefer what is comfortable, overemphasizes
feelings (Show Me You Care)
 Systematic- can’t make decision, perceived as dull or boring (Give Me Details
TYPES OF PEOPLE THAT WE MIGHT MET IN THE MULTICULTURAL
CONTEXT:
Analyst, Sentinels, Diplomats, Explorers
LANGUAGE VARIETIES
 Also called “lects”, these refer to the different variants of a language Critical Thinking is the ability to analyze the way you think and present
that can be sufficiently delimited from one another in terms of social, historical, or evidence for your ideas, rather than simply accepting your personal reasoning as
geo-spatial factors, thus forming language clusters. sufficient proof.
 Pidgin. It refers to a new language that develops into situations where
speakers of different languages need to communicate but do not share a common
language.
 Creole. It is a pidgin that becomes the first language of the children, or the
mother tongue of a certain community.
 Regional Dialect. It is not a language that is not distinct from a national
language, but rather a variety of a language spoken in a particular area of a
country.
 Minority Dialect. This is a variety used as a marker of identity, usually
alongside a standard variety, by the members of a particular minority ethnic
group.
 Indigenized Varieties. These are spoken mainly as second languages in
former colonies with multilingual populations.

LANGUAGE REGISTERS
A language register is characterized by the way a speaker uses language
differently in different social circumstances. These are determined by such factors
as social atmosphere, purpose of communication, audience, and the general context of
the discourse.

 Formal. These registers are used in professional, academic, or legal settings

where communication is expected to be respectful, uninterrupted, and restrained
to specific rules. Slang is never used and contractions are rare.

 Casual. These registers are used when communicating with friends, close
acquaintances, colleagues, and family members.

 Intimate. reserved for special occasions, usually between only two people and
often in private.

 Frozen. It refers to historic language that is to remain unchanged.

 Consultative. It is used in conversations when people are speaking with
someone who has specialized knowledge or is offering advice. Tone is often
respectful, such as the use of honorifics or courtesy titles, but may be more
casual if the relationship between or among the communicators is friendly.
LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE is the displayed language in a particular space.
Examples: billboards, signages, regulations,street signs, graffiti.
GEOSEMIOTICS is the study of social meaning of the material placement of signs
and discourses and of our actions in the material world

LESSON 3: EVALUATING MESSAGES AND/OR IMAGES OF DIFFERENT LESSON 4 : SOCIAL MEDIA USE
TYPES OF TEXTS REFLECTING DIFFERENT CULTURES Undoubtedly altered the world operates. The rapid and vast adoption of
As defined by Celce Murcia (2014), the regionally distinct varieties of new media platforms have changed the way people relate and communicate with each
English that have arisen in parts of the world where there is a long and often colonial other in the social, economic, and political arenas.
history of English being used in education, commerce and government. New media refer to highly interactive digital technology. These are very
There is no debate that the English language has become the most widely easily processed, stored, transformed, retrieved, hyper-linked, searched for, and
used language for most purposes of communication in international diplomacy, accessed. Generally, these can be classified as:
business, science, education and entertainment. Over time, this widespread use of • Blogs
English – spoken side by side with local languages – has given rise to local varieties • Social media
of English with their own standards. Examples of World Englishes are Indian English, • Online newspaper
West African English, Singapore English, and Filipino English. • Virtual reality
Kirkpatrick (2007) proposes a scale with two extremes that characterize • Computer games
this problem:
o Extreme 1: The goal of national or regional identity. People use a regional Language in new media is sometimes referred to as Computer-
variety of English with its specific grammar, structure and vocabulary to affirm mediated communication (CMC):
their own national or ethnic identity. • Netspeak
o Extreme 2: The goal of intelligibility. Users of a regional variety should ideally • Computer-mediated discourse
still be readily understood by users of English everywhere else in the world to • Digital discourse
fully participate in the use of English as an international language. • Electronic discourse
• e-communication
Multimodality is a fairly new concept in the general academic setting, but • Digitally mediated communication
can be a very powerful tool in light of digital and multicultural communication. A text • Keyboard-to-screen communication
or output is considered multimodal if it uses two or more communication modes to
make meaning. It shows different ways of knowledge representations and meaning- Type of discourse or computer-mediated communication
making, and investigates contributions of semiotic resources (language, gestures, • Vernacular
images) that are co-deployed across various modalities (visual, aural, somatic, etc.) • Interpersonal
A multimodal text can either be one of the following: • Spontaneous
• Paper • Dialogical
• Digital
• Live BREVITY - concise and exact use of words in writing or speech
• Transmedia MULTIMODALITY - this refers to the layering of different digital media.

The creation of multimodal texts and outputs requires a creative design

concept that orchestrates the purposive combination of text, color, photo, sound,
spatial design, language, gestures, animations and other semiotics, all with the unitary
goal of bringing meaning to life.