PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
Cagayan State University: Andrews Campus (College of Allied Health Sciences)
Unit 1: Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics
Lesson 2: Types of Communication
OUTLINE
I. Types of Communication
II. Barriers affecting Communication
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
Communication may happen in various ways.
There are 2 types of communication:
A. Verbal Communication
-It is a form of transmitting messages using
word symbols in representing ideas and
objects which comes in two forms – oral
and written.
-It includes a face-to-face interaction with
another person, speaking to someone on
the phone, participating in meetings,
delivering speeches in programs and
giving lectures or presentations in
conferences
Factors That Affect Verbal
Communication
a. Tone of voice
b. Use of descriptive words
c. Emphasis on certain phrases
d. Volume of voice
B. Non-Verbal Communication
-It is a form of communication which refers
to the sending of messages to another
person
using signs, gestures, facial expressions and
means other than the spoken and written
language.
Two Categories of Non-Verbal
Communication
a. Non-verbal messages produced by the
body
b. Non-verbal messages produced by the
broad setting such as time, space and
silence
Functions of Non-Verbal
Communication
a. It is used to repeat the verbal message.
Example – Point in an object while saying it.
b. It is often used to accent a verbal
message.
Example – verbal tone indicates the actual
meaning of the words.
c. It often complements the verbal message
but also may contradict.
Examples – A nod reinforces a positive
message among Americans and Filipinos.
A wink or a frown may contradict a positive
message.
d. It regulates interactions
Example – Hand gestures may signal a
person to speak or not.
e. It may substitute for the verbal message,
especially if it is blocked by noise or
interruption.
Example – Touch to mean comfort or
encouragement
A thumbs-up gesture indicating approval
Consider this:
Communication is a combination of the
verbal and non- verbal aspects. Proper blending
of the two types of communication makes the
message clearer.
BARRIERS AFFECTING
COMMUNICATION
In order for a message to be
accurately understood by the target
audience, three things have to be considered:
the message, the audience, and the means and
ways the information is most likely to be
received. According to Keyton (2011) a
problem on any of the elements of
communication can reduce effectiveness or
may lead to communication breakdown. Truly,
only when the interlocutors share the same
understanding of the context of communication
will the message be correctly perceived.
Esisenberg (2010) identified the four
types of barriers to effective communication
which were identified as process barriers,
physical barriers, semantic barriers, and
psychosocial barriers.
RMT 2026 |1
 PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
Cagayan State University: Andrews Campus (College of Allied Health Sciences)
Unit 1: Communication Processes, Principles, and Ethics
Lesson 2: Types of Communication
A. Process Barriers
-Are those that directly block any of the major
elements of communication. Discern on the
following examples:
a) Sender Barrier. This refers to the
personal biases, attitudes, perceptions,
culture or disabilities of the sender of
information. i.e. A new employee failed to
present his/her innovative concepts because
he fears criticism and lack of confidence.
b) Encoding Barrier. This refers to the
language and style used by the sender.
Languages have unique styles and rhetoric
that contrast with other languages. i.e. A
Filipino hardly understands the speaking
style as well as language of an American.
c) Medium Barrier. This refers to the
method through which the information is
conveyed. i.e. The employee sent a
resignation through text messaging instead
of a written communication.
d) Decoding Barrier. This denotes the
recipient’s ability to accurately accept and
interpret the sent information. i.e. The
older citizens hardly understand the new
millennial terms like btw or flex.
e) Receiver Barrier. Contrasting with
sender barrier, this refers to the personal
biases, attitudes, perceptions, culture or
disabilities of the recipient of information.
i.e. The listener did not pay much attention
to the discussion because of self-pride or
hunger.
f) Feedback Barrier. When recipient fails
to send feedback, it will leave the sender in
wonder whether the information has been
understood or otherwise.i.e. When the
students do not respond to teacher’s
question “Did you understand” leaves the
latter to question whether the information
has been grasped by the listeners.
B. Physical Barriers
-Are the distractions that may interfere with
the communication like noise, non-conducive
room, lack of signal or battery or distance.
Common interruptions like cellphone ringing, a
naughty seatmate or unexpected drop-in
visitors are also
illustrations of physical barriers. Also, the
weather conditions and lightings may also fall
under this category.
C. Semantic barriers
-It refers to the choice and usage of words
being
conveyed, or the grammar or technical
language that affect how meaning is
construed.
Jargons or technical terminologies used in a
particular field like medicine, automotive or
engineering are good examples. Others would
be on the different terminologies in even
simpler concepts. For instance, British would
say aubergine for eggplant and chips for French
fries, dummy for pacifier, and flat for
apartment.
D. Psychosocial Barriers
-It refer to both psychological and social
factors. These are fields of experience, filtering,
and psychological distance (Antos, 2011).
-The first deals with the backgrounds,
perceptions, values, biases, needs, and
expectations of the interlocutors. Generally,
these affect how a participant interpret a
message; so, when there is discrepancy between
the intended meaning (sender) and the
understood meaning (receiver) or there is
overlapping experience of the sender, a
miscommunication may occur.
-Next, filtering is affected by participant’s
interest or need. When the listener gets no
interest on a particular topic, the more likely he
or she will not pay attention.
-Finally, psychosocial distance may mean the
actual distance or a cognitive separation set by
the participants. For instance, the emotional
disturbances between a husband and wife may
stage them on a farther distance from each
other which would affect their talks or
dialogues.
Communication is a very complex two-
way process. In order to avoid occurrence of
misunderstanding, there must be clear
recognition of the roles of the participants, the
importance of physical setting and the need for
feedback mechanisms.
RMT 2026 |2