COMMUNICATION

What is Communication?
 Giving and/or receiving of information from one source to
another
 An act of transferring
information/ideas/instruction/direction/news from one place,
person or group to another
 The act of conveying meanings from one entity or group to
another through the use of mutually understood signs, symbols,
and semiotic rules
 The imparting or exchanging of information or news
 Process of passing information and understanding from one
person to another
 FORMS

verbal aural non-verbal

written visual
Communication Process
Communication Process
 The source of the message is the sender.
 The message is the information a person wants to communicate
 Encoding is the process of transferring the message into a format or platform that is
expected to be understood by the recipient
 Channel is the method(s) one uses to convey the message
 Decoding happens when the intended recipient of the information receives the
message. Receptive skills are necessary in this phase, which includes reading and
comprehending, viewing, active listening or asking questions, if necessary
 Receiver is the target recipient of the message
 Feedback is the mechanism that gauges how successful the communication
process is
 Context refers to the specific situation of both the communication setup and the
communicators. It determines the tone, level of formality, style and other elements of
communication
Different Communication Skills that should be develop

 Reading
 Writing
 Speaking
 Listening
 Audience Analysis – knowing the audience, understanding their level and how
they need to receive the information
 Identifying and overcoming communication barriers
a. Physical and physiological noise
b. Cultural difference
c. Varying levels of expectations and experiences
d. Difference in perspectives
e. Communication styles
TRIVIA:
In a 2015 research study on the
Globalization of English, which included
top international companies, it was
revealed that good communication skills
in English add a salary premium of 30% -
70% depending on region.
Principles of Effective
Communication

Clarity

conciseness completeness

organization empathy flexibility

Principles of Effective Communication
 CLARITY
pertains to both the message and the purpose why the message has to be sent
 CONCISENESS
Message should be as brief as may be required depending on one’s purpose
 COMPLETENESS
the message should be complete and accurate
 ORGANIZATION
usually planned 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
 FLEXIBILITY
Knows how to adapt to the varying needs and expectations of their audiences
COMMUNICATION STYLES MATRIX IN VARIOUS
MULTICULTURAL CONTEXTS
 BASIC COMMUNICATION STYLES
A person’s communication style may not only depend on his/her
linguistic ability but also on his/her cultural and social context.
Communication style refers to the choices people make and the
strategies or tools they use in the process of communication.

SPIRITED = High expressiveness + High assertiveness

CONSIDERATE = High Expressiveness + Low assertiveness
DIRECT = Low expressiveness + High assertiveness
SYSTEMEATIC = Low expressiveness + Low assertiveness
ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION

Effective Communication is ethical communication.

Communication is ethical only when it is genuine, open,
cooperative and sensitive to one’s culture and social beliefs
and practices.
If there’s an intent to bring damage to any organization,
group or individual person, communication is considered
unethical.
Even in situations when there’s no intent to harm, but
damage to a certain group is inevitable because of the
message or channel used to relay the message, it is still
considered unethical.
Manifestations of Ethics in Communicative
Situations
1) Active and respectful listening ( for face-to-face
communication)
2) Avoiding prejudice
3) Showing commitment and genuine interest
4) Respecting socio-cultural beliefs and practices of
others
1. Active and Respectful Listening
• Allows a person to help others communicate
better
• Provides opportunities to be more productive
at work
• Establishes deeper relationships
• Increases efficiency in both study and work
• Helps to avoid misinterpretation and
misunderstanding
1. Active and Respectful Listening

• A requisite for ethical communication is being aware of

one’s behaviour and habits during communicative
process in different circumstances.

While listening the following must be considered:

A. Body language
B. Eye contact
C. Sense of the message
D. Turn-taking
Trivia
Eye contact preferences differ across cultures. In most
Western countries, people place premium to eye-to-eye
communication, as it implies honesty and trust. In Japanese
culture, however, maintaining eye contact for sustained
period is disrespectful. In some Arab countries, prolonged
eye contact is intrusive and is done only with people they
are close with.
Five Key Aspects of Active Listening

1. Pay close attention

2. Show physical manifestation that you
are listening.
3. Check for understanding
4. Don’t interrupt.
5. Respond appropriately.
2. How Past Experiences and Prejudice affect
Communication
Past Experiences Effect to Communication
Your parents reacted negatively when you You hesitate to discuss the topic with them
opened up about your interest for a certain despite your rich potential to that craft.
craft.
Your colleague has forgotten some very You give him/her reminders every now and
important information many times in the then to avoid messing up again.
past.
A subordinate in a group that you lead You don’t ask for your subordinate’s
disagreed twice in your suggestions. opinion anymore, even if he/she might
agree with you this time.
Your teacher ignored your inputs last You don’t provide inputs in class anymore.
session.
Your teammates reacted positively to your You use the same strategy in a similar
strategy. situation.
2. How Past Experiences and Prejudice affect
Communication
 Prejudice, on the other hand, when people take their past
experiences and make certain assumptions that the same
experience will happen with the same people, given the same
context.
 Prejudices happen when people isolate an experience with one
“type” of person or group of people, then behave as if all
encounters with people of the same “type”, or at least with the
same characteristics, will lead to the same experience.
 There can be prejudice as regards to age, gender orientation,
religious belief, race, social economic status, and physical
conditions.
3. Showing Commitment and
Genuine Interest
Being committed means:
 giving sufficient time and resources to any discussion or conversation
 being open about any issue that may arise
 volunteering important information even if it puts a person own short-
term interests at risk, as long as it benefits the majority
Belly Button Psyche/Rule – believed to communicate true interest
while engaging in face-to-face communication
 Origin of the “rule” dates back to the 1930’s
 Dr. Albert Mehrabian , Professor of Psychology at UCLA – noted that this rule
is the most important indicator of reading a person’s intention; means that the
direction of a person’s navel reflects his/her true interest.
4. Respecting socio-cultural beliefs
and practices of others
HOSPITALITY
 Stand when someone enters the room.
 Respect the different living areas in the home, when an
Arab says, 'my home is your home' it is only an
expression.
 Don't shake hands with an Arab woman unless she gives
you her hand first.
 Don't speak to Arab women before you are introduced.
 Don't ask about an Arab's wife or daughters.
 Take a gift.
4. Respecting socio-cultural beliefs
and practices of others
EATING
 You will always be offered snacks; decline the first offer
but then accept.
 It is impolite to refuse a beverage.
 Always use the right hand when eating, drinking, passing
or accepting food and drink.
 Avoid politics, religion, and personal relationships
between men and women as topics of conversation.
 Do not overstay your welcome. Leave soon after eating.
Communication and Globalization
Globalization is not confined to technology & bridging the
world and making it a virtual community. Globalization also
entails changing the way people communicate to others,
especially those with different norms, cultures and belief
systems.

 Key to the world-wide integration of humanity

There is an increased economic, political, and cultural integration and
interdependence of diverse cultures

 Digitaltechnology (no more territorial boundaries)

 Cultural insensitivity in global communication
Communication and Globalization
 In order to develop more meaningful relationships and
establish productive interaction with people having
different cultures, everyone should recognize and respond
to such differences and nuances. People have to be
mindful that not everyone from the same culture exhibits
the same characteristics and habits in communication, so
sensitivity is key to any successful communicative situation.
 In communicating in a highly global environment, the
challenge that faces everyone is to learn to understand,
accept, and address cultural - and communication
differences.
Gerber dealt with issues in some
cultures where women have low
literacy rates such as Africa and the
Middle East. The women in these
cultures generally use pictures to tell
them what food they are buying.
When Gerber started selling their
product in these countries, the
women saw the picture of the baby
and believed that there was a
baby or part of one baby in the jar.
Odette and Joni
Joni (read as “Yoni”) is a
brand of skin product.
However, Yoni means
“uterus” or “vagina” in
Sanskrit, and is an Indian
representation of
female genitalia,
especially pertaining to
the Hindu goddess
Shakti.
McDonald’s TV ad to target Chinese
consumers caused an uproar when
they featured a Chinese man kneeling
before a McDonald’s vendor begging
him to accept his expired discount
coupon. Begging is considered a
shameful act in Chinese culture.

Similarly, McDonald’s unintentionally

offended thousands of Muslims when it
printed an excerpt from the Quran on
its throwaway (take out) hamburger
bags. Muslims saw this as sacrilegious.
Some staff at the African port of Stevadores saw the supposedly internationally-
recognized symbol for “fragile” . Since in their culture, they treat the pictures printed on
packages to be presentation of what’s inside, they though it was a box of broken
glasses and threw all the boxes into the sea.
Communicating in a
multicultural society
Culture is a system of knowledge, beliefs, values, customs, behaviour and
artifacts that are acquired, shared and are used by members of a given society.
Multiculturalists – persons respectful of and engaged
with people from distinctly different cultures.
Culturally confused – lacking the understanding of
cultural differences
Intercultural communication – interaction with
individuals from different cultures
International communication – communication
between persons representing different nations.
Interethnic communications – interactions with
individuals of different ethnic origins
Intracultural communication – interaction with
people of the same racial or ethnic group
Co-culture - groups of persons who differ in same
ethnic or sociological with groups of the same
parent culture
Assimilation – the means by which the co-culture members
attempt to fit in with the members of dominant culture.
Accommodation – the means by which co-culture members
maintain their cultural identity while striving to establish
relationships with members of dominant culture

No NSTP Saturday schedule for members of Seventh-day

Adventist
Separation the means that co-culture members use
to resist interacting with members of dominant
culture
Refusing to sing national anthem Refusing to eat pork
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to see one’s own
culture as superior to all others.
Melting pot philosophy - the view that different cultures
should be assimilated into the dominant culture.
Cultural relativism is the acceptance of cultural
groups as equal in value to one’s own
Cultural pluralism is the adherence to the principle of
cultural relativism that the other cultures can blend
with the dominant culture without losing their identity.
Improving One’s Ability on Intercultural
Communication
1. Refrain from forming expectations
based solely on your culture.
2. Remove personal biases or any
stereotype that may impede
understanding.
3. Make a personal commitment to
develop communication skills
appropriate in multicultural setting.
 EVALUATING MESSAGES AND/OR
IMAGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEXT
REFLECTING DIFFERENT CULTURE
The Power of Words and Images
FIVE KEY QUESTIONS:
 What is the message?
 What is the purpose of the message?
 Howis the message conveyed (by the text and/or
image)
 Who is the target audience of the message?
 What other ways of presenting the message are
there?
 MULTIMODALITY
 Multimodal output – something that uses two or more
communication modes to make meaning.
 It shows different ways of knowledge representations
and meaning-making and investigates contributions of
semiotic resources (language, gestures, images) that
are co-deployed across various modalities ( visual, aural,
somatic, etc.)
 It highlights significant interaction and integration in
constructing coherent text
 MULTIMODALITY
In creating a multimodal text, the Purpose, Audience, Context must all
be considered.
 As to purpose, the creator of the text must be clear on the message
and the reason(s) why the message has to be delivered
 As to audience, the nature, interests and sensitivities of the target
audience must be considered so the text will not be offensive and
hurt people’s sensibilities
 As to Context, the message should be clearly delivered through
various semiotic resources, and in consideration of the various
situations where and how the text will be read by different people
having different cultural backgrounds.
 Forms of Multimodal text
 Paper (books, comics, posters, brochures)
 Digital (slide presentations, blogs, web pages, social media,
animation, film, video games)
 Live (performance or event)
 Transmedia (a story is told using multiple delivery channels
through a combination of platforms, such as comics, film,
videogames, all working as part of the same story with the
same message.