THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

PONDER!
What is
COMMUNICATION?
• The word communication has been derived
from the late 14c., from Old French
comunicacion (14c., Modern French
communication), from Latin
communicationem (nominative
communicatio), noun of action from past
participle stem of communicare "to share,
divide out; communicate, impart, inform; join,
unite, participate in," literally "to make
common," from communis

• It is also the source of the English word

“common” which means that whatever is
common is shared by all.
 COMMUNICATION is any process
in which people share information,
ideas and feelings.

This process involves the following:

a. spoken and written word

b. body language
c. personal mannerisms and
style
d. surroundings
 COMMUNICATION is a two-
way process of
reaching mutual understanding, in
which participants not
only exchange (encode-decode)
information, news, ideas and feelings but
also create and share meaning.

 In general, COMMUNICATION is
a means of connecting people or places.
 In business, COMMUNICATION is a
key function of management--
an organization cannot operate 
without communication between
levels, departments and employees.
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Persuade
2. Influence
3. Inform
4. Share
5. Discover and uncover
information
6. Entertain
 AIMS OF GOOD
COMMUNICATION
•Give and receive information.
•Provide advice and counseling.
•Issue orders and instructions.
•Receive suggestions.
•Persuade people.
•Impart education and training.
•Warn and notice.
•Improve morale.
•Improve discipline.
THE ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATION
1. SENDER-RECEIVER - people
involved in the communication
process
2. MESSAGE - the ideas and
feelings that a sender-receiver
wants to share
N.B.
Ideas and feelings can be
communicated only if they are
represented by symbols. A
symbol is something that
stands for something else.
 TWO KINDS OF SYMBOLS

1.VERBAL - stand for a

particular thing or idea; are
limited and complicated

a. concrete - represent
an object
b. abstract - stand for
ideas
2. NONVERBAL - are anything
we communicate without using
words

a. facial expressions
b. gestures
c. posture
d. vocal tones
e. appearance
N.B.

 Like verbal symbols, nonverbal

symbols can be misleading.

 We cannot control all our

nonverbal behavior, thus we
often send out information of
which we are not even aware of.
3. CHANNELS - the route
traveled by a message; the means
used to reach the sender-
receivers
N.B.

In face-to-face communication

the primary channels are
SOUND and SIGHT.

Channels of radio, television,

records, newspapers, and
magazines in the mass media
are also forms of channels.
4. FEEDBACK – the response of
the receivers-senders to each
other
5. NOISE – the interference that
keeps a message from being
understood or accurately
interpreted
 THREE FORMS OF NOISE
a. EXTERNAL NOISE - comes from the
environment and keeps the message
from being heard or understood

b. INTERNAL NOISE - occurs in the

minds of the sender-receivers when their
thoughts or feelings are focused on
something other than the communication
at hand

c. SEMANTIC NOISE - is caused by

people’s emotional reactions to words
b. INTERNAL NOISE - occurs in
the minds of the sender-
receivers when their thoughts or
feelings are focused on
something other than the
communication at hand

c. SEMANTIC NOISE - is
caused by people’s emotional
reactions to words
6. SETTING - where the
communication occurs
N.B.
•Setting often influences power
relationships.

•The arrangement of furniture in

setting can also affect the
communication that takes place.
 SETTING

CHANNEL

MESSAGE -
FEEDBACK

Sender- Sender -
Noise
Receiver Receiver

MESSAGE -
FEEDBACK

CHANNEL
SETTING
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION
 To compose effective message
you need to apply certain specific
communication principles. They
tie closely with the basic concepts
of the communication process
and are important for both written
and oral communications called
the “Seven C’s”.
1.Completeness
2.Conciseness
3.Consideration
4.Concreteness
5.Clarity
6.Correctness
7.Courtesy
1. COMPLETENESS: Think Who,
What, Where, When, How

 Who do you want to

communicate with (superior,
subordinates, customers, etc)?
Know your target audiences and
set your tone right and say the
right things.
What do you want him/her to do
and what do you want to
achieve? Focus on the objective
and key points and make sure
what you want to achieve is clear
without guessing.
Where should you put your
ideas and instructions (The
Flow)? Good flow allows reader
to progressively understand your
ideas at ease and will act upon
your message quickly.
 When should you deliver the
information? Delivering at the
right time, not at the wrong time,
will have better results.
How to achieve your objective?
If you have to ask your reader to
perform certain tasks, then state
clearly the steps to achieve that. If
your instructions are not clear,
you will not get your things done
or the way you want them
accomplished in the shortest
time.
Communication is key to
productivity.

Are you productive?

Are you able to get things done

quickly without to and fro?
2. CONCISENESS

 A concise message saves time

and expense for both sender and
receiver. Conciseness is saying
what you have to say in the
fewest possible words without
sacrificing the other C qualities.
Conciseness contributes to
emphasis. By eliminating
unnecessary words, you help
make important ideas stand out.
To achieve conciseness, try to
observe the following suggestions:

Eliminate wordy expressions.

Include only relevant statements.
Avoid unnecessary repetition.

Add on:

Check the flow of your information.

3. CONSIDERATION

Consideration means that you

prepare every message with the
recipient in mind and try to put
yourself in his or her place.
Try to visualize your readers (or
listeners) with their desires,
problems, circumstances,
emotions, and probable reactions
to your request. Then handle the
matter from their point of view.
This thoughtful consideration is
also called “you-attitude” ---
empathy, the human touch, and
understanding of human nature.
(It does not mean, however, that
you should overlook the needs of
your organization.) 
4. CONCRETENESS

Communicating concretely
means being specific, definite,
and vivid rather than vague and
general.
The following guidelines
should help you compose
concrete, convincing messages:

Use specific facts and figures.

Put action in your verbs.
Choose vivid, image-building
words.
5. CLARITY

Clarity means getting your

message across so the receiver
will understand what you are
trying to convey. You want that
person to interpret your words
with the same meaning you have
in mind.
Accomplishing that goal is
difficult because, as you know,
individual experiences are never
identical, and words have
different meanings to different
persons.
Here are some specific ways to
help make your messages clear:

Choose short, familiar,

conversational words.

Construct effective sentences

and paragraphs.
Achieve appropriate readability
(and listen-ability).

Include examples, illustrations,

and other visual aids.
6. CORRECTNESS

The correctness principle

comprises more than proper
grammar, punctuation, and
spelling.
A message may be perfect
grammatically and mechanically
but still insult or lose a customer
(internal and external) and fail to
achieve its purpose.
The term correctness, as applied to
a business message, means the
writer should:

Use the right level of language

(When to be formal, tone, etc.).

Include only accurate facts, words,

and figures.
Maintain acceptable writing
mechanics.

Choose nondiscriminatory
expressions.

Apply all other pertinent C qualities.

7. COURTESY

Courteous messages help to

strengthen present business
friendships, as well as make new
friends.
Courtesy stems from sincere “you-
attitude”. It is not merely politeness
with mechanical insertions of
"please's" and "thank-you's.”
To be courteous, considerate
communicators should follow these
suggestions regarding tone of the
communications.
Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and
appreciative.
Omit expressions that irritate, hurt,
or belittle.
Grant and apologize good-naturedly.