INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNICATION
Introduction
• Communication is a basic life skill, as important as the skills
by which you make your way through school or earn a living.
• Your ability to communicate largely determines your
happiness.
• When you communicate effectively, you make and keep
friends, you are valued at work and your children respect
and trust you.
• You also get your sexual needs met.
Introduction cont’d
• Communication is a learnt skill and a key element in any human
activity (“Emperor Frederick experiment in the 13th century).

• Communication takes place when we are supposedly at the

same level of understanding and comprehension as other
interlocutors.

• It is therefore not what is said whether verbally or non-

verbally, but what is understood.
Definition
• Communication is a word derived from the Latin word
communis which means “to make common or to share”.

• In simple words, it is “to convey a message”

• Theodorson ( 1969) defines it as the transmission of

information , ideas, attitudes, or emotions from one person
or group to another or others primarily through symbols.
Definition cont’d

• Communication is therefore the act of conveying intended

meaning to another person through the use of mutually
understood signs and language.
Characteristics of communication
• When you talk verbally to your friend, then you are said
to be communicating with them. The characteristics of
communication include:
Characteristics cont’d

1. Communication is a process: 2 way process which involves

sending (asserting or expressing) and receiving (listening) to
the message.

2. Communication is a dynamic: ever changing depending on the

variables at play.

3. Communication is a complex a process.

Characteristics cont’d
4. Reaching mutual understanding in which participants not
only exchange (encode-decode) information but also create
and share meaning.
5. Communication involves the sharing of information using a
code.
6. Communication occurs between people and sometimes
animals
7. Communication is irreversible: once one has communicated
something it cannot be recalled back.
Characteristics cont’d

8. Communication is a system

9. Communication must have the elements of communication

(Source, receiver, channel, message, noise, feedback)

10. Communication can be verbal/ non verbal or visual.

11. Communication can be accidental especially in non-verbal

Functions of communication
To change behavior

To get and give

To get action
Information

To persuade To ensure understanding

Source: CGAP Direct

Functions cont’d
To influence others

To establish To express thoughts

relationships and emotions

To make orders and

To entertain
solve problems
Functions cont’d
To give direction

To improve It is a social &

self confidence emotional process

To control and
To educate
motivate people
Elements of communication
• Communication is the process of meaningful interaction
among human beings.

• The basic steps of communication are: the forming of

communicative intent, message composition, message
encoding, and transmission of signal, reception of signal,
message decoding and finally interpretation of the message
by the recipient
Elements of communication

1. Communicators 4. Noise

2. Messages 5. Feedback

3. Channels 6. Context
 The Schraam and Wood interactive
model of communication
Enc
me odes Noise Decod
es
ssa messa
ge ge

Message Communication Message

Channel

Feedback
Elements of communication

1. Communicators are the people involved in a communication

effort that is the source (sender or encoder) and the
receiver (decoder).

• The source is the originating point of any communication act;

gets the urge that necessitates communication for the
purpose of satisfying that urge.
Communicators cont’d

• The stronger the stimulus or the urge the greater is the

need to communicate and the greater the need to
communicate, the more the need is for effectiveness.

• The source must encode (translate thoughts into meaningful

words) the message before sending.
Communicators cont’d
• The receiver (also decoder) is the party to whom the sender
transmits the message.

• It can be a person or an entire audience of people.

• Decoding of a message is as integral to communication as

encoding it.

• Decoding is the process of giving meaning to the encoded

message.
Elements cont’d
2. Communication messages can be delivered in 4 different
ways:
- Visual – e.g. written communication, or non-verbal modes,
e.g. facial expressions
- Auditory – may be face-to-face or by telephone
- Tactile – refers to the use of touch and bodily contact
(hugs, kisses, etc.)
- Olfactory – include use of perfumes or deodorants to
disguise our natural odors and project a certain image
Elements Cont’d
3. Communication channel – the means used to deliver the
message, e.g. TV, Radio, telephone, etc.

• Channels differ in their capacity to convey information.

• Rich channels have the ability to:

• Handle multiple cues simultaneously.
• Facilitate rapid feedback.
• Be very personal.
Elements cont’d

4. Noise – anything that distorts or interferes with the

meanings and messages

• Noise can be internal that is from the interlocutors

themselves (e.g. Headache) or external i.e. from the
environment e.g. car passing, shouting in the next room
Types of noise
Noise can be of 3 different types:
• Physical noise – e.g. someone bangs the door or whistles as you
address your audience

• Psychological noise – personal biases or stereotypes which

influence how we “hear” what others are saying

• Semantic noise – actual meaning of what is being communicated

is distorted due to language or cultural differences
Elements cont’d

5. Feedback – This is the response from the receiver and

later the source.

• The receiver can transmit feedback through asking

questions, making comments or just supporting the message
that was delivered.
Elements cont’d

• We receive feedback from both verbal and non-verbal

reactions of others, and from our own responses (self-
monitoring)

• Feedback helps the sender to determine how the receiver

interpreted the message and how it can be improved and
without it, the communication process breaks down.
Elements cont’d
6. Context

• Communication does not occur in a vacuum.

• The context in which we communicate will influence what and

how we communicate.
 CHAPTER SUMMARY

1. Definition of communication

2. Characteristics of communication

3. Functions of communication

4. Elements of communication
 FORMS OF
COMMUNICATION
Introduction

• Communication is the process of meaningful interaction

among human beings.

• All forms of communication can be categorized as either

verbal or nonverbal.

• Both verbal and nonverbal communication can be subdivided

into either vocal or non-vocal.
Verbal communication

• Verbal communication involves the use of speech to

exchange information with others.

• We usually communicate verbally in face-to-face

conversations such as; meetings, interviews, conferences,
speeches, phone calls etc.
Cont’d

• But much of the communication that takes place between

people is both verbal and non-verbal; that is, it is based
on language and gestures.
1. Words account for 7%
2. Tone of voice accounts for 38% and
3. Body language accounts for 55% of the message.
Cont’d

• Verbal communication of the vocal category includes spoken

language,

• While non-vocal verbal communication involves written

communication as well as communication that is transmitted
through sign language, finger spelling, Braille, or other
similar alternatives to verbal language.
Paraverbal/paralinguistic/ paralanguage features

• Aspects of spoken communication that do not involve words.

• They add emphasis or shades of meaning to what people say.

• Paralinguistic features accompany verbal communication and

are the vocal signals beyond the basic verbal message.

• Paralinguistic elements in a person's speech, convey meaning

beyond the words and grammar used.
Cont’d

• Examples of paralinguistic features include pitch, rate,

quality of voice and amplitude, laughter or even imitative
speech.

• Prosody, which is the rhythm, pattern, stress, rate, volume,

inflection and intonation of a person's speech, is also a form
of paralanguage.
Non verbal communication
• Non-verbal communication is a type of communication that
employs gestures and body language.
• The term "body language" is sometimes used to denote non-
verbal communications.
• "Body Language" is the communication of personal feelings,
emotions, attitudes, and thoughts through body-movements
such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, touch, smell,
walking styles and positions among others.
Cont’d

• These movements can be done either consciously or

involuntarily; more often they happen‘ subconsciously, and are
accompanied, or not accompanied, by words.

• There are basically three elements in any face-to-face

communication. These three elements account differently for
the meaning of the message:
Cont’d

• Non-verbal communication can lead to misunderstandings,

communication failure and even conflicts if the interlocutors are
careless. Non-verbal communication includes:

• (P)OSTURES & GESTURES

• (E)YE CONTACT
• (O)RIENTATION
• (P)RESENTATION
• (L)OOKS
• (E)PRESSIONS OF EMOTION
Cont’d

• Body language and kinesics are based on the behavioral patterns of non-
verbal communication.
• Body language can actually contradict verbal communications and reveal
our inner feelings about any particular person or topic either
intentionally or unintentionally.
• The way in which you fold your arms, cross your legs, sit, stand, walk,
move your head, eyes, lips reveal what you may be thinking or feeling.
• For example, you may be sitting and conversing with a person; suddenly,
he leans forward and with both arms clutches the chair. By doing so he
non-verbally communicates to you his desire to end the meeting.
Levels of communication

1. Intrapersonal (Within a person)

2. Interpersonal (Face to face)

3. Small group communication

4. Mass (or public) communication

5. Inter country/ Development

Intrapersonal communication

• This form of communication is extremely private and

restricted to ourselves.

• It includes the silent conversations that we have with

ourselves, wherein we juggle the roles between the sender
and the receiver.

• This process when analyzed can either be conveyed verbally

to someone or stay confined as thoughts.
Interpersonal communication

• This form of communication takes place between two

individuals and it is thus a one-on-one conversation.

• The two individuals can swap their roles as sender and

receiver in order to communicate in a clearer manner.
Small group communication
• This takes place when there are more than two people
involved.
• But with the number of people small enough to allow each
participant to interact and converse with the rest.
• Examples are press conference, board meetings, and team
meetings.
• Unless a specific issue is being discussed, small group
discussions can become chaotic and difficult to interpret by
every body which can result in miscommunication.
Public communication

• This takes place when one individual addresses a large

gathering of people.

• Election campaigns and public speeches are examples.

• In such communication, there is a single sender and many

receivers who are being addressed.
Barriers to communication

• A barrier to communication is something that keeps

meanings from meeting.

• Meaning barriers exist between all people, making

communication much more difficult than most people seem
to realize.
Barriers to communication by category
1. Physiological Barriers
• Physiological barriers may result from individuals' personal
discomfort, caused, for example, by ill health, poor eye
sight, or hearing difficulties.
• These may also affect one‘s personality in many different
and mostly negative ways.
• This can best be handled by working on developing a positive
perception as certain physiological features contributing to
barriers may not be curable.
Barriers cont’d
2. Physical Barriers
• Physical barriers include:
• Office doors, barrier screens, separate areas for people of
different status
• Large working areas or working in one unit that is physically
separate from Others.
• Distance
Barriers cont’d
3. Cultural Barriers
• Culture prescribes behavior.
• Humans can adapt to different culture once we come to
accept it and appreciate that cultures are different so that
we can be recognized from others and that no specific
connotations need to be attached to one culture or the
other.
Barriers cont’d
4. Language Barriers
• Language that describes what we want to say in our terms
may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our
expressions, buzz-words, and jargon.
• When we couch our communication in such language, it is a
way of excluding others.
• In a global setting the greatest compliment we can pay
another person is to talk in their language.
Barriers cont’d
5. Interpersonal Barriers
• Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact.
• It is both refusals to be in touch with others.
Barriers cont’d
6. Psychological Barriers
• There are 3 types of psychological barriers would be
discussed as they are the most common ones.
a. Perceptual barriers
b. Emotional Barriers, and
c. Experiential barriers.
Psychological barriers
• Perceptual barriers
• The problem with communicating with others is that we all
see the world differently.
• A bad experience would perceptually block out unpleasant
things. This could be in the shape of avoiding it and if that is
not possible by altering the behaviors i.e., response types in
different ways.
Psychological barriers
• Emotional barriers
• One of the other chief psychological barriers to open and
free communication is the emotional barrier.
• It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust, and suspicion.
• As mentioned earlier the roots of our emotional mistrust of
others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught
to be careful what we said to others.
Psychological barriers
• Experiential barriers
• Experiential barriers on the other hand become barriers by
virtue of not having experienced them leading to altered
interpretation and comprehension.
• Our experience shapes our view of the world. For example,
when children experience trauma at the hands of trusted
adults (especially family members) their emotional link with
the adult world is severed, creating distrust.
• They are left with three companions: guilt, fear and feelings
of inferiority.
Barriers cont’d
7. Stereotypes
• Stereotypes are widely circulated ideas or assumptions
about particular groups.
• Stereotypes are usually negative attitudes which people use
to justify discrimination of conflict against others.
• According to Pennington (1986) ―there are two
characteristics of stereotypes
Stereotypes cont’d
1. People are categorized on the basis of very visible
characteristics e.g. race, nationality, sex, dress and bodily
appearance;
2. All members of a particular group are assumed to have the
same characteristics; and
• The effects of stereotyping are seen as gross over
simplified and over generalized descriptions.
• They operate to overestimate differences existing between
groups and under estimate differences within groups.
Stereotypes cont’d

• Stereotyping has a halo effect.

• Halo effect is the use of a single attribute to describe a
person or object fully. For example, if a person is friendly
we may use this attribute to assume that they are punctual
and good at their job.
• Another important aspect of stereotyping is perception.
Barriers cont’d
8. Authority
• Barriers to communication for one reason or the other often
get neglected.
• Knowing them is synonymous to knowing about one‘s own
barriers sprouting out of one‘s personality.
• Barriers to communication can lead to misunderstanding and
confusion.
 CHAPTER SUMMARY

1. Forms of communication

2. Levels of communication

3. Barriers to communication
FOR REVIEW

1. Describe the communication process and identify its key

components. Give an example of how this process operates
with both oral and written messages.

2. Contrast encoding and decoding.

FOR CRITICAL THINKING

1. “Ineffective communication is the fault of the sender.” Do

you agree or disagree? Discuss.

2. What can you do to improve the likelihood that your

message will be received and understood as you intended?