Communication Principles,

Processes, and Ethics

Learning Objectives

• Identify the principles, processes, and ethics of

communication;
• Describe the elements of communication in
various and multicultural contexts;
• Practice effective communication skills;
• Evaluate communication skills;
• Reflect on a learning experience.
Defining Communication
Communication is a systemic process in which
people interact with and through symbols to
create and interpret meanings. (Wood, 2004)
Defining Communication
• In its simplest form, communication is the
transmission of a message from a source to a
receiver (Baran, 2006)

• The sending or exchanging of thoughts, opinions

or information by speech, writing or signs
(Webster 1997)
 Defining Communication

Communication is the transfer of information and

understanding from one person to another.
(Newstrom, 2011)

Communication is the transfer of information from one person

to another, whether or not it elicits confidence. But the
information transferred must be understandable to the receiver.
(G.G. Brown)
 Defining Communication
• “Communication” is the interaction of a person with other people,
exchange of their ideas and feelings, and transmission of
information from one person to another. (Hybel & Weaver)

•Communication is giving, receiving and exchanging of ideas, facts,

opinions, information, signals or messages through an appropriate
medium, enabling individuals or group to persuade, to seek
information, to give information and to express emotions.
(Fred G. Meyer)
 Defining Communication
• Communication is the exchange of facts, ideas,
opinions or emotions by two or more persons.
(William Newman)

• Communication is a sum of all things one person

does when he wants to create understanding in the
minds of another. It involves systematic and
continuous process of telling, listening, and
understanding. (Louis Allen)
General Principles of Effective
Communication
• Know your purpose in communicating.
• Know your audience.
• Know your topic.
• Adjust your speech or writing to the context of
the situation.
• Work on the feedback given you.
 Principles of Effective Oral
Communication

• Be clear with your purpose.

• Be complete with your message.
• Be concise.
• Be natural with your delivery.
• Be specific and timely with your feedback.
Principles of Effective Written
Communication (The 7 Cs)

• Be clear.
• Be concise.
• Be concrete.
• Be correct.
• Be coherent.
• Be complete.
• Be courteous
Purposes of Communication

• To inform
• To persuade
• To entertain
Types of Communication

According to Mode

1)
Verbal – the use of words
2)
Non-Verbal – the use of symbols, pictures and body
actions
3)
Visual – pictures and images
Types of Communication
According to Context

1)Intrapersonal – talking to oneself

2)Interpersonal – communication between and among people
3)Extended – through the use of electronic media
4)Organizational – communication in organizational contexts
5)Intercultural – communication between or among people
having different linguistic, ethnic, social and professional
backgrounds
Elements of Communication

• Sender
• Source of a message (West, 2009)
• encodes a message intended to produce the desired
response
• The person who initiates the communication
process
• The sender may be the writer of a letter, the first
speaker in a conversation or the person who
initiates the process though a gesture (Pathak, 2005)
Elements Communication
• Message
• the physical product of the source
• spoken, written, or unspoken information sent from
a sender to a receiver (West, 2009)
• Thoughts, ideas, and concepts that the sender wishes
to communicate to the reader; since thoughts or
ideas do not have physical form, they cannot be
directly transmitted to the receiver.
• The sender therefore “encodes” the message using
an appropriate code. (Language is also a type of
code.)
 Elements of Communication
• Channel
• message vehicle and message carrier
• Pathway to communication (West, 2009)
• It represents our senses (visual/ sight, tactile/touch,
olfactory/smell, and is dependent on who your receiver
is.
Elements of Communication
• Noise (Interference)
• Also referred to as communication barriers
• Anything that interferes with the message
• According to West, there are four types of noise:
1. Physical noise (external noise) – involves any stimuli
outside of the receiver that makes the message
difficult to hear
2. Physiological noise – biological influences on a
sender or receiver that interfere with the transmission
or reception of a message.
 Elements of Communication
• Noise (Interference)
• According to West, there are four types of noise:
3. Psychological noise (internal noise) – biases,
prejudices, and feelings that interfere with the accurate
transmission or reception of a message.
4. Semantic noise – occurs when senders and receivers
apply different meanings to the same message; it may
take the form of jargon, technical language, and other
words and phrases that are familiar to the sender but
that are not understood by the receiver.
Elements of Communication
• Receiver
• recipient of the message; if the receiver fails to
respond right to the message then, communication is
not effective (Manalo, 2006)
• The intended target of a message (West, 2009)
• He or she might be the listener, the reader, or observer
• He or she usually responds to the sender by:
• Listening or reading or observing carefully
• Interpreting the message
• Responding to the message
Elements of Communication

• Feedback
• A verbal (respond in words) or non-verbal (facial
expressions, body posture, and so forth) response
to a message.
• Two types of feedback:
• Internal feedback occurs when you assess
your own communication
• External feedback is the response you receive
from other people
Elements of Communication

• Context
• Physical
• Temporal
• Socio-psychological context
• Cultural
 Process of Communication
The speaker generates an idea
Then speaker encodes an idea or
converts the idea into words or
actions.
The speaker transmits or sends out
a message.
The receiver gets the message.
The receiver decodes or interprets
the message based on the context.
The receiver sends or provides
feedback.
Example
Daphne loves Rico, her suitor, as a
friend
She thinks of how to tell him using
their native language.
She tells him, “Rico, mahal kita
bilang kaibigan.”
Rico hears what Daphne says.
He tries to analyze what she means
based on the content and their
relationship, and he is heartbroken.
He frowns and does not say
something because he is in pain.
COMMUNICATION MODELS
 Linear Models of
Communication
A characterization of communication as a
one-way process that transmit a message
from a sender to a receiver. (West, 2009)
Aristotle’s Model

SPEAKER SPEECH AUDIENCE

Lasswell’s Model

WITH
SAYS TO WHICH TO
WHO? WHAT
WHAT? CHANNEL? WHOM?
Communicator EFFECT?
Message Medium Receiver
Feedback
• David K. Berlo 
• Ph.D. in Communications,
University of Illinois, Charles
Osgood was his faculty advisor
• A “disciple” of Wilbur Schramm
• Previously served as Director of
Department of Communications,
Michigan State University
• Joined Illinois State as President
of the university (1970-1973)
Berlo’s Communication Model

SOURCE MESSAGE CHANNEL RECEIVER

Comm. Skills Content Hearing Comm. Skills/
Attitudes Elements Seeing Attitudes
Knowledge Treatment Touching Knowledge
Social System Structure Smelling Social System
Culture Code Tasting Culture

A source encodes a message for a channel to a receiver who decodes the

message
FEEDBACK AND THE INTERACTIONAL MODEL:
OSGOOD-SCHRAMM’S MODEL
"In fact, it is misleading to think of the communication process as starting somewhere and
ending somewhere. It is really endless. We are little switchboard centers handling and
rerouting the great endless current of information.... " (Schramm W.1954) quoted in
McQuail&Windahl (1981)
• Wilbur Schramm emphasized the
importance of the study of
communication as a discipline of
study. He founded the Institute of
Communications Research at the
University of Illinois in 1947.
• In 1954, with fellow theorist
Charles E. Osgood, he created a
circular model of communication
that focused not only on the
components of communication, but
also on the behaviors of senders and
receivers.
Interactional Model:
Osgood-Schramm’s Model

Message
Message

Encoder
Encoder Decoder
Decoder

Interpreter Interpreter
Decoder
Decoder Encoder
Encoder

Message
Message
 Interactional Model
• Wilbur Schramm (1954) developed a graphic way to represent
the reciprocal nature of communication. (Baran, 2010)
• This model shows that communication goes in two directions:
sender to receiver and from receiver to sender.
• This circular process suggests that communication is ongoing
rather than linear.
• The interactional approach is characterized primarily by
feedback, which can be defined as responses to people,
their messages or both.
Shared Meaning and
the Transactional
Model(West, 2009)
A characterization of communication as the
reciprocal sending and receiving of messages.
In a transactional encounter, the sender and
receiver do not simply send meaning from
one to the other and then back again; rather,
they build shared meaning through
simultaneous sending and receiving.
Transactional Model (West, 2009)

NOISE

(Receiver/ Sender) Message (Receiver/ Sender)

Field
Field of
of Experience
Experience Field
Field of
of Experience
Experience

Shared field of
experience
Giving and receiving of messages is simultaneous and
mutual.
Transactional indicates that the communication
process is cooperative.

The transactional process requires ongoing

negotiation of meaning.
It is characterized by a common “field of experience”.

Refers to the influence of a person’s culture, past

experiences, personal history and heredity on the
communication process. When two people’s fields of
experience overlap, they can communicate effectively.
 In Summary
Early models showed that
communication is linear and that
senders and receivers have separate
roles and functions.
The interactional approach expanded
that thinking and considered
+ communication as a circular process
where feedback is involved between
communicators.
The transactional approach refined our
understanding by stressing the
importance of the communicator’s field
of experience, by showing the
simultaneous sending and receiving of
messages and by focusing on the mutual
involvement of the communicators to
create meaning.
 Communication Ethics
• Uphold integrity - Be truthful with your opinion
and be accurate with your integrity.

• Respect diversity of perspective and privacy-

Show compassion and consideration with beliefs,
affiliations, and privacy of others. Observe
freedom of expression effectively – Be careful of
what and how you say your words depending on
the type of people you are communicating with.
Communication Ethics
• Observe freedom of expression effectively – Be
careful of what and how you say your words
depending on the type of people you are
communicating with.

• Promote access to communication – Give others

an opportunity to express what they feel and think
about the message being communicated.
 Communication Ethics

• Be open-minded – Accept that others have different

views or opinions, which may conflict with yours.

• Develop your sense of accountability- Acknowledge

responsibility for all your actions, good or bad.
Intelligence plus character, that is the
goal of true education.
~Martin Luther King
 References:
• Barrot, Jessie S.,Purposive Communication in the 21st Century, C & E
Publishing Inc.,Quezon City, 2018
• Manalo, Paterna E. and Fermin, Virginia E., Fundamental Speech
Communication for Filipinos. Mandaluyong City: National Bookstore, 2006.
• Madrunio, Marilu R., Purposive Communication Using English in
Multilingual Contexts,C&E Publishing,IncQuezon City,2018
• Wood, Julia T., Communication Mosaics An Introduction to the Field of
Communication. 3rdEdition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning,
2004.
• West, Richard; Turner, Lynn H., Understanding Interpersonal
Communication. International 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage
Learning, 2009.