COMMUNICATIV

E STRATEGIES
Oral Communication in Context
How communication
What is a
process considered
successful? MODEL?
 When the objectives of the
communication are achieved
What is the goal of
communication?
What is a
MODEL?
The goal of communication is to
successfully deliver a thought or
message to the recipient(s).
COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES
a. Nomination – This involves the selection of participants who can
contribute to the
conversation.
b. Restriction – This involves limiting participants from contributing to the
conversation or discussion.
c. Turn-taking – This refers to the process in which a participant stops
speaking and
yields the floor to another participant so that he or she can speak.
d. Topic control – This occurs when the main or assigned speaker
manipulates the
discussion in order to maintain its flow without moving away from or
changing the
topic.
e. Topic shifting – This occurs when one intentionally or
unintentionally changes the
direction of the flow of ideas in a conversation.
f. Repair – This refers to the act of fixing the violations in
a communication situation.
g. Termination – This refers to the act of ending a
conversation.
NOMINATION

 Nomination refers to the act of

the speaker wherein he or she
invites a participant to join in
the conversation or discussion.
RESTRICTION

 It refers to the act of the speaker

wherein he or she limits a
participant from contributing to
the conversation or discussion
so that others can also
contribute.
NOMINATION AND RESTRICTION

Learning about the nature of

nomination and restriction will
help participants understand their
role in various types of
conversation.
There are two factors to consider for
nomination and restriction: social
relationships and environment.

a. Social relationships
determine the specific role of
the participants, which is a
factor for whether they can
nominate or restrict other
speakers from joining the
conversation.
Higher authorities refer to those who are assigned to
control the flow of the conversation.
Their role is to ask questions that will maintain the
quality and productivity of communication.
Lower authorities refer to the participants who start as
listeners and are then nominated to be speakers when
called on by the higher authorities. They are usually
called using their names. They may also use nonverbal
cues to indicate that they want to join the conversation
or contribute to the discussion.
b. Environment refers to the setting of the
conversation. It also determines the roles of the
speakers. For example, in a classroom discussion,
teachers nominate or restrict the participants.
However, if the setting is a seminar led by
students, there will be a segment for entertaining
questions or comments from the teachers. They
may nominate the teachers who will join the
discussion and restrict others
One-on-one communication

This refers to communication

situations in which there are only two
participants. Interviews and tutorials
are common settings for nomination
and restriction.
Group communication

This refers to communication situations in

which there are more than two
participants. Some examples of group
communication that involve nomination
and restriction are debates, panel
discussions, class discussions, and
forums.
Guidelines in making nomination and restriction

a. The main speaker should state the topic

that will be discussed. This is necessary
because the participants should have an
idea of what will be talked about. This can
be done by explicitly stating the topic or
by asking questions regarding the subject
matter.
Guidelines in making nomination and restriction

b. To properly nominate participants in a

conversation, call them by their names. As
the main speaker, you may also use
nonverbal cues, such as gesturing at the
person to signal that he or she may
already share his or her ideas.
Guidelines in making nomination and restriction

c. Participants who wish to contribute to

the discussion can use verbal or nonverbal
cues to indicate their desire to speak. For
example, a participant can raise his or her
hand. He or she may also say “May I be
allowed to speak?” or “I have something
to share relating to that.”
Guidelines in making nomination and restriction

d. When other participants try to join the discussion

even without nomination, the speaker may use verbal
and nonverbal cues to restrict them. He or she can say
“Let me finish first, and then I’ll get back to your
question” or announce before the discussion starts that
“questions or comments will be entertained after the
presentation.” The speaker should also keep in mind that
restricting participants should be done politely.
Turn-Taking

Turn-taking refers to the opportunity

given to a speaker to talk, whereas turn-
taking is a process in which a participant
stops speaking and yields the floor to
another participant so he or she can speak.
 Three Turn-Taking Acts
 a. Keep-turn suggests that a speaker must not stop until he
fulfills his purpose in a conversation.
 b. Release-turn suggests that a speaker is finished talking
and is ready to yield the floor to another person to take his
or her turn. He or she may use signals or pauses in a
conversation.
 c. Take-turn suggests that another participant can take the
role of the speaker. Signals and cues indicate that a speaker
wants to keep, yield, or take his or her turn.
In taking turns…

a. Intonation may signal when a speaker intends

to keep or yield his or her turn. Falling
intonation indicates that a speaker is about to
end his or her turn, while rising intonation
implies that a speaker is about to reach the
climax of his or her point, asking the
participants for clarification and confirmation,
or sometimes to express disbelief.
In taking turns…

b. Verbal cues may suggest that a speaker wants

to yield or to keep his or her turn. For example,
calling the participants’ names indicate that a
speaker is letting them take their turn.
Meanwhile, using sentence connectors such as
additionally, on the contrary, furthermore,
consequently, or likewise suggests the speaker
has something more to say.
In taking turns…

c. Nonverbal cues or gestures, such as

raising one’s hand, show that a participant
wants to take the floor or speak. Also,
when a speaker points to or fixes his or
her gaze on a participant, it may mean that
he or she wants that participant to speak.
TOPIC CONTROL

Topic control occurs when the main or assigned speaker

manipulates the discussion in order to maintain its flow
without moving away from or changing the topic.
Participants should be mindful of verbal cues as the
main speaker uses statements such as “Let’s focus
on . . .” or “Let’s discuss . . .” to set the topic of the
conversation, or “As I was saying . . .” or “Going back
to . . .” to sustain or return to the original topic.
Topic control depends on the type of
the communication situation.
Participants should recognize who
controls the conversation and who
among the members are allowed to
speak.
TOPIC SHIFTING

Topic shifting occurs when one

intentionally or unintentionally
changes the direction of the flow of
ideas in a conversation.
TOPIC SHIFTING

A speaker usually introduces a new topic when

there is silence, when the current topic is
unfamiliar to him or her, when he or she is not
interested in the topic being talked about, or
when he or she associates certain subjects or
ideas to the current topic and wants to talk about
those subjects or ideas instead.
Two ways to shift a topic

Speaking topically occurs when the

listener concentrates on some phrases
from the last statement mentioned by
the speaker. The idea develops and
sticks within the context of the
situation.
Example

Lina mentioned to Jane that she had some

difficulties in getting their English teacher to
approve her proposed topic for her research
paper. Jane then asked her what those difficulties
were. Although Jane shifted the conversation to
a new topic by asking Lina about her
difficulties, her statement was still relevant to
the topic.
Two ways to shift a topic

Speaking on the topic occurs when

the listener concentrates on a word,
but the newly introduced idea may
not be related to the context of the
topic.
Example

Katrina asked her friend, “What are your

thoughts on the death penalty?” Her friend then
answered by stating that she had watched the
news the night before, and the news featured
information about the death penalty. The
response was still related to the topic, which is
death penalty, but it was out of context.
VIOLATION

In a communication situation, violations refer to

unnecessary acts of participants that often cause
a misunderstanding or a delay in the process or
flow of the discussion. Recognizing violations
in communication situations is important, as this
would allow the participants to identify the
violations and apply particular communication
strategy to fix them.
Common Violation in Communication

 a. Grabbing the floor - This is also called

interruption. This violation occurs when a
speaker is not able to fulfill his or her purpose
because a participant takes over the role of
being a speaker, without allowing him or her
to finish his or her turn first.
Common Violation in Communication

 b. Overlapping - This is similar to grabbing

the floor. However, instead of the speaker
giving up his or her turn to the participant
who interrupts, both of them talk
simultaneously. This may also happen when
two or more participants start speaking at the
same time.
Common Violation in Communication

 c. Hogging the floor - This occurs when the

speaker continues speaking and ignores others
who try to join or take over the discussion.

 d. Being silent - Also called dead air, this

violation occurs when no one wants to speak
or take over the discussion.
Common Violation in Communication

 e. Trouble in Speaking, Hearing, or

Understanding - This includes
improper articulations, use of the wrong
word, failing to hear or be heard,
incorrect. Limited understanding by the
listener, and trouble on the part of the
recipient to understand.
REPAIR

 Repair was first defined by Schegloff,

Jefferson, and Sacks (1977) as the set of
practices whereby a participant interrupts the
ongoing course of action to attend to possible
trouble in speaking, hearing, or understanding
the talk. However, the practice of repairing
conversations can also extend to fixing other
violations.
TERMINATION

Termination, on the other hand, refers

to the participants’ use of expressions
to end the conversation.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION REPAIR

a. Self-initiated self-repair - This type of repair

is initiated and fixed by the speaker of the
trouble source. This is often carried out when
the speaker corrects himself or herself or when
he or she cannot find the right word but then is
able to find it after a short pause.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION REPAIR

b. Other-initiated self-repair - This type of

repair is initiated by another participant but is
fixed by the speaker of the trouble source. This
typically occurs when another participant could
not hear the speaker or has misunderstood the
speaker.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION REPAIR

c. Self-initiated other-repair - This type of

repair is initiated by the speaker of the trouble
source but is fixed by another participant. Often,
this happens when the speaker could not find the
right word or phrase and another participant
supplies it in the conversation.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION REPAIR

d. Other-initiated other-repair - This type of

repair is both fixed and initiated by another
participant. This usually occurs when the
speaker misarticulated something or says wrong
information, which prompts another participant
to correct him or her.
Guidelines how to repair or terminate

a. Recognizing the violation is the first step to

repairing a conversation. When a participant
interrupts or overlaps, the main speaker should
recognize this situation and address it briefly.
For example, the speaker can say, “I appreciate
your input. Let’s discuss that once we are done
addressing this particular topic.”
Guidelines how to repair or terminate

b. Shifting back to the main topic is the next step after

recognition. One may use verbal cues such as anyway,
going back, or as I was saying.

c. Asking leading questions are necessary to let other

participants know that they have returned to the original
topic. Yes-no questions are usually used to confirm
understanding among members.
Guidelines how to repair or terminate

d. After disregarding unnecessary topics or once

the participants have said what they want to say
at that time, the conversation may already be
terminated. This can be done by taking a break,
rescheduling the discussion, or by simply using
statements that signal the end of the interaction.