NATURE AND

PROCESS OF
COMMUNICATION
 In this lesson you are expected to:

 understand why we need to study

communication;
 give the definition of communication;
 explain the nature and process of
communication; and
 Identify the characteristics of communication.
 WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

  Webster defines communication as a process by which information is exchanged

between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior.
 

Communication is a process of sharing and conveying messages or information

from one person to another using different means, medium, context, media, and
cultures.
 
There are different ways and terms in which communication can be manifested. It
can be through face-to-face, a phone conversation, a group discussion, a meeting or
interview, a letter correspondence, a class recitation, and many others. In other
words, the basic functions of communication are to achieve understanding or shared
meaning and to persuade, inform, entertain and manage relationships.
 
 NATURE OF
COMMUNICATION
1. Communication is a process.

Communication as a process means it is a step by step

activity and it is essentially a two-way process that involves the
active participation of both the sender and receiver. It is the act
or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to
express or exchange information or to express your ideas,
thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else.
Communication is a dynamic process
which is influenced by the communicator’s
mood and thinking.

It is a complex process too. By complex

process, it means, one message may be
interpreted in many ways by different
people.
In the sample image, a teacher explains
a lesson in a class of 20 students. There
may also be 20 different understanding
of the lesson. That is why there is a need
to seek for clarification called feedback
2. Communication is much more of an ART than a science. There
is no right or wrong way to communicate – no set of absolute rules
to be followed but there are underlying principles to guide us into
effective communication.
3. Communication has a sender and receiver. Communication
occurs between two or more people acting as the speaker or the
receiver of the message. In other words, it is a two-way process
of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants do 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.
4. Communication is verbal or non-verbal.
Communication can be expressed through written or spoken
words (verbal) or actions (non-verbal) of both spoken words and
nonverbal actions at the same time. Communication is not all
about sending or receiving facts in words. It does involve ideas
and emotions that are expressed through signs, symbols and
gestures.
 The sample image shows both
verbal or spoken words and non-
verbal actions. The man uses both
verbal and non-verbal cues when
he winked at the lady and at the
same time greeted her and offered
her a drink. On the other hand, the
girl’s smirk is a gesture of disgust
or dislike. Even without the use of
words, the lady’s gesture is still
understood as a form of
communicating her disapproval
towards man.
5. Communication is inevitable.
Inevitability means communication is taking place even when
someone does not want or intend to communicate. This “does not
want to communicate” feeling of someone actually does
communicate something. What does this mean? It simply means
that you cannot avoid communicating. Why?
The truth is, we are communicating constantly because even when
you do not want to communicate, you
are communicating!
 6. Communication is irreversible. This means
that what you have said can never be unsaid.
Irreversibility happens the very minute you click
the “OK” button for a comment or post on your
social media and that it would be too late to take
it back when a lot of people have already
reacted, and commented to it. The same thing
when you perhaps throw a hurting or offensive
word to your enemy because of your anger.

This characteristic of communication

implies that as senders of message, we
must be careful and choose the
appropriate words to say
7. Communication is Unrepeatable.
Unrepeatability means that an act of communication can
never be duplicated. We may say the same thing over
and over again but the effect of what you said the second
or third or fourth time will not be the same as the first
time you said it.
This time let’s take a closer look at the illustration on
how the communication process takes place in any
given situation.
Diagram 3: The Communication Process
Scribble and Speak
Up!
Let us apply what you have learned by doing this activity.
WRITE an introduction of yourself to others in a way that
will make them understand you easily.

Remember what you have learned about communication. (The sentence in the box is just
an example of how you may do your introduction. But you can have your own style in
writing.)
 A Real Sample
Now that you know what communication is and how it works, list down real
examples of communication that occurs around you. Make a table similar to
that table below
What Where Who How
Talking with friends In school You and your friends You share your
experiences and
feelings.
 Show the Process
Following the process of communication, write a scenario on how the process is done in actual conversation. You can choose
from the samples you have listed in Activity 2 table. Write your answers on your Communication Activity Notebook.

Example:
1. I am thinking of telling my friend about my problem.

2. I think of the words to say.

3. I tell my friend about my problems.

4. My friends listen to me.

5. My friend tries to understand what I am saying.

6. My friend gives me advice.

Now, it’s your turn to think of a scenario. Make boxes similar to the illustration below and fill it out with your answer.