*Etymology of Communication

[Link] (from Latin word ‘communicare’ meaning , to share or to have something in common.
[Link] provides central meaning to human experience.
[Link] Davis: Communication is a process of passing information and understanding from one person to
another.
[Link] Adair: Communication is essentially the ability of one person to make contact with another and make
himself or understood.
*Nature of Oral communication
1. Oral communication is a process that involves a message, sender, receiver, and channel.
2. Oral communication is symbolic which could be enhanced through the use of nonverbal cues involving facial
expressions, gestures, body language, volume, tone, and pitch of the speaker's voice.
3. Oral communication is a verbal communication that uses words to share information with others.
4. Oral communication employs readily understood spoken words. It mainly uses words to express one’s self.
5. Oral communication could be one-way or maybe two-way process.
6. Oral communication involves the flow of information from a sender to the receiver.
7. Oral communication ensures appropriate enunciation, stress and tone of voice for common understanding to
take place.
8. Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language, and speech.
* Importance of Oral Communication
1. Oral communication is important because the goal of learning a language is to communicate in order to be
understood. Without understanding, there is no communication.
2. Oral communication skills are fundamental to the development of literacy. Literacy is the ability to read and
write.
3. Oral communication is essential for thinking and learning.
4. Oral Communication is the glue that puts all the components of a language together.
5. Oral communication plays an important role in the development of the country.
6. Oral Communication reduces the distance and makes the flow of information faster.
7. Oral communication enables one to be a voice or instrument of truth and a light of the world.
The Communication Process
[Link]
 Known as situation, setting or environment
 Any communication activity is affected by the context in which occur and it consists of different
aspects
country, culture and organization
External stimulus (letters, memos, telephone calls)
Internal stimulus (likes, dislikes, emotion, point of view)
Physical, social, chronological
 Physical – materials objects surrounding the communication event
 Social - involves the relationship of the speaker and the listener or the audience and the
expectations involved in that relationship
 Chronological – the time and timing that affect the transmission and reception of the message

2. Sender (speaker, source or encoder)

 The person who sends message
 Employs a combination of symbols which may be verbal or nonverbal to convey his message
in order to achieve the desired response
Encoder is the speaker (oral communication)
Writer is the encoder (written communication)

3. Message
 key element that is transmitted in communication
 message must be clear
  Comprises our thoughts, ideas, knowledge, attitudes, skills, feelings, emotions, experiences,
opinions, values, beliefs, aspirations, desires, and dreams

4. Channel (medium)
 Pathway through which the message travels in order to reach its destination
 The choice of medium varies depending upon features of communication
Written medium – used when message has to be relayed to a small group of people
Oral medium – preferred when immediate feedback is required from the recipient

5. Receiver (Decoder or Listener)

 Receives and interprets the message
Receiver is the listener (oral communication)
Reader is the receiver (written communication)

6. Feedback
 Return process that completes the loop of communication
 Main component of communication process (it tells the sender as to the effectiveness of his
message)
 Verbal (oral or written) or nonverbal (thumbs up, applause)
 Positive or negative or non-response

7. Noise (Interference)
 It hinders the transmission or reception of the message
 Two types: Internal noise and external noise
Barriers that hinder the transmission and reception of the message
Internal Noise External Noise
Everything that we think of during the time  comes from the outside
we are engage with communication Example:
Example:  Screaming of children at play
-Unfinished task we left at home  Vehicles in motion
-Speculating what other person will say
NOISE BARRIERS

1. Semantic noise
Denotative barrier – the sender and the receiver disagree about the definition or meaning of a
word in a phrase
-the specific, exact and concrete meaning of a word
Semantic noise
Connotative barrier – word has a different meaning in a particular context
- the attitude, feeling and emotion behind the word

Semantic noise (example)

2. Syntactic noise
 Refers to grammar, structure or set of rules that govern how words are combined in
meaningful phrases and sentences
Example:
- Call out – “to summon into action”
- Call off – “to cancel”
The students’ output – the output belongs to the group of students
The student’s output – the output belongs to an individual student

3. Environmental noise
 Physically disrupts communication
Examples:
- very loud music at a party
- sounds from construction site next to a
classroom
Organizational noise
 Poorly structured or planned message
Example:
- a passenger who gave unclear directions to the driver
- a child who was instructed on how to cook “Pork Adobo” in so many ways

4. Psychological noise
 Certain attitudes that can make communication difficult
Example:
- Sickness
-if you have a migraine, it might be difficult to
speak to them or listen to them when they
speak to you

5. Physiological-impairment noise
 Physical conditions that can interfere with the reception of the message
Example:
- Deafness
- Blindness

6. Cultural noise
 Difference in culture may interfere with the cross-cultural understanding
 Each culture has its own rules about proper behavior which affect verbal and non verbal
communication
Example:
- greeting someone a Merry Christmas without
knowing that he/she is a non-Christian

Functions of Communication
Basically, there are five functions of communication. These are control, social interaction,
motivation, emotional expression, and information dissemination.
1. Control – Communication functions to control behavior.
2. Social Interaction – Communication allows individuals to interact with others.
3. Motivation – Communication motivates or encourages people to live better.
4. Emotional expression – Communication facilitates people’s expression of their feelings and
emotions.
5. Information dissemination – Communication functions to convey information.

Features of an Effective Communication

In their pioneer book Effective Public Relations, Professors Broom, Cutlip, and Center (2012)
list the 7 Cs of Effective Communication. This list is widely used today, especially in public relations
and advertising.
1. Completeness
Complete communication is essential to the quality of the communication process in general.
Hence, communication should include everything that the receiver needs to hear for him/
her to respond, react, or evaluate properly.
2. Conciseness
Conciseness does not mean keeping the message short, but making it direct or straight to the
point. Insignificant or redundant information should be eliminated from the communication
that will be sent to the recipient.
3. Consideration
To be effective, the speaker should always consider relevant information about his/her
receiver such as mood, background, race, preference, education, status, and needs, among
others. By doing so, he/she can easily build rapport with the audience.
4. Concreteness
Effective communication happens when the message is concrete and supported by facts,
figures, and real-life examples and situations. In this case, the receiver is more connected to
the message conveyed.
5. Courtesy
The speaker shows courtesy in communication by respecting the culture, values, and beliefs
of his/her receivers. Being courteous at all times creates a positive impact on the audience.
6. Clearness
Clearness in communication implies the use of simple and specific words to express ideas. It
is also achieved when the speaker focuses only on a single objective in his/her speech so as
not to confuse the audience.
7. Correctness
Correctness in grammar eliminates negative impact on the audience and increases the
credibility and effectiveness of the message.

TYPES OF SPEECH CONTEXT

Intrapersonal
 This refers to communication that centers on one person where the speaker acts both as the sender
and the receiver of message.
 “The message is made up of your thoughts and feelings. The channel is your brain, which processes
what you are thinking and feeling. There is feedback in the sense that as you talk to yourself, you
discard certain ideas and replace them with others.
Interpersonal
 This refers to communication between and among people and establishes personal relationship
between and among them.
 Two types of Interpersonal Communication
 Dyad Communication – communication that occurs between two people.
 Small Group – This refers to communication that involves at least three but not more than
twelve people engaging in a face-to-face interaction to achieve a desired goal. In this type of
communication, all participants can freely share ideas in a loose and open discussion
Public
 This type refers to communication that requires you to deliver or send the message before or in front of
a group. The message can be driven by informational or persuasive purposes.
Mass Communication
 This refers to communication that takes place through television, radio, newspapers, magazines,
books, billboards, internet, and other types of media.
SPEECH STYLE
[Link]
 – This style is private, which occurs between or among close family members or individuals.
The language used in this style may not be shared in public.
[Link]
 – This style is common among peers and friends. Jargon, slang, or the vernacular language
are used.
3. Consultative
 – This style is the standard one. Professional or mutually acceptable language is a must in this style.
Examples of situations are communication between teachers and students, employers and
employees, doctor and patient, judge and lawyer, or President and his/her constituents.
4. Formal
 – This style is used in formal settings. Unlike the consultative style, this is one-way. Examples are
sermons by priests and ministers, State of the Nation Address of the President, formal speeches, or
pronouncements by judges.
5. Frozen
 – This style is “frozen” in time and remains unchanged. It mostly occurs in ceremonies. Common
examples are the Preamble to the Constitution, Lord’s Prayer, and Allegiance to country or flag.
CONCEPT
People communicate every day to establish and maintain relationships, know and understand themselves,
and find meaning in the daily grind. Moreover, since humans are social beings who survive more effectively
through sensible discourses, they are always driven to learn the skills of creating and sustaining
meaningful conversations. Successful communication requires understanding of the relationship between
words and sentences and the speech acts they represent. However, a conversation may be complex at
times; that is why some people get lost along the way and misunderstand each other. It is only when we
willingly cooperate and speak in socially approved ways that we can make a conversation meaningful.

Types of Communicative Strategy

Since engaging in conversation is also bound by implicit rules, Cohen (1990) states that strategies must be
used to start and maintain a conversation. Knowing and applying grammar appropriately is one of the most
basic strategies to maintain a conversation. The following are some strategies that people use when
communicating.
1. Nomination - A speaker carries out nomination to collaboratively and productively establish a topic.
Basically, when you employ this strategy, you try to open a topic with the people you are
talking to. When beginning a topic in a conversation, especially if it does not arise from a previous topic,
you may start off with news inquiries and news announcements as they promise extended talk. Most
importantly, keep the conversational environment open for opinions until the prior topic shuts down easily
and initiates a smooth end. This could efficiently signal the beginning of a new topic in the conversation.

2. Restriction - Restriction in communication refers to any limitation you may have as a speaker. When
communicating in the classroom, in a meeting, or while hanging out with your friends, you are typically
given specific instructions that you must follow. These instructions confine you as a speaker and limit what
you can say.
For example, in your class, you might be asked by your teacher to brainstorm on peer
pressure or deliver a speech on digital natives. In these cases, you cannot decide to talk about something
else. On the other hand, conversing with your friends during ordinary days can be far more casual than
these examples. Just the same, remember to always be on point and avoid sideswiping from the topic
during the conversation to avoid communication breakdown.

3. Turn-taking - Sometimes people are given unequal opportunities to talk because others take much time
during the conversation. Turn-taking pertains to the process by which people decide who takes the
conversational floor. There is a code of behavior behind establishing and sustaining a productive
conversation, but the primary idea is to give all communicators a chance to speak. Remember to keep
your words relevant and reasonably short enough to express your views or feelings. Try to be polite even if
you are trying to take the floor from another speaker. Do not hog the conversation and talk incessantly
without letting the other party air out their own ideas. To acknowledge others, you may employ visual
signals like a nod, a look, or a step
back, and you could accompany these signals with spoken cues such as “What do you think?”
or “You wanted to say something?”

4. Topic Control - Topic control covers how procedural formality or informality affects the development of
topic in conversations. For example, in meetings, you may only have a turn to speak after the chairperson
directs you to do so. Contrast this with a casual conversation with friends over lunch or coffee where you
may take the conversational floor anytime. Remember that regardless of the formality of the context, topic
control is achieved cooperatively. This only means that when a topic is initiated, it should be collectively
developed by avoiding unnecessary interruptions and topic shifts. You can make yourself actively involved
in the conversation without overly dominating it by using minimal responses like “Yes,” “Okay,” “Go on”;
asking tag questions to clarify information briefly like “You are excited, aren’t you?”, “It was unexpected,
wasn’t it?”; and even by laughing!

5. Topic Shifting - as the name suggests, involves moving from one topic to another. In other
words, it is where one part of a conversation ends and where another begins. When shifting from one topic
to another, you have to be very intuitive. Make sure that the previous topic was nurtured enough to
generate adequate views. You may also use effective conversational transitions to indicate a shift like “By
the way,” “In addition to what you said,” “Which reminds me of,” and the like.

6. Repair - refers to how speakers address the problems in speaking, listening, and
comprehending that they may encounter in a conversation. For example, if everybody in the
conversation seems to talk at the same time, give way and appreciate other’s initiative to set
the conversation back to its topic. Repair is the self-righting mechanism in any social interaction (Schegloff
et al, 1977). If there is a problem in understanding the conversation, speakers will always try to address
and correct it. Although this is the case, always seek to initiate the repair.

7. Termination - refers to the conversation participants’ close-initiating expressions that end a topic in a
conversation. Most of the time, the topic initiator takes responsibility to signal the end of the discussion as
well.
Although not all topics may have clear ends, try to signal the end of the topic through concluding cues. You
can do this by sharing what you learned from the conversation. Aside from this, soliciting agreement from
the other participants usually completes the discussion of the topic meaningfully.