Module No.

and Module 3
Title The Communication Process

Lesson No. and Lesson 1

Title Elements in the Communication Process

Learning 1. Describe the meaning of communication process.

Outcomes 2. Identify the elements of the communication process.
3. Increase appreciation on the importance of communication
process in the development of the individual, and in the
formation and continued existence of groups and to the
interrelations among groups.
Time Frame 1 hour
Introduction Maybe you won’t take me wrong when I say that you often take for
granted your ability to communicate (most of us do), and the effects of
the messages you communicated to others. Often than not, you (and me)
forget that communication process is essential for the day to day life,
and that it is vital for human survival.

In this lesson, you will explore communication as a process, and the

elements in there. Likewise, factors that need to be considered in the
different elements of communication process shall also be tackled.

Activity Before we move on to our discussion of this topic, try to answer the
following questions:

1. When you communicate with others, do you usually see to it that

you are saying what it is you intend to say? These “others” may
include:
a. Your family or friends,
______ Yes _______ Not sure ______ No
b. Your teachers and other professionals,
______ Yes _______ Not sure ______ No

2. In communicating with (a) your family or friends and (b) your

teachers and other professionals, do you take time to think
what communication channel (s) to use to get your message
across to them as your receivers?
a. Your family or friends,
______ Yes _______ Not sure ______ No
b. Your teachers and other professionals,
______ Yes _______ Not sure ______ No
 3. In communicating with (a) your family or friends and (b) your
teachers and other professionals, do you anticipate that they
will give the kind of response that you want?
a. Your family or friends,
______ Yes _______ Not sure ______ No
b. Your teachers and other professionals,
______ Yes _______ Not sure ______ No

4. In engaging in communication with another person, which of the

following interference can distract you. Rank your answers
from 1-5 with 1 as the most and 5 as the least :
________a. Fast beat music
________ b. A TV program
________ c. A nagging mother
________ d. Information that financial assistance is cut-off

_______ e. A post that appears on your screen telling your friend

met an accident
5. Putting yourself unto the shoes of the elderly member of the family,
which of the following interference can distract her most? Rank
your answers from 1-5 with 1 as the most and 5 as the least :
________ a. Fast beat music
________ b. A TV program
________ c. A nagging mother
________ d. Information that financial assistance is cut-off
________ e. A post that appears on her/his screen telling
her/him friend met an accident

1. With reference to your answers in Questions 1-3 above, do you

Analysis give equal treatment (importance) when communicating with (a)
your family or friends and (b) your teachers and other
professionals in terms of the following:

a. Selection of the appropriate words to say and how to say these?

____Yes _____No Why?
______________________________________________________
___________________________
b. Consideration on what channels of communication to use?
____Yes _____No Why?
______________________________________________________
___________________________
 c. Anticipation of the probable feedback?
____Yes _____No Why?
______________________________________________________
___________________________

2. With reference to Questions 4, what are the top three

interferences that distract you most while engaging in
communication with another person?__________________
Why these three and not the others?
___________________________________.

3. In the internet age now, what do you think are the usual causes
of distractions to the elderly which people in your generation do
not consider as distractions? ______ Why?
____________________________________.

Okey, let’s find out if all your answers are correct.

Abstraction
What is communication?

There are many definitions of communication:

 Schramm defines communication as "a tool that makes societies

possible and distinguish human from other societies”.
 Berelson and Steiner define communication as the transmission
of information, ideas, emotions, skills through the use of
symbols, words, pictures, figures, and graph.
 Rogers says, “Communication is the process of transmitting
ideas, information, and attitudes from the source to a receiver for
the purpose of influencing with intent”.
 Kar defines communication as "all those planned or unplanned
processes through which one person influences behavior of
others."

A more comprehensive suggested definition: “a process of transmitting

ideas, information, attitudes (images which we have formulated for
ourselves) by the use of symbols, words, pictures, figures from the
source (who is the originator of the message) to a receiver, for the
purpose of influencing with intent”.
 So communication is considered as a process through which
senders and receivers of messages interact in a given social
context.

 Communication is a process used to timely and properly

exchange information between a sender and a receiver to achieve
 a desired goal.

Factors in the Definition

1. Process: It suggests that the components of interaction are

dynamic in nature.
2. Interaction: The process specifies interaction or linkages
between or among countless factors, so that the changes in any
set of forces affect the operation of all other processes to produce
a total effect.
3. Social Context: Human communication is, to a great extent,
influenced by the social context in which it occurs

Communication Model

 It describes what is necessary for an act of communication to

take place. A model represents the major features and eliminates
the unnecessary details of communication. Its functions
include:

1. To clarify the scope of human interaction showing it to be a

circular, complex, continuous dynamic, or a coding process.
2. To point out where to book and under what conditions to analyze
different responses.
3. To show the variables in human communication.
4. Used as a frame work in researches.

Types of Communication Model:

1. Aristotelian model- Aristotle said that a researcher has to look

for three communication ingredients:

a. The person who speaks.

b. The speech that he produces.
c. The person who listens.

2. Shannon–Weaver model - is consistent with Aristotle’s position.

If we translate the source into the speaker, the signal into the
speech and the destination into listener, we have the Aristotelian
model, plus two added ingredients: a transmitter which sends out
the source’s message and a receiver, which catches the message
from destination.
 Fig. 1. Shannon-Weaver Model

However, if we choose to draw a diagram of human communication, we

must remember that the process itself is more complicated than a picture
or description of it, which are likely to draw. Most of the
communication process is in the black box of our central nervous
system, the content which we understand vaguely.

Basic Elements of Communication Model

Elements in the communication process include source, message,

channel, receiver, effect, feedback and more. The communication
process remains basically the same for interpersonal and mass
communication.

Fig. 2 Communication Model

1. Source/Encoder

All human communication has some source, some person or group of

persons with a purpose for communicating. The source has ideas,
needs, intentions, information and a purpose for communication, which
he translated into a code, a language. This is performed by the encoder
who is responsible for taking the ideas of the source and putting them in
a code, expressing the source’s purpose in a form of a message. As
source encoder, our communication skill levels determine on
communication fidelity in two ways:

a. They affect our ability to analyze our purpose and intentions, our
ability to say some thing when we communicate.
b. They affect our ability to encode messages which express what
we intend.

Four kinds of factors within the source, which can increase the fidelity
in communication. These are:
a. Communication skills.
b. Attitude.
c. Knowledge level.
d. Socio-cultural system.

2. Receiver/Decoder

The receiver is the most important link in the communication process.

If the source does not reach the receiver with his message, he might as
well have talked to himself. The receiver is the target of communication
that we want to have the positive response.

Both the source and the receiver can be analyzed in terms of four
factors: their communication skills, attitudes, knowledge levels, cultural
contexts and social systems. The receiver always has to be kept in mind
when the source makes decisions concerning different communication
variables.

The relationship between the source and the receiver may include:

- Stimulus - Response
- Sender - Receiver
- Encoder - Decoder
- Source - Destination
- Actor - Audience
- Communicator - Communicate

The left column represents the part of guiding the act of communication.
The right–column represents those participants who by their receiving
the message allow the communicative act to be completed and thus have
an effect.

3. Messages

The message is the translation of ideas proposes and intentions into a

code and a systematic set of symbols. Berlo says that there are three
factors that should be taken into account considering the message:

a. Message code: which has to do with the way in which symbols are
structured?
b. Content: the selection of material to express the purpose.
c. Treatment: the way in which the message is presented, that is
frequency and emphasis.

Another factor is the filter or frame of reference through which the

audience receives the message which includes meanings that may
enhance or cripple the effect.

Meanings are references (ideas, images and thoughts) expressed in

symbols. For communication to occur at all, the source and receiver
must have at least some minimum degree of prior experience, some
level of similarity and some level of shared meanings.

The source and receiver have to have a minimum degree of common

experience, and a common frame of reference. This fact led Berlo to
state: “Meanings are in people not in messages”.

Dimensions of the Message

1) Elements: The ideas that is included in the message.

2) Structure: The organization of the message.
3) Production: Which means the length and placement of the
message?

Characteristics of the Message

a) The Amount of Communication

It includes the total volume of information as well as content covered.
Too little information may not answer all questions to the receiver and
result in a rejection of the message. Too much information may not be
efficiently integrated and may confuse the receiver.

b) The Frequency of Communication

Repeated exposure to varied communication messages reinforces the
tendency of act in those receivers.

4. Channel

It is the medium utilized to convey a message; it is the means by which

a message travels between the communications senders to the
communication receiver.
Channel Dimension

These dimensions permit the investigator to evaluate the effectiveness of

different communication channels these dimensions include:

a. Channel Credibility: It is the expertness and trustworthiness of a

channel as perceived by the receivers. Ex. print media are perceived by
member of upper socio–economic grouping as being more credible,
while television is perceived as more credible by lower socio-economic
groupings.

b. Channel Feedback: It is known as the opportunity a channel provides

for the receiver to respond immediately and to affect the source of the
message in communication process. Face-to-face communication tends
to facilitate feedback, while mass communication tends to restrict it.
Social the recent form of channel encourages feedback.

c. Channel Involvement (or participation): It is the effort required by all

senses in order to receive information from a communication channel,
face-to-face communication offers the greatest possibility for
involvement where print media offer the least possibility for
involvement.

d. Channel Availability: The frequency and extent to which a channel

may be used to reach a given audience. In some geographic areas, some
channels may not be available such as television in high areas or print
media in highly illiterate areas. Social media requires connectivity
which is affected by geographic areas as well.

e. Channel Permanency (or ability to preserve a message): The ability of

a communication channel over time to carry the message. Print media
have this dimension but contrast radio does not.

f. Channel Multiplicative Power: The channel ability to cover areas with

speed and timeliness. The mass media and the social media can
multiply a message and make it available to large numbers of people
while face-to-face communication is low in this dimension.

g. Channel Complementary: The channel ability to supplement the

communicative work of another channel. Both mass media and
interpersonal channels have proven to be high on this dimension.

5. Effects

Communication effects represent the changes in the receiver behavior

that occur as a result of transmission of the message. So, when we
speak of “Effective Communication,” we mean communication that
result in changes of receiver’s behavior that were intended by the
source.

There are few propositions about communication effects, these are as

follows:
a. There are many levels of effect: attention to inner confirmation
to inner change to, overt action.
b. Much of the effect and its mechanism is hidden in our cognitive
structure. It can be recognized from visible behavior or physical
manifestations.
c. Complex behavior usually has complex causes. The effects are
the goals of all communication processes.

6. Feedback

Feedback is a response by the receiver to the source’s message, which

the source may use to modify his further message. From that
perspective, feedback may be thought of as message conveying
“knowledge of communication effectiveness.

There are two kinds of feedback:

a. Positive Feedback: Confirms the source that the intended effect

of the message was achieved. Positive feedback tells the source
that every thing is going in the desired way.
b. Negative Feedback: informs the source that the intended effect
of the message was not achieved

Communication Noise

Communication channels are subject to noise. Noise can be identified as

the loss of meaning during the transmission.

There are two major types of noise:

1. Channel Noise: This type of noise includes any disturbance, which

interferes with the physical transmission of the message. In mass
communication channel noise includes static on the radio, ink in the
newspaper, a rolling screen in television, or type too small to read in a
magazine. In interpersonal communication, some one speaking in a
room over another conversation, a door shutting etc.

2. Semantic Noise: This type of noise results in the wrong interpretation

of messages, even though the message is received exactly as it was sent
 such as words too difficult, subject too difficult for receiver to
understand also differences of selected meaning of words between the
message sender and a receiver, for example receiver thinking that the
words prints to something different than that is intended by the sender.
One word may have many different interpretations

Write an essay (of about 300 words) on the “Important Role of

Application Communication in this Time of Pandemic” for the youth like
you. You may have your own title as long as the idea is related
to the one given.

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Closure You have just taken a challenging trip in this lesson. Congratulations.
Moving on next, we will explore a topic on the forms of
communication .