CHAPTER 6
COMMUNICATION
FOR
VARIOUS PURPOSES
Communication— in written form, face-to-face, or through such media
as television and the internet— is a “social process” involving “the transfer of
information and understanding from one person to another person” (Kreitner,
2013). As an essential life skill, the ability to communicate for various
purposes is something every student should endeavour to learn and hone.
Stephen E. Lucas, author of “The Art of Public Speaking,” said that we
should not be surprised that people value public speaking. He added that “In
modern times, many men and women have spread their ideas and influence
largely by public speaking.”
As a student, you are expected to give presentations and speak in front of
different audiences. In almost all the courses that you will take up in college, you
will be assigned to do research on certain topics and report on them in front of
your fellow students. The skill of public speaking, therefore, is as essential as the
ability to write and read or count.
In speech making, there are also pre-writing activities that you need to
follow. Stephen E. Lucas identifies these steps as: (1) selecting a topic and
identifying purpose, (2) analyzing your audience, and (3) gathering the materials
that you will need to prepare your speech.
SELECTING YOUR TOPIC AND
IDENTIFYING YOUR PURPOSE
There are two general reasons (or purposes) for why a person, such as you,
is going to deliver a speech. One reason is to inform your audience about
something and the other reason is to persuade them to a certain belief or attitude.
Example:
Delivering an oral report in class about the meaning of
and functions of management, for example, is oral
communication for the purpose of providing information.
But when, in the same report, you argue that it is easier to
understand the nature of management through an analysis of
material skills than that of functions, you are communicating
for the purpose of persuasion. You are trying to convince
your fellow classmates that they should adopt your idea.
Choosing your topic can make or break your talk. In
choosing topic, you must decide whether it is interesting
enough for you that you can hurdle all the challenges that you
will face in preparing it.
One rule in topic selection in essay writing is “Write
more about less.” Wordy writing uses more words than
necessary to make a point and can damage the quality of your
text.
ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE
You must analyze your audience before you even
open your mouth. This is important because without an
understanding of your audience, you will not be able to
address them properly.
Lucas (1989) identifies two methods of analysis for
audience: (1) demographic audience analysis and (2)
situational audience analysis.
Demographic analysis, as the word implies, involves analyzing your
audience in terms of their demographics such as sex/gender, age,
racial/ethnic cultural background, group membership, and income.
To use this method, you need to do two things: (1) identify the
demographics of your audience and (2) assess the significance of these
demographics to your speaking situation.
Situational audience analysis, on the other hand, involves identifying
“traits of the audience unique to the speaking situation at hand.” These
traits include “the size of the audience, attitudes influenced by the physical
setting, and the disposition of the audience toward the subject, the speaker
and the occasion.”
GATHERING THE MATERIALS FOR YOUR
SPEECH
Now that you know a lot about your audience, you
can proceed to gathering the materials for your speech.
There are three ways you can do this: (1) by reflecting on
your own knowledge and experiences; (2) by interviewing
other people; (3) by doing library and computer-aided
research.
• Self-reflection
This is important because in gathering of materials for your talk, you need
to go inward into yourself. You are the first step in your search for information.
Your knowledge and your experiences are major sources of materials. You need to
make use of them.
• Interview
Interviewing has been one of the most popular methods of gathering data.
It involves two people sharing their views.
In conducting your interview, it will be most fruitful to heed the advice of
Carole Rich (2010), a well-known writing coach. According to her, you should:
1. Concentrate on what the person you are interviewing is saying and
not on what you will ask next.
2. Listen attentively as you would when you listen to a friend telling
you an interesting story.
3. Think critically when you listen.
4. Stay quiet.
5. Maintain eye contact with your source.
6. “Listen” to visual signals such as fidgeting, frowning, etc.
7. Be polite in everything.
8. Be curious.
Library and Computer-Aided Research
•In preparing for a presentation, students tend to ignore the
value of library. To many students, library is a place to avoid
especially because of the librarians, who are often depicted in
popular culture as strict and fearsome. But this should not be the
case. On the contrary, the library as source of materials for your
speech is without equal. It houses almost everything that you will
need as a speaker researching on your topic, especially today when
modern librarians have access to the internet.
•To minimize your stay in the library, you should know how to
approach the librarians (they are there to help you, believe it or
not) and how to use the card catalogue.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
•Whenever you need to communicate with another
company or share important news, business letters can
present your message in a classic, polished style.
•Despite the formality, letters can still have a friendly
tone, especially because they include brief introductions
before getting to the main point. Regardless of the tone you
use in your letter, your writing should remain concise,
clear, and easy to read.
BUSINESS LETTERS
- A business letter is a written message used to transact business
which cannot be conveniently conducted orally.
- It is formal and direct with no literary pretentions.
Purposes of a Business Letter:
a. serves as record or basis
b. secures action from the reader
CHARACTERISTICS OF A BUSINESS
LETTER
a) accurate
b) clear
c) concise
d) neat
e) prompt in answering communication
f) good quality stationery (8 ½ x 11 inches w/ a very light shade of cream,
white, gray or blue)
g) Each part of the letter should be separated from others by double-spacing
and should be place in the correct position.
h) Nothing should be allowed to extend over into the margin not even the
signature
Three Elements of a Business Letter
a. Sender
b. Receiver
c. Message
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
1. Heading – consist of the name of the firm or the address of the
sender.
2. Date Line – consist of month, day of the month and year
3. Inside Address – consists of the name and address of the person to
whom the letter is written.
4. Attention Line – it is used when the letter is important so that it will
reach quickly to the person intended for it.
5. Salutation – always starts at the left margin followed by a colon ( : )
•Gentlemen - men
• Mesdames - women
•Sir & Ma’am/Madam - most formal
6. Subject Line – enables the readers to know at a glance what the
letter is about. It is placed above the inside address or placed below
the salutation. The introductory word subject may be used, but is
not essential.
7. Body of the letter – single spacing should be observed within
paragraphs and double space between paragraphs
8. Complimentary Closing – leave taking line of the letter.
e.g. Repectfully Yours, Truly Yours, Sincerely Yours, Cordially
Yours
9. Signature – includes typewritten name of the sender, pen written
signature and the position.