Context of Communication PDF

Context of Communication Consider these scenarios If you had to give a speech on a ‘The Benefit of Living a Vegan Lifestyle’ in each of the following situations, would you need to make changes or adjustments to your presentation. a. To your Board of Directors in a conference room. b. To a gr...

Context of Communication Consider these scenarios If you had to give a speech on a ‘The Benefit of Living a Vegan Lifestyle’ in each of the following situations, would you need to make changes or adjustments to your presentation. a. To your Board of Directors in a conference room. b. To a group of Std Three students c. To an oral examiner in a small examination room d. To a group of persons opposing your idea e. On national television f. On radio How would you adjust your presentation for each Contexts of communication The context of a communicative event includes what the communicative event is about, why it occurs and where it takes place and the relationships and roles of the people involved. Communicative events occur on a spectrum from formal to informal. A formal situation is one where behaviour is dictated by social norms and patterns. An informal situation is one where there are no constraints on behaviour and communication. The relationship between speakers influences the context. An employer and an employee discussing a sports report is in a different context from two friends who are discussing the same sports report. Remember that there are two aspects to context: situation and social. Situational Where the event is taking place, for example at the office, at a bar or in court. Why the event is taking place, for example at a party, at a funeral or at a political rally. What the event is about, for example, someone’s health or the latest sports results. Social Who is participating in the event. You may already know that people’s relationships and their status affects communication. The culture to which the participants belong also plays a part in communication. People’s cultural backgrounds introduce a broader set of circumstances and beliefs that influence how conversation happens. What happens at a funeral, for instance, differs according to cultural beliefs and practices. In some cultures men and women may not have open dialogue while in others it is acceptable. The media influences the cultural context within which people operate as it introduces other cultures into daily life through news, music, fi lms and television programmes, for example. These can impact on how people speak and what they speak about. Types of communication include Intrapersonal communication Interpersonal communication Small group communication Organisational communication Intercultural communication Public and academic communication Mass communication  Intrapersonal communication This is communicating within yourself. Examples: thinking, daydreaming, solving problems. Hunger, pain and pleasure are messages sent by parts of the body to the brain. Interpersonal communication This is any communication that happens between two or more people. Examples of interpersonal communication between just two people include interviews, conversations and intimate communication, but all of the following types of communication are interpersonal communication.  Small group communication This is communication that takes place within groups of approximately 3–20 individuals. It tends to involve some sort of leadership and is characterised by shared beliefs and norms. Ideas are generally being exchanged among members. The small group is one of the most important communication settings. Examples of small groups include the family, interview teams, work groups, legislative subcommittees and military and business groups. Organisational communication This is communication that occurs in a business, government or educational context. It relates to messages travelling up, down and around a large collection of individuals. It may involve any of the other types of interpersonal communication, such as small group, public or mass communication.  Intercultural communication This may also be referred to as cross-cultural communication and happens when information is shared between members of different cultures or social groups. It is found in any type of interpersonal communication in which an individual communicates with another individual from a different culture. It is important to take into consideration the differences between the cultures in order to ensure successful intercultural communication.  Public and academic communication This occurs when one person (or more, depending on the occasion) communicates with an audience in either a public or an academic setting in order to deliver a message to that audience. Often, the communication is one-way, with one person sending a message and the audience receiving the message, although debates are an exception to this. The size of the audience can vary but is generally a large number. Examples of public communication include speeches, debates and communication via a town crier. Examples of academic communication include essays, research papers and seminars.  Mass communication This occurs when information is disseminated on a large scale to a large number of people. It is almost exclusively one-way. It involves the use of the mass media to transmit information. This includes print (newspapers, magazines and billboards), electrical (radio, television and video) and electronic (computers and phones).