Purposive Communication Lecture (Chapter 1)

**Purposive Communication Lecture** - **COMMUNICATION** - It was derived from the Latin words *con* which means "a business," *communis* which means "common," and *communico* which means "to confer" or "to relate with one another" (Igoy et al., 2014). - It is, therefore, defined as...

**Purposive Communication Lecture** - **COMMUNICATION** - It was derived from the Latin words *con* which means "a business," *communis* which means "common," and *communico* which means "to confer" or "to relate with one another" (Igoy et al., 2014). - It is, therefore, defined as the process of accomplishing a goal, "with a business to confer or relate with one another." Thus, in business and workplace situations, an effective communication is vital to a company's overall success. - Communication is a two-way process by which information is exchanged between or among individuals through a common system of symbols, signs and behaviour (Martinez 1). - According to DeSantis, the communication is made between two sides, the source and the receiver. For him the source, which is the creator of the message, performs four roles: determining the meaning of what is to be communicated, encoding the meaning into the message, sending the message, and perceiving and reacting to a listener\'s response to the message. However, the receiver decodes the messages by analysing and interpreting them. Then, the receiver has to store and recall the message, and finally, to respond to the source, message, channel, environment, and noise. - **ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION** 1. **Communication is integrated in all parts of our lives.** - ***ACADEMICS.*** Communication skills are tied to academic success. Students who are good at writing and speaking perform better not only in the English classroom but also in the content areas and all other areas of learning. - ***PROFESSIONAL.*** Desired communication skills vary from one career to another. However, English courses provided important skills essential for functioning in entry-level jobs. In such a competitive job market, being able to demonstrate that you have received communication instruction and training from communication professionals can give you the edge needed to stand out from other applicants or employees. - ***PERSONAL.*** Having a vocabulary to name the communication phenomena in our lives increases our ability to alter consciously our communication. This is activated in order to achieve our goals, avoid miscommunication, and analyse and learn from our inevitable mistakes. Communication is crucial for a person's success. - ***CIVIC.*** There is a connection between communication and a person's civic engagement. We are engaged with the world around us, participate in our society, and become a virtuous citizen. Civic engagement refers to working to make a difference in our communities by improving the quality of life of community members; raising awareness about social, cultural, or political issues; or participating in a wide variety of political and non-political process (Ehrlich, 2000). 2. **Communication meets needs.** - ***Physical needs.*** The need to communicate keep our bodies and minds functioning. Communication, which we most often associate with our brain, mouth, eyes, and ears, actually has many more connections to and effects on our physical body and well-being. - ***Instrumental needs.*** Communicating for instrumental needs helps us get things done in our day-to-day lives and achieve short- and long-term goals. - ***Relational needs.*** Communicating for relational needs helps us maintain social bonds and interpersonal relationships. Communication meets our relational needs by giving us a tool through which to develop, maintain, and end relationships. - ***Identity needs.*** Communication allows us to present ourselves in a distinct manner. Identity needs include the need to present ourselves to others and be thought of in particular and desired ways. Our identity changes as we progress through life, but communication is the primary means of establishing our identity and fulfilling our identity needs. 3. **Communication is guided by culture and context.** 4. **Communication is learned.** 5. **Communication has ethical implications.** - **TYPES OF COMMUNICATION: VERBAL AND NONVERBAL** - **Verbal Communication** - **Nonverbal Communication** Nonverbal communication helps receiver in interpreting the message received. ***Nonverbal communication cues can play five roles:*** - - - - - ***The many different types of nonverbal communication include:*** - Facial expressions - Body movements and posture - Gestures - Eye contact - Touch - Space - **TWO TYPES OF SETTINGS WHERE WE COMMUNICATE:** - **Informal Settings:** chats and conversations - **Formal Settings:** interviews, debates, public speaking, group discussions and parliamentary procedures - **ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS** **1.** SENDER/ENCODER The sender also known as the encoder decides on the message to be sent, the best/most effective way that it can be sent. All of this is done bearing the receiver in mind. In a word, it is his/her job to conceptualize.\ The sender may want to ask him/herself questions like: What words will I use? Do I need signs or pictures? 2. MEDIUM The medium is the immediate form which a message takes. For example, a message may be communicated in the form of a letter, in the form of an email or face to face in the form of a speech. 3. CHANNEL The channel is that which is responsible for the delivery of the chosen message form. For example, post office, internet, radio. 4. RECEIVER The receiver or the decoder is responsible for extracting/decoding meaning from the message. The receiver is also responsible for providing feedback to the sender. In a word, it is his/her job to INTERPRET. 5. FEEDBACK\ This is important as it determines whether or not the decoder grasped the intended meaning and whether communication was successful. 6. NOISE (also called Interference) This is any factor that inhibits the conveyance of a message. That is, anything that gets in the way of the message being accurately received, interpreted and responded to. Noise may be internal or external. A student worrying about an incomplete assignment may not be attentive in class (internal noise) or the sounds of heavy rain on a galvanized roof may inhibit the reading of a storybook to second graders (external noise). - **FIVE STEPS TO THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS IN THE WORKPLACE** - **Creation.** Creating the message is the first step of the process. It is the forming the communicative intent where the sender generates an idea. This requires the individual who is sending the message to decide what he wants to say and select a medium through which to communicate this information. - **Transmission.** After a message is created, it must be transmitted. This transmission may be as simple as meeting with the intended recipient of the message and orally sharing the message, or calling the individual to communicate orally over the phone. - **Reception.** After transmitting the message, the communication duties change hands and fall upon the receiver of the message. This individual must obtain the message either from the written format the sender selected or by listening carefully as the message is delivered orally. - **Translation.** Once receiving the message, the recipient must translate the messages into terms that s/he can easily understand. - **Response.** Communication is a two-way street and response is often necessary. Message recipients take the lead in concluding the communication process by crafting a response to the message. This response may be verbal or written. - **ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION** - **Content** refers to the information and experiences that are provided to the receiver of the communication process. It is what the receiver derives value from. Thus, content must be presented in a language that makes a grammatical sense. Words have different meanings and may be used or interpreted differently. So even simple words and messages can be misunderstood. - **Process** refers to the way the message is presented or delivered\-- the nonverbal elements in speech such as the tone of voice, the look in the sender's eyes, body language, hand gestures, and state of emotions such as anger, fear, uncertainty, and confidence that can be detected. - **Context** refers to the situation or environment in which your message is delivered. Important contextual factors that can subtly influence the effectiveness of a message include the physical environment. - **COMMUNICATION ETHICS IN THE ACADEMIC CONTEXT** - Writing should be done carefully. - Uphold research ethical standards. - When dealing with the faculty and staff, students should show their respect toward them by showing politeness, humility, honesty, and sincerity. - Transactions or communication plans should follow a protocol for their acceptance or approval. - Never tell a lie or misinterpret facts to your teachers, classmates, or to any people. **MODELS OF COMMUNICATION** Communication models are systematic representations of the process which helps in understanding how communication works can be done. Models show the process metaphorically and in symbols. They form general perspectives on communication by breaking communication from complex to simple and keeps the components in order. Communication models can sometimes encourage traditional thinking and stereotyping but can also omit some major aspects of human communication. Methods and channels of communication to be used and the purpose of communication, must be considered before choosing a specific communication model. Models are used by business companies and other firms to foster their communication, explore their options and to evaluate their own situations. It is also used to understand how the receivers will interpret the message. **TYPES OF COMMUNICATION MODEL** There are three general types of communication models in which all other communication models are mostly categorized. **1. Linear Model of Communication** [[Linear model of communication]](https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/linear-model-communication) is a simple **one way **communication model. The message flows in a straight line from sender to the receiver. There is no concept of feedback. The only task that a receiver does here is to receive the message. Different models that follow linear model of communication are: **ARISTOTLE'S MODEL** ***One Sentence Overview:** A framework for thinking about how to improve your communication abilities, by looking at key aspects underpinning a situation.* Aristotle's model of communication is the oldest communication model, dating back to 300BC. The model was designed to examine how to become a better and more convincing communicator. Aristotle argues we should look at five elements of a communication event to analyze how best to communicate: speaker, speech, occasion, target audience and effect. He also identified three elements that will improve communication: ethos (credibility), pathos (ability to connect) and logos (logical argument). Aristotle's model does not pay attention to the role of feedback in communication. **SHANNON-WEAVER MODEL** ***One Sentence Overview:** The Shannon-Weaver model is the first to highlight the role of 'noise' in communication, which can disrupt or alter a message between sender and receiver.* The [**Shannon-Weaver model**](https://helpfulprofessor.com/shannon-weaver-model/) sees communication occurring in five key parts: sender, encoder, channel, decoder, receiver. It emphasizes the importance of encoding and decoding messages for them to be sent (e.g. turning them into written words, morse code, etc.). During the process of encoding, sending and decoding, 'noise' occurs that can disrupt or cloud a message. In the most traditional sense, this may be static on a radio broadcast, or even extend to mishearing a conversation or misspelling an email. This model was the first to introduce the role of noise in the communication process. The idea of feedback was retroactively introduced to this model. **BERLO'S S-M-C-R MODEL** ***One Sentence Overview:** Berlo's S-M-C-R model explains it in four steps: **S**ource, **M**essage, **C**hannel, and **R**eceiver.* [Berlo's model of communication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver_Model_of_Communication) explains it in four steps: **S**ource, **M**essage, **C**hannel, and **R**eceiver. The unique aspect of Berlo's model is that it gives a detailed account of the key elements in each step that will affect how well the message is communicated: See a summary of all elements in the image below:  **2. Transactional Model of Communication** In [[transactional model]](https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/transactional-model-communication), senders and receivers both are known as communicators and both play equally important role in communication. Transactional model relates communication with social reality, cultural up-bringing and relational context (relationships). Non-verbal feedback like gestures, body language, is also considered as feedback in this model. Different models that follow transactional model of communication are: **BARNLUND'S TRANSACTIONAL MODEL** ***One Sentence Overview:** Barnlund's Transactional Model of Communication highlights the role of private and public cues that impact our messages.* Barnlund's Transactional Model of Communication is a model that explores interpersonal, immediate-feedback communication. Central to this approach is the idea that feedback for the sender is the reply for the receiver. This model also highlights the role of 'cues' in impacting our messages. Barnlund highlights the role of **public** **cues ​**which are environmental cues, and **private cues** which are a person's personal thoughts and background. With this emphasis on cues, Barnlund's model highlights the factors that influence what we think and say. **DANCE'S HELICAL MODEL** ***One Sentence Overview:** Dance's Helical Model sees communication as a circular process that gets more and more complex as communication occurs, which can be represented by a helical spiral.* [**Dance's Helical Model**](https://helpfulprofessor.com/helical-model-of-communication/) builds on circular models by explaining how we improve our messages over time by using feedback. When we communicate with others, their feedback will influence our next statement. We become more knowledgeable with each cycle of communication, enabling up to 'expand our circle', as represented by the increasingly wider and wider circles. The movement up the spiral indicates that each communication practice is new and different from the previous, as communication does not ever perfectly repeat itself. **3. Interactive Model of Communication** [[Interactive model]](https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/interactive-model-communication) or convergence model is similar to transactional model as they are both two way communication model. But, interactive model is mostly used for new media like internet. Here, people can respond to any mass communications like videos, news, etc. People can exchange their views and ideas. Different models that follow interactive model of communication are: [[Schramm's Interactive Model]](https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/schramms-model-communication) **OSGOOD-SCHRAMM MODEL** ***One Sentence Overview: **The Osgood-Schramm model shows.* The [**Osgood-Schramm model**](https://helpfulprofessor.com/osgood-schramm/) explores communication that is equal and reciprocal. It does not differentiate between the sender and receiver, but sees each as being in an equal position as message encoders and decoders. This model is best for explaining and examining personal synchronous communication where feedback is immediate (such as face-to-face discussions). As feedback is immediate, noise can be reduced through ongoing clarification of messages during the conversation.