Oral Communication Notes PDF

# Communication - Communication is derived from the Latin word _communis_, which means "to share". - It is a process of sharing and conveying messages or information from one person to another within and across channels, contexts, media, and cultures (McCornack, 2014). - Communication includes symb...

# Communication - Communication is derived from the Latin word _communis_, which means "to share". - It is a process of sharing and conveying messages or information from one person to another within and across channels, contexts, media, and cultures (McCornack, 2014). - Communication includes symbols, gestures, and nonverbal messages. - It is a two-way process of connecting to both living and nonliving things. ## Nature of Communication - Communication is a process - active and cyclical. - Communication occurs between two or more people. It is interactive. - Communication can be expressed through written or spoken words, actions (nonverbal), or both spoken words and nonverbal action at the same time. It is symbolic. ## Elements of Communication Process | Element | Description | |---|---| | Sender or Speaker | The source of information or message, delivers the message to the Receiver. | | Message | The information, ideas, or thoughts conveyed by the speaker in words or actions. | | Encoding | The process of converting the message into words, actions, or other forms that the speaker understands. | | Channel | It can be personal or non-personal, written, verbal (words), or nonverbal (actions, gestures, facial expression), in which the encoded message is conveyed. | | Decoding | The process of interpreting the encoded message. | | Receiver | The recipient of the message, or someone who decodes the message. | | Feedback | The reactions, responses, or information provided by the Receiver. | | Context | The environment where communication takes place. | | Barrier | The factor that affects the flow of communication. | ## Four types of Communication 1. Verbal Communication 2. Verbal Written Communication 3. Nonverbal Communication 4. Visual Communication # Oral Communication in Context ## Communication Models - A three-dimensional representation of a thing or a proposed structure, typically on a smaller scale than the original. - Models of communication provide a graphical and logical representation of a communication process. - They show the sequence and relationship which occur between various elements of communication. ### Three General Types 1. **Linear Model** - Good at audience persuasion - Used in public speaking - One-way - **Cons:** - The communication is not continuous - No feedback/Not interactive - Difficult to identify if communication was effective. 2. **Interactive Model** - There is feedback. - Follows Give and Take relationship - Field of communication is considered. - **Cons:** - The sender and receiver might not know who the other person is. 3. **Transactional Model** - Simultaneous and instant feedback - Sender and receiver play the same role - **Cons:** - Encourages non-verbal communication - More noise due to communicators talking at the same time ## Linear Models 1. **Aristotle's Model** - Aristotle is a great philosopher who initiates the earliest mass communication model called Aristotle's Model of Communication. - It has 5 primary elements: Sender, Speech, Occasion, Audience, and Effect. 2. **Laswell's Model** - Harold Dwight Laswell was a political scientist and communication theorist from the United States. - He is best known for his linear model of communication that he developed in 1948. - He believes that a convenient way to describe an act of communication is to answer the following questions. 3. **Shannon-Weaver's Model** - Claude Elwood Shannon was a mathematician, and Warren Weaver was a scientist. - They were primarily interested in "machine translation", and how early computers, radios, and televisions transmit information. - This model of communication is a linear process consisting of 5 elements: - The source, which is the producer of the message - The transmitter which is considered as the encoder of the message into signal. - Channel, this is the signal adapted for transmission - The receiver who is the decoder of the message from the signal - The destination. - This is known as the mother of all communication models. 4. **Berlo's S-M-C-R Model** - David Kenneth Berlo was an American communications theorist. - Berlo's model believes that for effective communication to take place, the source and the receiver need to be on the same level. - Only then communication will happen or take place properly. ## Interactive Model 1. **Schramm's Model** - This is the most commonly taught and widely used theory of communication proposed by Wilbur Schramm in the late 1940s. - In the Schramm model the sender encodes the message which is then transmitted in the form of a signal to the receiver who decodes the message and responds by encoding it in another signal even before the sender has completely sent the message. - It contains field of experience which includes our cultural background, ethnicity, general and personal experience. - Various kinds of noise can possibly distort the message, the feedback helps to solve the problem because it allows the sender to modify the information from what he or she observes or hears from the receiver. 2. **Dance's Helical Model** - Frank Dance is an American communication professor and theorist. - He proposed the helical model of communication in 1967 to depict communication as a dynamic and non-linear process. - This model builds on circular models (a helix structure) and explains how we improve our messages over time by using feedback. - The feedback received for one message influences our next statement. - This helps us become more knowledgeable with each cycle, making it possible for us to expand our circle as depicted in the model by circles that continuously increase in their width. - The upward movement in the spiral denotes that every communication practice is new and unique as communication doesn't ever perfectly repeat itself. ## Transactional Models 1. **Barnlund's Model** - Dean C. Barlund is a communication theorist. - He is one of the theorists who developed the transactional model in the late 1960s. - Later, he developed his own model of transactional communication in the 1970s. - The Barnlund's transactional model emphasizes the role of cues in impacting your communication. - It sheds light on public cues (environmental cues) and private cues (your own personal thoughts and background). -Essentially, this model shows us the factors that influence what we think and say. ## Barriers and Features to effective Communication ### Communication Breakdown - Communication breakdown refers to the failure or interruption in the process of transmitting information between individuals or groups, leading to a lack of understanding or misinterpretation of the message. - It occurs when there is a breakdown in any of the elements involved in the communication process, such as encoding, transmission, decoding, or feedback. ### Various Types of Communication Barrier 1. **Physical or Environmental Barriers** - These are obstacles related to the surrounding environment, such as noise, distance, poor lighting, or crowded spaces, which interfere with effective communication. 2. **Physiological Barriers** - These barriers stem from individuals' physical conditions or limitations, such as hearing impairment, visual impairment, or speech disorders, which affect their ability to send or receive messages effectively. 3. **Linguistic and Semantic Barriers** - These barriers occur due to differences in language, dialects, vocabulary, or semantics between communicators, making it challenging to convey or understand messages accurately. 4. **Sociocultural Barriers** - Sociocultural barriers result from differences in cultural norms, values, beliefs, or social backgrounds between communicators, leading to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of messages. 5. **Technological Barriers** - Technological barriers stem from problems or limitations associated with communication tools or technology, such as malfunctioning equipment, poor internet connection, or incompatible software, which disrupt the transmission of messages. 6. **Psychological Barriers** - Psychological barriers arise from individuals' mental or emotional states, such as anxiety, stress, or defensiveness, which can impair their ability to communicate clearly and openly. ### Features to Effective Communication - **Clear and concise:** Messages should be straightforward and easily understandable. - **Active listening:** Encourage students to listen attentively, ask questions, and provide feedback. - **Feedback:** Emphasize the importance of receiving and giving feedback to ensure understanding. - **Empathy:** Understanding others' perspectives and emotions to facilitate better communication. - **Non-verbal cues:** Paying attention to body language, gestures, and facial expressions to enhance communication. ### Nonverbal Cues 1. **Kinesics** - This involves body movements such as gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and posture that convey meaning during communication. 2. **Haptics** - Haptics refers to the use of touch in communication, which can convey various emotions, intentions, or messages depending on the context and cultural norms. 3. **Objectics/Appearance** - Objectics or appearance refers to the physical appearance of individuals, including clothing, grooming, accessories, and other personal attributes, which can influence how they are perceived and interpreted by others. 4. **Proxemics** - Proxemics refers to the study of spatial distances between individuals during communication and how these distances convey meaning, such as intimate, personal, social, or public space, as well as cultural variations in spatial norms. 5. **Chronemics** - Chronemics refers to the use of time in communication, including the perception and interpretation of time, punctuality, waiting time, and the significance of time-related cues in different cultures and contexts. 6. **Paralanguage** - Paralanguage encompasses vocal cues such as tone, pitch, volume, rate of speech, pauses, and vocal qualities (e.g., laughter, sighs), which convey additional meaning and emotions alongside verbal messages. # Functions of Communication - Communication as a human activity always serves a function. - Functions of communication refer to how humans use language for different purposes. ## Basic Functions of Communication 1. **Information** - This is the most basic function of communication. - Communication can be used in giving and getting information. - Giving information usually comes in the form of statements of facts (grammatically known as declaratives). - **Examples:** - A student leader talks about how to help fellow members who are in need of financial assistance. - The leader draws plans for executing the safety protocols. 2. **Motivation** - Communication motivates or encourages people to live better. - Motivation is either internal or external. - **Internal:** Comes from within. It is something personal. - **External:** Emanates from the outside or from people surrounding him. - **Internal Motivation Examples:** - A student is motivated to study hard because of his/her desire to graduate with honors. - **External Motivation Examples:** - A student is motivated to study hard because of his/her father's promise to give him/her an expensive car once he/she graduates with honors. 3. **Regulation or Control** - Communication can be used to control human behavior. - It can be used to regulate nature and amount of activities humans engage in. - It ranges from simple requests to laws governing countries and large territories. - **Basic Forms** - Doctors' prescriptions - Parents' instructions to their children - Friends giving advice on what course of action to take - Scolding - Employers order their employees - Customers making orders 4. **Commands or Imperatives** - Run - Take your seat. 5. **Rhetorical Questions** - Can I have a moment of silence? - Why don't we go to the lobby now? 6. **Statements or Declaratives** - I want to be alone. - It's hot in here. - **Note:** The main focus of Regulation or Control as a function of communication is to influence one's behavior. - That means that if anyone behaves in such a way as the other one wanted it to be, it's a behavioral influence. 7. **Emotional Expression** - This function simply wants to express emotion or strong feelings because of a particular situation or happening. - **Examples:** - You may think of a man shouting because he won the lottery. - A conversation between a man who proposes his admiration to a woman. 8. **Social Interaction** - Refers to the use of communication to socialize or interact with other people. - In the daily course of living, human beings develop and maintain bonds, intimacy, relations, and associations. - **Basic Forms of Social Interaction** - Invitations - Appreciations - Greetings - **Note:** If an individual uses communication to interact with other people it is under social interaction as a function of communication. - It primarily aims to establish a social relationship or bond between individuals. *** ## Small Talk - Kinds of Talks or Oral Texts - It is a form of non-threatening communication that may be used to effect social interaction. - This kind of talk helps achieve the following specific purposes: - to get acquainted with - to establish relationships - to maintain the status quo relationship ## Light-Control Talk - It may be used to motivate people. - This kind of talk can help achieve the following specific purposes: - to persuade - to direct - to seek but not force agreement ## Heavy-Control Talk - Designed to place blame and to control or regulate people. - This type of communication creates defensiveness on the part of the receiver and is rarely, if ever, appropriate. - This kind of talk can help achieve the following specific purposes: - to blame - to threaten - to attack - to coerce ## Search Talk - Another non-threatening approach when you want to gather data or the consensus of others to be able to provide information. - This kind of talk can help achieve the following specific purposes: - to examine and clarify the issue - to ask and inquire about something ## Straight Talk - It may be used to facilitate emotional expression. - This kind of talk can help achieve the following specific purposes: - to acknowledge feelings - to share feelings - to accept without judging ## Take Note: - Social interaction can be achieved through small talk; - Motivation of people can be done by means of light-control talk; - Regulation or control can be affected by engaging in heavy-control talk; - Information can be provided using search talk; - Emotional expression can be attained through straight talk. # Speech Context and Style ## Types of Speech Context 1. **Intrapersonal Communication** - This means communication with oneself. - Intrapersonal Communication may be seen in situations involving talking or writing to oneself, even thinking to oneself. - Clearly, in Intrapersonal Communication, the speaker and the listener are one and the same: YOU. - You send the message to yourself and you yourself receive that message. 2. **Interpersonal Communication** - Beyond INTRAPERSONAL Communication are several Types of Speech Context which we are more familiar with, such as INTERPERSONAL Communication which involves more than one person. - It is not just the number of participants that determine each particular type of communication, but could be differentiated according to its purpose. ## Types of Interpersonal Communication 1. **Dyadic Communication** - involves only two participants forming the DYAD. - One Speaker and one Listener come together to exchange thoughts, ideas, opinions, and information. - The roles of Speaker and Listener are not fixed, they are interchangeable. - Conversation is informal dyadic communication, while interview and dialogue are formal dyadic communication. - Conversations are the most common, most frequent, and the most popular of all dyadic communication. 2. **Small Group Communication** - requires from 3 to 15 people to study an issue, discuss a problem, and come up with a solution or a plan. - The group has an agenda, a leader, and an outcome to accomplish. - Small groups may be divided into two according to purpose: Study Groups and Task-oriented Groups. - Study groups are meant to look into problems but not necessarily come up with solutions. It is the Task Oriented Groups that study an issue. 3. **Public Communication** - different from Dyadic or Small Group Communication in that one Speaker addresses many Listeners, collectively known as Audience. - There is no interchanging of the Speaker and Listener roles. - Many public information events are formal. - The speech is well prepared, the Speaker is dressed appropriately, and the Listeners are set to listen to the message. 4. **Mass Communication** - Any of the above human verbal interactions carried out with the aid of mass media technology. - Mass media used to only mean radio and television, which reached more people with the use of their technical systems. - Mass Communication now includes Social Media, which allows the use of technology for everyone. 5. **Intercultural Communication** - the exchange of concepts, traditions, values, and practices between and among people of different nationalities and ways of life. - **For example,** a roundtable discussion to exchange views about how we relate with our families can show the differences and similarities in Korean and Philippine cultures. 6. **Organizational Communication** - refers to the interaction of members along the links in an organizational structure. - There are two variations of Organizational Communication: - **Formal Organizational Communication** uses the proper channels graphically illustrated by an organizational chart. Memos, announcements, and reports are passed along to the members of the organization following the chain of command. - **The Informal version** bypasses the links, skips forward or backwards, or even goes sideways just to achieve the same goal: for example, to pass on a memo, announcement, or a report. ## Points to Remember! 1. Speech context is determined based on the number of participants in the process of communication. 2. Speech style is demonstrated in the way we talk to another person. The words are carefully chosen and so is the manner those words are spoken. 3. All communication, whatever the speech context, must have a purpose. - Each speech context having a different set of participants coming together for a specific purpose, calls for a communicative strategy. - These strategies are also dependent on the type of speech style that is used in a particular speech context. ## Types of Speech Styles 1. **Intimate** - is used for very close relationships. - **Example:** Couple - **Note:** Language used in this style may not be shared in public 2. **Casual** - is an informal communication between groups and peers who have something to share and have shared background information but do not have close relations. - **Example:** Classmates - **Note:** Jargon, slang, and vernacular language are used. 3. **Consultative** - is used in semi-formal and standard communication. - **Example:** Teacher and student - **Note:** Professional or mutually acceptable language is a must in this style. 4. **Formal** - is a one-way straightforward speech. - **Example:** State of the Nation Address - **Note:** What the speaker says is something that has been prepared beforehand. 5. **Frozen** - is the most formal communicative style that is usually used during solemn ceremonies and events. - **Example:** Pledges. - **Note:** It does not require any feedback from the audience. # Speech Acts - According to J. L. Austin (1962), a philosopher of language and the developer of the Speech Act Theory, there are three types of acts in every utterance, given the right circumstances or context: - Locutionary Act - Illocutionary Act - Perlocutionary Act ## Speech Act Theory 1. **Locutionary Act:** Utterance of a meaningful sentence, or what is said literally. 2. **Illocutionary Act:** Act or the social function of what is said, which refers to the intention of the speaker in relation to the situation. 3. **Perlocutionary Act:** The effect of what is said to the person it is uttered to, or the characteristic aims of a speech act. ## Examples 1. **Locutionary Act** is the actual act of uttering. - **(Meaningful Utterance):** "Please do the dishes." 2. **Illocutionary Act** is the social function of what is said. - **(Intention):** By uttering the locution "Please do the dishes," the speaker requests the addressee to wash the dishes. 3. **Perlocutionary Act** is the resulting act of what is said. - This effect is based on the particular context in which the speech act was mentioned. - **(Effect):** The utterance "Please do the dishes" would lead to the addressee washing the dishes or a response such as "Yes, I will wash the dishes." ## Guidelines in Crafting Utterance 1. **First-person:** Ensure the sentence is in the first person. 2. **Present tense:** Maintain the present tense. 3. **Indicative mood:** Keep the indicative mood to state a fact. 4. **Active voice:** Retain the active voice. 5. **Describes its speaker as performing a speech act (or the listener)**. ## Categories of Speech Act - As a response to Austin's Speech Act Theory, John Searle (1976), a professor from the University of California, Berkeley, classified illocutionary acts into five distinct categories. | Category | Action | Example | |---|---|---| | Representatives | Tell how things are | Concluding | | Directives | Encourage action | Requesting | | Commissives | Commit speaker to action | Promising | | Expressives | Express psychological state | Thanking | | Declarations | Change the state of affairs | Christening | ## Locutionary Act, Illocutionary Act, Category Speech Act, and Perlocutionary Act | Locutionary Act | Illocutionary Act | Category Speech Act | Perlocutionary Act | |---|---|---|---| | "I am reading that the global temperature is rising." (Nods of agreement) | Stating a fact | Representative | (Listeners acknowledge the statement) "Yes, it's a concerning trend." | | "I am observing that the heat index is reaching dangerous levels. (Concerned expressions from colleagues)" | Stating a fact | Representative | (Colleagues understand the severity of the situation.) "We should consider implementing distance learning." | | "I OBSERVE that the global temperature is rising" (Nods of agreement) | Stating a fact | Representative | (Listeners acknowledge the statement) "Yes, it's a concerning trend." | | "I NOTICE that the heat index is reaching dangerous levels. (Concerned expressions from colleagues)" | Stating a fact | Representative | (Colleagues understand the severity of the situation.)"We should consider implementing distance learning." | | "I am grateful to my colleagues for their invaluable contributions to our research on the wonders of the Earth" (Smiles and nods of appreciation from colleagues) | Expressing gratitude | Expressive | (Colleagues feel appreciated for their help. Verbal response) "You're welcome! It was a pleasure to collaborate with you." | | "I apologize for the unsuccessful outcome of the experiment investigating the formation of the Grand Canyon." (Understanding nods from fellow researchers) | Apologizing for failure | Expressive | (Fellow researchers understand the speaker's regret.) "No worries. We'll learn from it and try again." | | "We pledge to allocate resources for further research into renewable energy sources." (Handshake) | Making a pledge | Commissive | (Listeners acknowledge the commitment to sustainability.) "That's a crucial step towards addressing climate change." | |*I vow to continue advocating for evidence-based policies to address climate change.* (Serious expression) | Making a vow | Commissive | (Listeners acknowledge the commitment to advocating for evidence-based solutions) "Your dedication to addressing climate change is commendable." | | "I hereby declare this area a protected wildlife sanctuary" (People cheer and applaud) | Making a declaration | Declarative | (People understand the area's new status as a protected sanctuary) "This is great news for conservation efforts." | | "I proclaim this research facility open for groundbreaking discoveries" (Cameras flashing and applause) | Making an inauguration statement | Declarative | (Attendees understand the facility's new status and purpose.) "We're excited to see what groundbreaking research will come out of this facility." |