Communication for Various Purposes PDF

CHAPTER 6 COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES OBJECTIVES - Convey ideas through oral, audio – visual, or web – based presentation - Create clear, coherent and effective communication materials - Adopt awarenes...

CHAPTER 6 COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES OBJECTIVES - Convey ideas through oral, audio – visual, or web – based presentation - Create clear, coherent and effective communication materials - Adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas Page 1  DISCUSSION 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 you 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. Page 2  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. Page 3  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. PURPOSES OF COMMUNICATION: DISSEMINATE, OBTAIN, PROVIDE INFORMATION Communication appears in various functions in this fast – pacing - world. Here are the following details for the various purposes of communication. To Disseminate Information This purpose of communication involves spreading, broadcasting information to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning, this is a system of sending messages to many individuals, and there is no reply come back. Information transmission can be through advertising, public announcements, and speeches. To Obtain Information By means of listening and reading, an individual can gather and receive information. Through this, one can be able to connect with other individuals by getting new insights or ideas. To Provide Information The act of giving or transferring piece of information. To Persuade The purpose of an individual here is to motivate the audience to change ones’ thinking or point of view. You communicate to convince others. To Argue Here, the individuals wish to present one another’s claim that is backed up by reasons and supported by evidence. People argue to clarify thinking, to explain or defend actions or beliefs, to solve problems or make judgments, or to have fun by participating in the clash of ideas intellectually. Page 4  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. ❖ Purpose 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 parts 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 and women Mesdames - women Sir/Ma’am - most formal 6. Subject Line – enables the readers to know at a glance what the letter is about. It is place above the inside address or place below the salutation. Page 5  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. FORMAT OF A BUSINESS LETTER The following are sample letters of different format. 1. Full Blocked Format Every component of the letter such as heading, address, salutation, body, salutation, signature, identification, and enclosures are aligned to the left. In addition, the first sentences of the paragraphs are not indented. Page 6  2. Semi - Block Semi-block is similar to block but has a more informal appearance. All elements are left-aligned, except for the beginning of each paragraph, which is indented five spaces. Paragraphs are separated by a double line space. Page 7  3. Modified Heading should be aligned at the center point of the page line. On the other hand, the address, salutation, the body, complimentary close, the signature, and identification are left aligned in a modified business letter. SAMPLE APPLICATION LETTER Page 8