COURSE OUTCOMES
Recognize principles and techniques of language and clear communication through being aware of the
nature, elements, and functions of verbal and nonverbal communication and multicultural contexts.
2. Create clear, coherent, and effective error-free communication materials by writing and proofreading
various workplace documents according to purpose.3
. Adopt awareness of audience and context in conveying professional ideas for target audiences in local
and global workplaces.
COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE, AND CULTURE
Language, emotion, and personality: How the words we use reflect who we are
Communication (Process)
Language (Tool)
Culture (Art/Drama/Music, Attitudes, Beliefs, Language, Customs, Rituals, Behavior, Faith/Religion,
Food)
How we communicate reflects our culture
Communication – communicare = to share or make common in Latin
- Process of understanding and sharing meaning
Language – collection of symbols, letters, or words with arbitrary meaning that are governed by rules
and used to communicate
Arbitrary meaning – no relationship
Ex: the way we label, no relationship between the letters PUNO and TREE
Language – your choice of language provides information to others about how you see yourself, how
you see others, and what relationships you believe exists between yourself and others
Brutal language signifies closer relationships
Culture – socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, attitudes, and values of a particular period,
class, community, or population
Socially transmitted – there is definitely communication taking place
7 advantages of studying communication
1. Improve the way we see ourselves
2. Improve the way others see us
3. Increase what we know about human relationships
4. Teach us important life skills
5. Help us express our ideas/protect ourselves
6. Help us succeed professionally
7. Help us navigate an increasingly diverse world
TYPES OF COMMUNICAITON
Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 Rule - Elements of Personal Communication
7% Spoken Words
38% Voice, Tone
55% Body Language
The facial expressions used to convey basic emotions tend to be the same across cultures
More than 7000 expressions, tend to fall under six basic emotions
1. Happiness
2. Surprise
3. Sadness
4. Anger
5. Disgust
6. Fear
Types on Communication based on:
1. Expression/mode
➢ Verbal (USE OF WORDS) – Oral or Spoken, Written
➢ Nonverbal – Facial expressions, Visual (Color, height, weight), Chronemics (Time),
Paralinguistics (words but not words, laughing, crying, sneezing), Proxemics (space),
Emblems (Nodding, hand gestures), Objectics or Object Language (Clothing) , Haptics/Tactile
(Touch)
No universal verbal language
English is more of a lingua franca (spoken by the majority)
2. Flow of Communication
➢ Upward – subordinate to superviser
➢ Downward – faculty to student
➢ Horizontal – same level
➢ Vertical – combination of upward downward, exchange of comm
➢ Diagonal – dean of mitl to faculty of cas, lower rank to upper rank from diff department
3. Purpose or Style
➢ Formal – academic setting
➢ Informal – with friends or family
4. Context or level
➢ Intrapersonal – with oneself
➢ Interpersonal – 2 or more people involved. Dyadic (2 people) , Small group (3 to 15)
➢ Public – 15 or more people
➢ Organizational – within an organization or hierarchy
➢ Developmental – for8 the development of community
➢ Mass – general public audience, any age, gender, etc. everybody
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
High intensity speakers – uncomfortable with moments of silence. Talking at the same time.
Low intensity speakers – not welcoming of interruptions. Speak one at a time.
Nature of Communication
Dynamic – ever changing
Inevitable, irreversible, unrepeatable – unavoidable, cannot take it back, never repeat
Systemic – emphasizes interconnectedness
➢ Systems Theory – context of relationships with each other and with other systems rather
than isolation
Communication - refers to the act, by one or more persons, of sending or receiving messages that are
distorted by noise, occur within a context, have some effect & provide some opportunity for feedback
1. Source – encoder – has to encode and create a message
2. Receiver – decode – interpret the message
3. Message
➢ Verbal
➢ Nonverbal
4. Feedback
➢ From self (intrapersonal)
➢ From others
5. Channel – deliver the message
➢ Senses (visual, hearing)
➢ Technology (phone, internet, sns)
6. Noise – could come from anywhere and could affect anything
➢ Physical
➢ Psychological – biases, beliefs
➢ Semantic – noise in meaning, spoken (mispronounce), written (grammar mistakes)
7. Context
➢ Physical – physical context, classroom
➢ Cultural – beliefs, norms, practices
➢ Social – Psychological – formality or informality
➢ Temporal – Time
8. Effect
➢ Cognitive – new knowledge
➢ Affective – what emotion felt
➢ Psychomotor – movement done
COMMUNICAITON FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES
COMMUNICATION IS PURPOSEFUL
➢ You communicate for a purpose; some motivation/reason leads you to communicate.
➢ When you speak or write, you’re trying to send some message and trying to accomplish
some goal.
5 GENERAL PURPOSES OF COMMUNICATION
Different cultures emphasize different purposes and motives
5 general purposes:
1. to learn/inform: to acquire knowledge of others, the world, and yourself
2. to relate: to form relationships with others, to interact with others as individuals
3. to help: to assist others by listening, offering solutions
4. to influence/persuade: to strengthen or change the attitudes or behaviors of others
5. to play: to enjoy the experience of the moment
Gender Difference
➢ Generally, men seem to communicate more for information and women more for
relationship purposes
➢ Computer communication: women chat more for relationship reasons; men chat more to
play and to relax
Media Literacy
➢ as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages
➢ to interact with the media and to use the available resources to create your own media
messages
Communication Competence
➢ refers both to your knowledge and understanding of how communication works and to your
ability to use communication effectively
➢ understanding of communication would include a knowledge of the elements involved in
communication, how these elements interact, and how each communication situation is
both different from and similar to other situations.
➢ understanding of the choices you have for communicating in any given situation
➢ Using communication effectively would involve your ability to select and implement the best
choices for communicating and to read and adjust to the ongoing feedback that you receive
from your own messages and that guide the choices you make in selecting future messages.
➢ The more you know about communication, the more choices you’ll have available for your
day-today interactions
➢ Throughout your communication life and in each communication interaction you’re
presented with choice points—moments when you have to make a choice as to with whom
you communicate, what you say, what you don’t say, how you phrase what you want to say,
and so on.
➢ The competent communicator is defined as one who makes effective choices, thinks
critically and mindfully, understands the role of power, is culturally sensitive, is ethical, is an
effective listener, and is media literate
PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICAITON
Unethical Communication – Plagiarism, Selective, Misquoting, Distorting Visuals, Omitting Information,
Mispresenting Data, Abusing Privacy or Security
Communication Ethics - concerns the creation and evaluation of goodness in all aspects and
manifestations of communicative interaction
➢ both communication and ethics are tacitly or explicitly inherent in all human interactions
o Everyday life is fraught with intentional and unintentional ethical questions—from
reaching for a cup of coffee to speaking critically in a public meeting
Ethics - values and beliefs (whether enforced by law or not) that a society or group or individual believe
will most likely create goodness
3 PARAMETERS
1. Intention – good intention?
2. Means – how was the message delivered?, ethical means?, when was it said?
3. Consequences – was the main goal achieved?,
Communication Ethics
➢ Communication's powers to hurt and to heal, to repress and to inspire, to betray and to
uplift, to oppress and to comfort, to deceive and to enlighten, to wound and to mend are
among the direct links between communication and ethics
➢ Each set of circumstances is unique, and often the most ethical choice is not readily
apparent.
➢ Unethical communication has been one of humanity's most potentially harmful weapons.
ETHICAL COMMUNICATION
➢ fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the development of relationships
and communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media
➢ enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility,
personal integrity, and respect for self and others
➢ We believe that unethical communication threatens the quality of all communication and
consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in which we live.
9 Principles of Ethical Communication
1. advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of
communication
2. endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the
informed and responsible decision making fundamental to a civil society
3. strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to
their messages
4. promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human
potential and contribute to the well-being of individuals, families, communities, and society
5. promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique
needs and characteristics of individual communicators
6. condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion,
intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred
7. committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in pursuit of fairness and
justice
8. advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing significant choices while also
respecting privacy and confidentiality
9. accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences for our own communication
and expect the same of others
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
➢ exchange of information between individuals who are unalike culturally
➢ cultural sensitivity – awareness of potential similarities & differences
➢ cultural competence – understanding and respecting diversity
5 Cultural Characteristics
1. Individualistic vs Collectivistic
➢ Individual freedom, choice, independence.
➢ Group, family, culture over individual
2. Low context vs high context
➢ Source of communication with intentions stated overtly. What they mean is what they say.
➢ Source, intentions, is understood but not explicitly stated
3. Uncertainty accepting vs Uncertainty rejecting
➢ Far more likely to tolerate ambiguity and diversity
➢ Difficult time accepting these things
4. Implicit rule Vs Explicit rule
➢ Rules for behavior in a culture and are implicitly known to all members of the culture
➢ Openly discuss procedures for action and expectations for behavior
5. Monochronic vs Polychronic
➢ Time as compartmentalized between task, personal, and social dimensions
➢ Time as culturally based and relationally oriented
Strategies to Improve Intercultural Communication
1. Conduct personal Assessment
2. Avoid Stereotypes – generalization/oversimplification of cultures
3. Avoid ethnocentrism – belief that own culture is superior
4. Manage conflicting beliefs and practices
5. Open communication channels
