LESSON 1:
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
(Unit 1: The Nature and Elements of Communication)
Chester John D. Pasco, LPT
FLOW OF DISCUSSION
Definitions
Elements of Communication
Communication is a human activity
Communication is a complex process
Types of Communication
Verbal and Nonverbal
Audio, visual, and audiovisual
FLOW OF DISCUSSION
Models of Communication
Aristotle’s Model of Communication
Laswell’s Model
Shannon and Weaver
Schramm Model
David Berlo’s Model
Wood’s Transactional Model
“Communication is a skill that you
can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or
typing. If you’re willing to work at
it, you can rapidly improve the
quality of every part of your life.”
- Brian Tracy
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
• What is Communication?
– the process of expressing and exchanging information,
thoughts, ideas, and feelings.
– a process that involves a series of actions that lead to a
particular result such as the passing on of a message and
an exchange of ideas, among others.
• A professor delivering a lecture to her students
• A coach talking to his players
• A dad giving advice to his son
• A salesperson giving a sales pitch to clients
COMMUNICATION IS A HUMAN ACTIVITY.
• “A deliberate or accidental transfer of
meaning.” (Gamble & Gamble, 2012)
• Communication is a human engagement
whether it takes place as one speaks with
himself/herself in a prayer or during reflection
(intrapersonal), between two people
(interpersonal), among several group of
people (group communication).
COMMUNICATION IS A HUMAN ACTIVITY.
• We can use communication as a vehicle
to negotiate meaning in a cycle that
prompts further action and reaction.
• In communication, we seek to be
understood and to understand other
people in an effort to reach a common
goal.
COMMUNICATION IS A COMPLEX PROCESS.
• A process is a series of dynamic activities – a
cycle of actions and reactions that produce
something or that lead to a particular result.
• “Communication as a process is always ongoing
and changing (Seiler, 1988; Hybels and Weaver,
2009; Wood, 2009) and is not a simple step of
hearing “something” and reacting arbitrarily to
that stimulus.”
• As a process, communication acts are
influenced by a variety of factors such as the
interlocutors’ background, past experiences,
present events, and future expectations or
aspirations (Benjamin, 1986).
VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Verbal Communication
–makes use of words in the process of
sending and receiving messages.
–modes of Verbal Communication
include oral and written
communication
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
• is sending and receiving messages through written
symbols, such as language
• uses traditional pen and paper or electronic gadgets
such as the computer, tablets, and laptop and takes
the form of letters, e-mails, SMS, private messages or
chats, memos, reports, proposals, and printed
advertisements
• such types of communication entails reading and
writing skills
ORAL COMMUNICATION
• includes listening and speaking skills
• may be done through face-to-face interaction
with a person or a group, or through
electronic means such as telephones or
cellphones, video conferencing, or any other
medium
• may be formal or informal in nature
VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Nonverbal Communication
– is sending and receiving messages without the use
of words; instead, nonverbal language is used such
as facial expression and body movements, among
others
– although nonverbal language can communicate by
itself, it makes oral communication more effective
when used properly
AUDIO AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION
• Communication may also be described in
terms of the media used:
–Audio
–Visual
–Audiovisual
DIFFERENCES
• Audio communication primarily uses sounds to
communicate or any forms of transmission that is
based on hearing;
• Visual communication uses aids such as pictures,
drawings, illustrations, and graphic organizers, like
charts and tables;
• Audiovisual media usually reinforce oral and written
communication, but they can communicate by
themselves.
ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
• Communication as a Process
Human communication is interpersonal,
it is purposive, and it is a process.
Question: What do we mean by process?
Answer: By process we mean that steps
have to be taken and in a set/particular
order to achieve a desired result/goal.
These are the important 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. CONTEXT
Communication does not take place in a
vacuum. The context of any communication act
is the environment surrounding it. This includes,
among other things, place, time, event, and
attitudes of sender and receiver.
7. 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).
• The communication process is dynamic,
continuous, irreversible, and contextual.
It is not possible to participate in any
element of the process without
acknowledging the existence and
functioning of the other elements.
• Source: http://cape-
commstudies.blogspot.com/2011/10/communication-process.html
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
• How do you define communication in
your own words?
• How important is communication to
you?
• How do you understand noise when
applied to communication?
