PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is derived from the Latin term “communis” (commonness, similarity, likeness,
resemblance, and parallelism)
➢ To establish commonness
➢ To build mutual understanding
➢ To share meanings
➢ To be able to have shared meanings
e.g., same meaning for a concept
Communication is related to Latin word “communicado” means to share
When there is commonness, there is an effective transmission of:
➢ Ideas
➢ Attitudes
➢ Knowledge
➢ Feelings
➢ Information
Communication is a TWO-WAY PROCESS by which information is exchanged between or among
individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, and behavior.
Common Field Experience (CFE) → sum of an individual’s experiences which influences them to
communicate.
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Communicators (Participants) → involve in the communication process
➢ Sender/Source → where information comes from
➢ Receiver → may or may not provide feedback
Factors that affect the fidelity of the source
❖ Communication Skills → expected that source is communicably-competent
❖ Knowledge Level → source must know more than enough information to share with the
receiver
❖ Attitude
o Towards self
o Towards subject matter
o Towards receiver
Receiver’s Sociological Orientation
❖ Group membership
❖ Roles and functions in group
❖ Reference groups
❖ Group norms and values
❖ Customs and traditions
Receiver’s Psychological Orientation
❖ Selective processes (of attention, perception and retention)
❖ Information processing capacity (mind as a “black box”)
❖ Perception
Receiver’s Sociological Orientation and Psychological Orientation
We have to look for in a receiver:
❖ Open-mindedness
❖ Self-esteem
❖ Beliefs and values
❖ Achievement motivation
❖ Risk orientation
Who is an effective source communicator?
❖ Someone who gets the effects he wants from the receiver after communicating with him.
❖ How is “effect” defined in communication?
❖ The difference between what a receiver thinks, feels, and does before and after exposure
to a message. It is always expressed in behavioral terms.
How does a communicator determine the effect he wants from a receiver?
❖ He must have a purpose, or an objective, expressed in behavioral terms.
How does a communicator know if he has been effective or not?
❖ If his purpose is equal to effect, then P=E.
What are the determinants of effect?
E = Sourcec + Messagec + Channelc + Receiverc
c = characteristics
2. Message
➢ The actual physical-product of the source-encoder
➢ Has a code, content, and treatment
➢ Each has its own element and structure
→ a composition of mental images, data, information, ideas, and concepts of a
communicator that are sent through a common system of symbols or signs.
→ is the core of the communication process
→ without it, the process and its purpose will be pointless and useless
Code → any group of symbols or signs that can be structured in such a way that it is meaningful
to some person e.g., sign language
Qualities of Effective Message
❖ Accuracy or Form
→ The accuracy or form of the message is the correctness or appropriateness of
the structure to represent the ideas, information, or meaning the sender intended to
deliver.
→This quality includes the arrangement of thoughts, the grammatical acceptability,
and linguistic components of the message.
❖ Meaningfulness or Sense
→ The meaningfulness or sense, on the other hand, is the validity or rationality of
the use and form to exemplify the message.
→This also characterizes the functionality, purposefulness, and significance of the
message to various situations.
❖ Appropriateness or Use
→ The appropriateness or use is the suitability and usefulness of the message on
a specified context.
→It entails the type of structure and the complexity of the meaning.
❖ Truthfulness
→ To measure the truthfulness is to check the veracity, honesty or sincerity of the
sender. It describes the genuineness and openness of content or meaning of the
message. Facticity focuses on the credibility of the basis, fact, source, and the image of
the sender.
❖ Specificity and Directness of the Subject
→ The specificity of the subject is the conciseness or simplicity of the structure of
the message. It is simple when it does not have unnecessary statements or components
such as redundancy, repetition, or empty phrases.
→ Directness shows the clarity of focus. The directness of form or structure is an
emphasis of the message on the subject, meaning, or intention.
❖ Availability and Usability of Media
→ The type, form, and use of the message can be carried based on the availability
and usability of media.
→ Media are technological resources available at the workplace, at home, in the
community and in the academe like social media, audio-visual and multimedia tools,
electronic machines, and communication devices. Media are used to amplify or enhance
the paralanguage of delivery, physical distance, and the number, scope and range of
receiver.
❖ Interest and Ability of Reception and Interpretation
→ The type, form and use of the message can also be delivered based on the
interest and ability of reception and interpretation of the receivers. Communication is not
a one-way process. It will be successful if the purpose of the process is fulfilled and that
is to receive and interpret the message accurately. Hence, the sender should be aware
of the ability of receivers like the level of language, understanding, or literary, academic
and professional affiliations, and the socio-political, cultural and historical orientations.
❖ Language
→ One of the major systems of symbols common to everyone.
→ An effective externalization of message is the consideration of appropriate level
of language.
→ Two levels of language. Formal language is utilized to highly specialized genre,
situation, or purpose of communication such as legal, medical, technical, academic or
industrial field. Informal language is used to a more conversational purpose like written
communication in the workplace and academic institutions like business letters or
memoranda.
→ Substandard language covers colloquial or everyday language such as SocMed
(social media) terms.
→ This does not require format or advanced grammatical considerations.
Purpose of the Message → the identification of the purpose is vital in determining the content
or meaning, the form or structure, the appropriateness, and the audience or the receiver of the
message because communication process will be successful if the expected purpose is met.
❖ Informative Message
→ The purpose of this message is to share knowledge or information that is
objective, truthful, and unbiased.
→ It contains highly significant details and facts.
→ The sender should have an image of composure and competence to deliver
efficiently the message.
❖ Affective Message
→ This message aims to express feeling of emotional charges or traits.
→ Most of the time, the message contains opinionated ideas or information based
on the personal point-of-view of the sender.
→ It is affective because it focuses more on the emotion of the sender rather than
the content or information.
❖ Relational or Social Message
→ Communication connects us to our family, school, community, and workplace.
→ Relational or social messages intend to fulfill social purposes such as familial
relationship, academic or professional performances, and daily endurance or resilience
to survive.
❖ Entertaining and Performative Message
→ The purpose of an entertaining message is achieved when it catches the
attention of the audience through light and enjoyable mode of delivery. The message is
usually pleasurable or delightful to the interest, culture, preferences, understanding or
literacy of the receiver. Similarly, a performative message keeps the enthusiasm of the
listener through arts, style and technique, and aesthetic standards. Entertaining and
performative messages can be delivered in various forms such as literature, humor, audio
and visual medium such as music and film, ceremonial and festival rites, games and
competitions, electronically- and technologically-enhanced performances, stunts, and
productions.
❖ Persuasive Message
→ An intention to influence, convince, convert or change somebody’s belief, ways,
actions, principles or ideals is a form of persuasion. A persuasive message is logical or
reasonable, informative or factual, and realistically relevant. The purpose of the message
also appeals to intelligent arguments and presentations. It further requires the image of
the sender that focuses on moral, academic, social and experiential credibility.
❖ Leading or Controlling Message
→ The objective of leading or controlling message is to guide, direct, manage, or
supervise individuals to common or personal goals. The message contains motivation,
directives, policies, rules, or laws. Informative and persuasive messages are also leading
and controlling.
FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
Forms of Symbols/Channels of Communication
❖ Sensory symbols → representations of message that are based on the ability of both the
sender and receiver to produce or receive symbols through their tactile, visual, auditory,
olfactory and gustatory senses.
❖ Internal symbols → representations of message that are not actually expressed but internally
sent to complete an intrapersonal communication (talking to oneself).
❖ External symbols → expressed representations of messages that can be observed and
perceived by the senses.
❖ Verbal or language symbols → linguistic representations of messages that are transmitted
through words. These symbols can be spoken or written.
❖ Spoken verbal symbols → vocal or oral representations of message that are articulated and
may integrate paralanguage or nonverbal components like intonation, speed, accent or stress,
pitch, tone, and volume.
❖ Written verbal symbols → visual representations of messages or words encoded on prints
and on other forms of publishing tools or materials.
❖ Nonverbal symbols → representations of message other than words. These include
appearance, body movements and other physical functions, voice, space, and time. These are
also classified as vocal and nonvocal symbols.
❖ Nonverbal vocal symbols → representations of message that may accompany spoken verbal
symbols (intonation, speed, accent or stress, pitch, tone or volume) or can be independent
nonverbal symbols (fillers, signs or screams).
❖ Nonverbal nonvocal symbols → the other symbols that are not spoken or orally delivered.
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Steps:
1. A message is originally formulated through the presence of internal and external stimuli that
are perceived by the senses and nerve endings.
2. When the perceived stimulus reached your conscious level and ranked it as the strongest,
you will eventually treat it as highly valuable or very significant, hence, may affect your brain in
responding through a message.
3. As you evaluate the stimulus, your brain identifies its merit or worth. The level of value or
significance of a stimulus depends on its prominence, relevance, and necessity to you as
communicator.
4. When a stimulus is accepted or discriminated, the conceptualization of a message occurs
based on your personal choice, ability, and desire; influences of the environment and communication
contexts; hereditary and biological abilities; experiential factors; and life orientation.
5. The conceptualization also recreates and restructures the meaning of the message into a
more acceptable and understandable sequence.
6. The externalization process of message starts when you are ready to encode or to convert
the conceptualized message into a set of meaningful, appropriate and accurate representations,
channels, or symbols.
7. This process utilizes a large repertoire of message representations which are divided into
various forms.
8. The message is heard and the speaker’s gestures are seen by the receiver who acts and
senses. The visual and auditory nerves are triggered by the speaker’s voice and gestures.
9. The receiver decodes the message he received from sound to language and encodes his own
message from thoughts to words.
10. The first sender receives the receiver’s response or feedback, evaluates and reacts to the
message using the same channel and the same manner of interchange.
3. Target Audience (part of Elements of Communication)
These are characteristics of possible target audience:
➢ Age and Generation
▪ The quality, forms, and purpose of message are reliant on age and generation of
the audience. The period or era when the audience lived shows their culture,
education, and history. Age and generation of the audience also parallel to their
language use and level of understanding. This also involves their experiences on
available technology, the structure of the community, and issues concerning
politics, religion, society and environment.
➢ Sex and Gender
▪ Sex and gender of the audience are determinants of linguistic components of a
message. Sex is the biological condition or physical traits. Whereas, gender is a
social and personal construct of preferences. These traits and preferences are
factors that can influence the content, form and use of message which may
eventually satisfy or please the members of the audience.
➢ Language Register
▪ To reach the audience of different profiles, it is a must to scan the language register
that they can easily comprehend. Language register is the level of formality, and
the variety of symbol used on a particular purpose or situation.
▪ It may vary according to culture, affiliation, profession, education of the person.
➢ Educational Level
▪ It is evident that academic background develops, influences or affects linguistic
literacy, proficiency, and fluency. This may entail that the ability to understand or
comprehend of the target audience is consistent to their level of education. Hence,
the educational level should be a factor in conceptualizing the message.
➢ Economic Background
▪ Life style; financial stability and capability; resources for education, and welfare;
occupation and livelihood; and status or position in the community and workplace
are the components of economic background that comes with it. It is a necessity
to include these factors in creating a message because it determines the
audience’s level of accessibility to literacy to various discipline, to experience the
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fundamental components of society, to engage to different struggles and learnings,
and to nurture life and various facet.
Social Role and Function
▪ The social roles and functions refer to a relative set of traits, purposes, tasks,
actions or norms that are expected to fulfill social obligations, duties, or trusts.
These are defined or mandated by the audience’s connection to institutions like
government, school, or workstation. Thus, this may construct their familiarity,
understanding or expertise to several social constituents. Hence, considering the
audience’s social role and function helps us to produce message that might interest
them.
Professional Affiliation
▪ Practices of career and profession manifest interest, knowledge or expertise of the
audience. They also reflect the language register and terminologies that are taught
to them by their profession. It may also signal their socio-economic background or
their level of the education. Therefore, audience’s professional affiliation matters in
the conceptualization of the structure and content of the message.
Culture and Values
▪ A good message is free from vulgar, derogatory, or offensive contents such blatant
labeling, racism, and sexism. That is why it is also important to scan the audience’s
culture, and values. Culture is a repertoire of normative and social traits or
characteristics shared by a community in a locale. This includes belief, practices,
and tradition. On the other hand, values cover behavior, attitude and guidelines
relating to ethics and morality. Through this characteristic, the sender may be
carefully guided to compose a message that is more appropriate and desirable to
the audience’s ears.
Number or Size
▪ The population of the audience can also affect the purpose, content and length,
mode of delivery, and the language register. For an instance, if the level of
communication is on intrapersonal – the communication within self – does not
require highly formalized delivery and register. It should be more conversational or
intimate. If the communication context requires larger audience like public or mass
communication, the delivery needs an amplifying medium to reach the target
audience.
Other Ways of Presenting the Message
❖ Audience Participation
▪ Most of the time, presentation of message is focused on the delivery of the sender.
The sender acts as the only source of information. To make the process or
presentation creative, the sender may act as the facilitator of the message. The
audience may be asked to participate conducted activities. This may solicit the
audience’s contribution to the depth and value of message.
❖ Use of Humor
▪ A message can also be delivered through the use of humor. This lightens up the
mood and atmosphere of the event, however, the message is sometimes
ambiguous. Delivering humor requires an exceptional skill especially when the
event is not intended to be entertaining.
❖ Spatial Approach
▪ One of the most effective ways to send a message is the spatial approach or the
use of space. The sender may use distance, sitting arrangement, the structure of
the venue, and the available equipment.
❖ Storytelling
▪ Anecdotal messages can arouse audience’s imagination because of the
experiences and learnings that they can relate with.
❖ Specimen
▪ The sender may bring and use objects, materials, visual, or tools that may
concretely show, represent, or explain difficult concepts. This may present actual
usage or function that is being taught or said
❖ Physical Appearance
▪ In presenting as message, the best visual aid is your physical appearance. Your
presence reflects a lot of meaning. This may also indicate the event’s level of
formality and purpose of message.
❖ Integration of Technology
▪ The use of technology in communication is vital in extending the means of delivering
a message. Technology augments or enhances different facets in the
communication process.
COMMUNICATION MODELS
❖ Representation of reality, presented diagrammatically, and depict relationships among elements
❖ How author conceives/explains communication, represent different perspectives, and is shaped
by different theories and perspectives in the social sciences
❖ Functions:
o To clarify the scope of human interaction
o To point out where to look and under what conditions
o To show the variables in human communication
o Used as a frame work in researches
Linear Model
➢ A one-way activity where information flows from sender to receiver
➢ Active sender who conveys a message to a passive receiver
➢ Example is print and broadcast media
➢ No response is provided by the receiver
Interactive Communication Model
➢ Characterizes communication as a two-way process
➢ The sender formulates and transmits a message to a receiver who, in turn, formulates and sends
a response called feedback
➢ Examples are telephone conversation and an interview
Transaction Model
➢ Simultaneous (exchange of information)
➢ Presence of Noise
➢ Commonness (common field of experience)
➢ Communication Gap (between sender and receiver)
➢ End result is sharing of meaning between the sender
and receiver
Osgood And Schramm Circular Communication Model → when an encoder sends a message that
is received by the decoder who turns into interpreter and once it is understood, the decoder (become
an encoder) encodes what they want to share about the message received and gives feedback
➢ Circular
➢ Stagnant
Dance Helical Communication Model
➢ It emphasizes that the longer two people converse, the more progressive communication is,
advancing from one level or state to another