OLR #1

Nicole Joy Hernandez Oral Communication

ICT 11 – 03 Ms. Richweng Pacheco

Communication
 from Latin communicare, meaning "to share
 is the act of conveying meanings from one entity or group to another through the use of
mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic rules.

MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

 Shannon and Weaver. The original model was designed to mirror the functioning of
radio and telephone technologies. Their initial model consisted of three primary
parts: sender, channel, and receiver. The sender was the part of a telephone a person
spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the
phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized
that often there is static that interferes with one listening to a telephone conversation,
which they deemed noise. The noise could also mean the absence of signal. In a simple
model, often referred to as the transmission model or standard view of
communication, information or content (e.g. a message in natural language) is sent in
some form (as spoken language) from an emisor/ sender/ encoder to a destination/
receiver/ decoder. This common conception of communication views communication as
a means of sending and receiving information. The strengths of this model are
simplicity, generality, and quantifiability. Social scientists Claude Shannon and Warren
Weaver structured this model based on the following elements: An information source,
which produces a message. A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals.
A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission. A receiver, which 'decodes'
(reconstructs) the message from the signal. A destination, where the message
arrives. Shannon and Weaver argued that there were three levels of problems for
communication within this theory. The technical problem: how accurately can the
message be transmitted? The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning
'conveyed'? The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning
affect behavior? Daniel Chandler critiques the transmission model by stating: It assumes
communicators are isolated individuals. No allowance for differing purposes. No
allowance for differing interpretations. No allowance for unequal power relations. No
allowance for situational contexts.

 David Berlo. In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) linear
model of communication and created the SMCR Model of Communication. The Sender-
Message-Channel-Receiver Model of communication separated the model into clear
parts and has been expanded upon by other scholars.

 Schramm. Communication is usually described along a few major dimensions: Message

(what type of things are communicated), source / emisor / sender / encoder (by whom),
form (in which form), channel (through which medium), destination / receiver / target
/decoder (to whom), and Receiver. Wilbur Schramm (1954) also indicated that we
 should also examine the impact that a message has (both desired and undesired) on the
target of the message. Between parties, communication includes acts that confer
knowledge and experiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts
may take many forms, in one of the various manners of communication. The form
depends on the abilities of the group communicating. Together, communication content
and form make messages that are sent towards a destination. The target can be oneself,
another person or being, another entity (such as a corporation or group of beings).
Communication can be seen as processes of information transmission governed by
three levels of semiotic rules: Syntactic (formal properties of signs and symbols),
Pragmatic (concerned with the relations between signs/expressions and their users) and
Semantic (study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent).
Therefore, communication is social interaction where at least two interacting agents
share a common set of signs and a common set of semiotic rules. This commonly held
rule in some sense ignores autocommunication, including intrapersonal
communication via diaries or self-talk, both secondary phenomena that followed the
primary acquisition of communicative competences within social interactions.

 Barnlund. In light of these weaknesses, Barnlund (2008) proposed a transactional model

of communication. The basic premise of the transactional model of communication is
that individuals are simultaneously engaging in the sending and receiving of messages.
In a slightly more complex form a sender and a receiver are linked reciprocally. This
second attitude of communication, referred to as the constitutive model or
constructionist view, focuses on how an individual communicates as the determining
factor of the way the message will be interpreted. Communication is viewed as a
conduit; a passage in which information travels from one individual to another and this
information becomes separate from the communication itself. A particular instance of
communication is called a speech act. The sender's personal filters and the receiver's
personal filters may vary depending upon different regional traditions, cultures, or
gender; which may alter the intended meaning of message contents. In the presence of
"communication noise" on the transmission channel (air, in this case), reception and
decoding of content may be faulty, and thus the speech act may not achieve the desired
effect. One problem with this encode-transmit-receive-decode model is that the
processes of encoding and decoding imply that the sender and receiver each possess
something that functions as a codebook, and that these two code books are, at the very
least, similar if not identical. Although something like code books is implied by the
model, they are nowhere represented in the model, which creates many conceptual
difficulties. Theories of coregulation describe communication as a creative and dynamic
continuous process, rather than a discrete exchange of information. Canadian media
scholar Harold Innis had the theory that people use different types of media to
communicate and which one they choose to use will offer different possibilities for the
shape and durability of society (Wark, McKenzie 1997). His famous example of this is
using ancient Egypt and looking at the ways they built themselves out of media with
very different properties stone and papyrus. Papyrus is what he called 'Space Binding'. it
made possible the transmission of written orders across space, empires and enables the
waging of distant military campaigns and colonial administration. The other is stone and
'Time Binding', through the construction of temples and the pyramids can sustain their
authority generation to generation, through this media they can change and shape
communication in their society (Wark, McKenzie 1997).

 Psychology of communication. Bernard Luskin, UCLA, 1970, advanced computer

assisted instruction and began to connect media and psychology into what is now the
field of media psychology. In 1998, the American Association of Psychology, Media
Psychology Division 46 Task Force report on psychology and new technologies combined
 media and communication as pictures, graphics and sound increasingly dominate
modern communication.

 Constructionist Model. There is an additional working definition of communication to

consider that authors like Richard A. Lanham (2003) and as far back as Erving Goffman
(1959) have highlighted. This is a progression from Lasswell’s attempt to define human
communication through to this century and revolutionized into the constructionist
model. Constructionists believe that the process of communication is in itself the only
messages that exist. The packaging can not be separated from the social and historical
context from which it arose, therefore the substance to look at in communication
theory is style for Richard Lanham and the performance of self for Erving Goffman.
Lanham chose to view communication as the rival to the over encompassing use of CBS
model (which pursued to further the transmission model). CBS model argues that
clarity, brevity, and sincerity are the only purpose to prose discourse, therefore
communication. Lanham wrote, “If words matter too, if the whole range of human
motive is seen as animating prose discourse, then rhetoric analysis leads us to the
essential questions about prose style” (Lanham 10). This is saying that rhetoric and style
are fundamentally important; they are not errors to what we actually intend to
transmit. The process which we construct and deconstruct meaning deserves analysis.
Erving Goffman sees the performance of self as the most important frame to
understand communication. Goffman wrote, “What does seem to be required of the
individual is that he learn enough pieces of expression to be able to ‘fill in’ and manage,
more or less, any part that he is likely to be given” (Goffman 73) Goffman is highlighting
the significance of expression. The truth in both cases is the articulation of the message
and the package as one. The construction of the message from social and historical
context is the seed as is the pre-existing message is for the transmission model.
Therefore any look into communication theory should include the possibilities drafted
by such great scholars as Richard A. Lanham and Erving Goffman that style and
performance is the whole process. Communication stands so deeply rooted in
human behaviors and the structures of society that scholars have difficulty thinking of it
while excluding social or behavioral events. Because communication theory remains a
relatively young field of inquiry and integrates itself with other disciplines such as
philosophy, psychology, and sociology, one probably cannot yet expect a consensus
conceptualization of communication across disciplines. Communication Model Terms as
provided by Rothwell (11-15): Noise; interference with effective transmission and
reception of a message. Sender; the initiator and encoder of a message. Receiver; the
one that receives the message (the listener) and the decoder of a message. Decode;
translates the senders spoken idea/message into something the receiver understands by
using their knowledge of language from personal experience. Encode; puts the idea into
spoken language while putting their own meaning into the word/message. Channel; the
medium through which the message travels such as through oral communication (radio,
television, phone, in person) or written communication (letters, email, text messages)
Feedback; the receivers verbal and nonverbal responses to a message such as a nod for
understanding (nonverbal), a raised eyebrow for being confused (nonverbal), or asking a
question to clarify the message (verbal). Message; the verbal and nonverbal
components of language that is sent to the receiver by the sender which conveys an
idea.

 Linear Model. It is a one way model to communicate with others. It consists of the
sender encoding a message and channeling it to the receiver in the presence of noise.
Draw backs – the linear model assumes that there is a clear cut beginning and end to
communication. It also displays no feedback from the receiver. For example; a letter,
email, text message, lecture.
 Interactive Model. It is two linear models stacked on top of each other. The sender
channels a message to the receiver and the receiver then becomes the sender and
channels a message to the original sender. This model has added feedback, indicates
that communication is not a one way but a two way process. It also has “field of
experience” which includes our cultural background, ethnicity geographic location,
extend of travel, and general personal experiences accumulated over the course of your
lifetime. Draw backs – there is feedback but it is not simultaneous. For example –
instant messaging. The sender sends an IM to the receiver, then the original sender has
to wait for the IM from the original receiver to react. Or a question/answer session
where you just ask a question then you get an answer.

 Transactional Model. It assumes that people are connected through communication;

they engage in transaction. Firstly, it recognizes that each of us is a sender-receiver, not
merely a sender or a receiver. Secondly, it recognizes that communication affects all
parties involved. So communication is fluid/simultaneous. This is how most conversation
are like. The transactional model also contains ellipses that symbolize the
communication environment (how you interpret the data that you are given). Where
the ellipses meet is the most effect communication area because both communicators
share the same meaning of the message. For example – talking/listening to friends.
While your friend is talking you are constantly giving them feedback on what you think
through your facial expression verbal feedback without necessarily stopping your friend
from talking.

 Communication cycle. The first major model for communication came in 1949 by Claude
Shannon and Warren Weaver for Bell Laboratories. The original model was designed to
mirror the functioning of radio and telephone technologies. Their initial model consisted
of three primary parts: sender, channel, and receiver. The sender was the part of a
telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver
was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver
also recognized that often there is static that interferes with one listening to a
telephone conversation, which they deemed noise. In a simple model, often referred to
as the transmission model or standard view of communication, information or content
(e.g. a message in natural language) is sent in some form (as spoken language) from an
emisor/ sender/ encoder to a destination/ receiver/ decoder. This common conception
of communication simply views communication as a means of sending and receiving
information. The strengths of this model are simplicity, generality, and quantifiability.
Social scientists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this model based on
the following elements: An information source, which produces a message. A
transmitter, which encodes the message into signals. A channel, to which signals are
adapted for transmission. A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from
the signal. A destination, where the message arrives. Shannon and Weaver argued that
there were three levels of problems for communication within this theory. The technical
problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted? The semantic problem: how
precisely is the meaning 'conveyed'? The effectiveness problem: how effectively does
the received meaning affect behavior? Daniel Chandler critiques the transmission model
by stating: It assumes communicators are isolated individuals. No allowance for differing
purposes. No allowance for differing interpretations. No allowance for unequal power
relations. No allowance for situational contexts.

 Communication noise. In any communication model, noise is interference with the

decoding of messages sent over a channel by an encoder. There are many examples of
noise: Environmental Noise: Noise that physically disrupts communication, such as
standing next to loud speakers at a party, or the noise from a construction site next to a
classroom making it difficult to hear the professor.
 1. Physiological-Impairment Noise: Physical maladies that prevent effective
communication, such as actual deafness or blindness preventing messages from being received
as they were intended.
2. Semantic Noise: Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words. For
example, the word "weed" can be interpreted as an undesirable plant in a yard, or as a
euphemism for marijuana.
3. Syntactical Noise: Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such as
abrupt changes in verb tense during a sentence.
4. Organizational Noise: Poorly structured communication can prevent the receiver
from accurate interpretation. For example, unclear and badly stated directions can make the
receiver even more lost.
5. Cultural Noise: Stereotypical assumptions can cause misunderstandings, such as
unintentionally offending a non-Christian person by wishing them a "Merry Christmas".
6. Psychological Noise: Certain attitudes can also make communication difficult. For
instance, great anger or sadness may cause someone to lose focus on the present moment.
Disorders such as Autism may also severely hamper effective communication.

7 Major Elements of Communication Process

Seven major elements of communication process are: (1) sender (2) ideas (3) encoding (4)
communication channel (5) receiver (6) decoding and (7) feedback.

Communication may be defined as a process concerning exchange of facts or ideas between

persons holding different positions in an organization to achieve mutual harmony. The
communication process is dynamic in nature rather than a static phenomenon.

Communication process as such must be considered a continuous and dynamic inter-action,

both affecting and being affected by many variables.

(1) Sender:

The person who intends to convey the message with the intention of passing information and
ideas to others is known as sender or communicator.

(2) Ideas:

This is the subject matter of the communication. This may be an opinion, attitude, feelings,
views, orders, or suggestions.

(3) Encoding:

Since the subject matter of communication is theoretical and intangible, its further passing
requires use of certain symbols such as words, actions or pictures etc. Conversion of subject
matter into these symbols is the process of encoding.

(4) Communication Channel:

The person who is interested in communicating has to choose the channel for sending the
required information, ideas etc. This information is transmitted to the receiver through certain
channels which may be either formal or informal.
(5) Receiver:

Receiver is the person who receives the message or for whom the message is meant for. It is
the receiver who tries to understand the message in the best possible manner in achieving the
desired objectives.

(6) Decoding:

The person who receives the message or symbol from the communicator tries to convert the
same in such a way so that he may extract its meaning to his complete understanding.

(7) Feedback:

Feedback is the process of ensuring that the receiver has received the message and understood
in the same sense as sender meant it.

5 Types of Communication

1) Verbal Communication

Verbal communication can also be called as Oral communication. In very simple terms, any
communication that happens orally between people is known as verbal communication. The
objective of such communications is to ensure that people understand whatever you want to
convey. Because of its very nature, verbal communications is more quick and precise then email
communication.

In the era of messaging via Whatsapp or using email, people still prefer personal meetings or
phone calls (or face to face skype calls) because they are effective and much more convenient
in conveying the message.

Nowadays, Verbal communication is an important aspect and is looked as a key strength in an

individual.

A manager or an executive needs to have good verbal communication skills. A manager has to
handle a team of people and he needs to be skilled to convince the team of people in acting like
he wants them to. Executives meet many customers who are each different in terms of their
understanding and talking skills. Thus, Executives to need excellent verbal communication skills.

The higher up an organization you go, the better should be the verbal skills that you have. This
is because you need to ensure that your speech is precise and to the point and does not leave
any scope for any misunderstanding.
An M.D or a C.E.O may be giving a television interview which is being watched by 100’s of
stakeholders of the company. Their speech and verbal communication need to be precise so
that they don’t mess up or are not misunderstood. Even in tough times, the verbal
communication skills of these leaders play a major part in consoling the crowd.

Example of people who were great at the verbal type of communications.

 Nelson Mandela
 Martin Luther King
 John F Kennedy
 Mahatma Gandhi

2) Non-verbal / Interpersonal communication

How do you make people feel when you enter the room? Is your body language strong and are
you standing straight and erect or are you slouched and tired? Are you clean shaven, looking
your immaculate best for a team meeting or are you shabby with shirts that are not ironed?
When you shake hands, do you do so strongly or do you just brush your hand against others?

The above were some examples of Non-verbal communications or interpersonal

communications. One of the HR requirements for new joiners in an organization is for them to
have good interpersonal skills. This basically means that the employees should brush up on
their non-verbal skills.

If you were in a sales meeting and you have not achieved your target, how will you react? Will
you be steady and calm or will you panic and stutter? These are important non-verbal skills and
your growth might depend on them.

A manager who panics and who is not good at non-verbal communication will generally not be
a favorite with his team members. This is because his team members do not look up to him. A
manager who stutters, who is not well dressed, who has the wrong body language or someone
who is not a strong personality, will not gather a huge following behind him.

However, people with good personalities go a long way in motivating the employees below
them. If an employee is demotivated, just keeping a hand on their shoulder and saying a few
motivating words is enough for the employee. Taunting them or making faces when talking to
them, ignoring them completely or imitating them will demotivate the employee even further.
Thus, non-verbal skills play a major role in office culture.

As employees grow into managers and as managers grow into leaders, they become better and
better at a non-verbal type of communications. They know that their own calm headed
behavior at times of panic is what will keep the team in check. Similarly, they don’t let their
teams get complacent when the going is good.

Example of the Non-verbal type of communications

In Customer service, non-verbal and interpersonal skills play a huge role. Imagine you were
unhappy with a product and you went to the customer service department. Instead of
understanding your problem, the customer service executive gives a rude reply. Repeatedly you
visit them and even though the problem is not resolved, you don’t get a satisfactory answer.

Compare that with a customer service department which smiles when you come in. They
reassure you that they are on top of your problem. They are proactive and update you
themselves on when to expect the problem to be resolved. Later on, they follow up whether
you were satisfied with the response and if there was anything they could do further.

This smile, the body language of reassurance, the listening ability are all non-verbal type of
communications. A good customer service executive will pay special attention to them and will
ensure that you leave satisfied! Hiring good customer service executives, who have great
interpersonal skills, is the sign of a good organization which is focused on customer satisfaction.

3) Written Communications

There are many many ways that written communications can be used. The number of ways is
ever increasing with the penetration of smartphones and the internet. One of the most
common forms of written communications used till date is Email. But slowly, written type of
communications is becoming more informal with Whatsapp and other online messaging apps
being used regularly.

All different forms of written communication can be formal or informal. If today, we visit a
court of law, you will find that even Whatsapp messages are considered to be legal in nature. In
fact, there have been so many cases of celebrities brought under the scanner because of wrong
written communications on their social media account.

Thus, the above example is further proof that written communication needs to be used safely
and effectively. In fact, written communication between friends can be informal but this type of
communication between working professionals should always be formal so that any misquoted
words are not misused with ill intent.

The advantage of written communication is that it acts as the final word once a decision has
been taken. When you quote your prices to the customer, when you rank a dealer on top, when
you promote an employee or when you launch a new product, you use written communication
to communicate the update to your team and your employees.

A problem with written communication is that it becomes too formal and might incite ego or
various political problems when written communication is used. Newspapers are perfect
examples of written words which create controversy.
There is a very apt quotation “Words are mightier than swords”. A wrong email delivered in the
wrong hands can cause the world to turn upside down. The many emails and documents
released by Edward Snowden which brought the US government under the scanner, are perfect
examples of how to use written documents safely and privately otherwise they can bring a
whole organization tumbling down (whether justified or not is a different discussion)

4) Formal & Informal

There are two types of communication when considering the formality of the communication.
One is the formal and official type of communication which can be emails, letterheads, memos,
reports and other such kinds of written material. These are considered as documentary
evidence and certain formality is associated with them. You cannot submit such formal
documents and later deny them.

Informal communication is one where there is nothing official about the communication that is
happening. It can be known as Grapevine communication. There is no specific channel of
informal communication because there is Social media, Whatsapp, SMS which are all vehicles of
informal communication which can be used by people.

Advantages of formal communication

 When you want to finalize policy and want to decide a course to adopt, then formal
communication is more effective
 Formal communication can help in establishing procedures and ensuring that the steps
are followed.
 Any promises or any official plans need to be formally documented so that they can be
referred to later.

Advantages of informal communication

 informal communication helps the “Open door policy” and makes people more
confident and forthcoming with their ideas and creativity.
 Informal communication does not incite fear into peoples mind
 Informal talks encourage people to share their problems.

The problem with formal communication is that it is not personal and a distance is maintained
if you use only formal communications. Whereas on the other hand, informal conversations can
get out of hand and there can be negative grapevine generated.

5) Visual Communication
One of the industries which most prominently uses Visual communication is the medical
industry. New medicines which come into the market have to be shown to doctors and the
advantages have to be explained. At such times, the medical representatives carry informative
pamphlets which are shown to the doctors and dropped with the doctors.

These informative pamphlets have all the information about the medicine so that doctors can
feel confident in suggesting the medicine to their patients. Similarly, many different industries
are using visual communication to help interaction with their customers so that they can
communicate their ideas better. Explainer videos as a concept is rising and is becoming as one
of the best types of communication observed on websites.

There are many elements in visual communication that can be used by marketers or
companies.

 Colors (such as brand colors)

 Design (logo and brand design)
 Advertising
 Animations
 Illustrations
 Typography
 Presentations
 Video resume’s

In person to person communication too visual communication plays a role. Consider the
diagrams made by teachers on blackboards when explaining a concept to a class of students. Or
we can also take the example of graphs made in powerpoints by managers when doing a
powerpoint presentation to a team of executives or seniors.

To summarize, the type of communication most common are

In teams

 Formal Communication
 Verbal Communication and Non-verbal communication
 Written communication
 Visual communication

In group of people

 Informal Communication
 Verbal and Non-verbal communication
 Informal written communications