LESSON 3

EXPLAINING THE
PROCESS OF
COMMUNICATION
 Communication comes about
when the Message is imparted as
information. At the minimum,
two persons are involved in the
process: the one who delivers the
Message and one who receives
and understand the Message.
 Elements of Communication

a. Speaker chooses his/her purpose, crafts the

message accordingly, and decides how to deliver
it.
E.g.
When the president delivers his SONA
In other forms of communication, the
Speaker might not be as obvious because both
participants alternate as Speaker. Everyone can
become a speaker from time to time (but not at
the same time!)
b. The Message is what needs to be
delivered or imparted to somebody else.
The message to be sent is based on why
the Speaker wants to say it, what the
Speaker wants to say and how the
Speaker wants to say it. It can be seen
in formal speeches; even in informal
communication, there is always a
message.
E.g.
Formal speech:
 Speech of Pope Francis at the 2015 Youth
Summit at the University of Santo Tomas
Informal Speeches:
 The student talks with the teacher to ask about
the assignment given when he was absent.
 Convincing his friends to go to the mall after
class
c. The Listener receives the Message and
makes sense of what is said and reacts to it.
Even if the Speaker is great and the Message
is beautiful, if there is no Listener or the
Listener is not paying attention,
communication fails. Communication is an
interactive process and if the Speaker is
one-half of the communication, then
the Listener is the other half.
E.g.
 Someone wants to tell his
bestfriend about something but his
bestfriend is absent. Even more
disappointing if his friend is present
but for some reason does not want
to listen to what the student wants
to say.
d. Channels are the means by which
the Message is sent. There are only five
channels: ears, eyes, skin, mouth, and
nose. Messages are first received through
ears by hearing, gestures and facial
expressions are received by the eyes
through seeing and the skin, mouth, and
nose for imparting and receiving of
messages.
E.g.
 Comforting relatives whose house has just burned
down. Not knowing what to say, an arm around their
shoulders or an embrace will “say” the message.
Crying with them may be even better.
 When someone sticks her tongue out after having
eaten something; this tells the people around her
that what she has just eaten is sour/bitter/hot.
 The smell of food emanating from a restaurant that
one passes by that is meant to tempt potential diners
to come in and eat.
e. The Response is the only way the Speaker knows the
Message has been received. The Response is based on the
Interpretation of the Message by the listener whether it is
positive or negative.
E.g.
Positive:
Listeners will say yes, nod their heads, smile, or clap their
hands.
Negative:
They will frown, boo, refuse to clap (or clap just out of
politeness), even walk out, or walk away.
f. Feedback is the result of
monitoring by the Speaker of the
Listener’s Response. The Speaker
needs to watch out for this Response
to know if the Message was
effectively imparted or not. What the
Feedback is helps the Speaker in
continuing with the next Message.
g. “Noise” is any barrier to communication. It could be:
1. Physical noise – actual noise
Examples: loud music or the irritating engine of a
motorcycle
2. Physiological noise – when the body becomes a
hindrance to good communication
Examples: because of headache or toothache.
3. Psychological noise – occurs when one is thinking
deeply about something or is suffering from an emotional
condition which discourages participation in a
communication situation.
h. Communicative Situation has two
components: the physical location and the
psychological setting.
1. Physical location – chosen for the purpose it
will serve
Examples:
- a classroom that can be used for a meeting
- an auditorium which can be transformed into a
theatre for a play
- the streets that serve as the setting for rallies.
2. Psychological setting – depends on the participants
Examples:
- The classroom is for teaching, but the Parent-Teacher
Association PTA holds its meeting there.
- The auditorium for school programs is now the stage
for the Drama Club’s production of “Supremo”, the Life
of Bonifacio.
- The streets meant for moving vehicles to traverse is
now used by the group is now used by the group One
Billion Rising to hold a rally protesting violence
against women.
 These elements are present in all
of our communication. They
combine, interact, and are
intertwined in the process of
communication. Everything proceeds
smoothly when the elements of
communication work properly.
Using the Class List of Communication Activities, cite
the elements of communication for each specific
activity. Justify the presence or absence of each
element in the said activity.

1. What is the communicative situation?

2. Who/what is the Speaker/Source of the
Message?
3. What is the Message being sent?
4. Who is the intended Listener or Receiver?
5. Is “noise” present?
6. Is feedback possible?