Communication skills 1
comm 1101
•By Ziliro Mchulu
•0996923940
COURSE
OUTLINE
Topic 1:
Comm 1101
Topic outline
•Definition of Communication
•Process of Communication
•Basic Theories of Communication
Definition of communication
• The term communication is derived from the Latin
word'communicare‘ which means 'to make common'
• Theodorson and Theodorson (1969) viewed
communication as a process of transformation of
information ideas, attitudes or emotions from one
person or group to another or others primarily
through symbols
Definition of communication
• Schramm, (1971) conceived communication as a process of
transferring feelings, motivations, ideas and knowledge from one
mind to another, in a way in which the receiver was seen as a passive
agent.
• A simple and modern definition by Taylor (2000) views
communication as the act of giving, receiving or exchanging
information, ideas and opinions so that the „message is completely
understood by both parties.
• Since the systematic study of communication began in colleges and
universities a little over one hundred years ago, there have been more
than 126 published definitions of communication
Elements of communication
• Communication as the process of passing information and
understanding from one person to another, it involves six basic
elements:
• SENDER (ENCODER)
• MESSAGE
• CHANNEL
• RECEIVER (DECODER),
• NOISE
• FEEDBACK
Elements of communication
• 1. SENDER (ENCODER)
• Initiates the communication process
• One has a purpose to start the communication
process
• The sender encodes the message and decides the
channel
• To encode is to put a message into words or images
(codes + codes=information)
Elements of communication
• 2. MESSAGE
• The message is the information that the
sender wants to transmit
• This is a product of encoding
• This can be feelings, orders, requests .etc
Elements of communication
• 3. CHANNEL (MEDIUM)
• This is what takes the message to the receiver
• A channel is anything that connects the sender and the receiver
• The sender decides this:
• Face to face
• Oral- (phone call)
• Written (Letters, books)
• Visuals (pictures, charts, diagrams)
Elements of communication
• FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A CHANNEL
• Cost of the channel (expensive/ cheap)
• Urgency of the message
• The nature of the message (private or confidential)
• The distance between the sender and the receiver
• The viability of the message (safety from distortion)
• Abilities of the recipient to handle the channel (ICT knowledge )
• Need for interaction
• Need to keep written records (examination issues)
Elements of communication
• 4. RECEIVER
• This is the recipient of the message
• The receiver decodes the message
• Decoding is the process of getting meaning out of the
symbols that were encoded
• This goes beyond “decoding” at times
• “reading between lines”
Elements of communication
• 5. FEEDBACK
• Feedback is a reaction or response given by the receiver to a message
received
• Feedback represents a reversal of the flow of communication
• Feedback can be positive or negative
• It can be immediate or delayed
• This is essential in the communication process because it assures the
sender that the message has been delivered
• Even a lack of response, is in a sense, a form of response" (Bovee & Thill, 1992).
Elements of communication
• 6. NOISE
• Noise essentially is anything that distorts a message by
interfering with the communication process.
• The noise take three forms: Internal, external and
semantic
• Internal (psychological) noise happens within the
participants (sender or receiver )
• External noise comes from the environment and affects
the physical state of the message
Elements of communication
• 6. NOISE
• Semantic (linguistic noise)
• It occurs when people have different meanings for different
words and phrases
• Language use is different
• E.g Chitsilu is a good person in Sena while it the opposite in
Chichewa
• Ku gunda in Tumbuka is sex (obscene) while in Chichewa it is
not
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION
Interactive: Whenever communication takes place, there a speaker and a
listener or a writer and a reader who must interact
Purposive: The speaker has a purpose for speaking while the listener is
interested in discovering the purpose
It is possible for communication to have both intentional and unintentional
results and effects (joke or insult? Love proposal or sexual harassment?)
Communication is a process that involves giving each other turns.
Communication involves the use of symbols eg movement, gestures, etc
which represent the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. To some extent,
both the source and the receiver understand the meanings of these
symbols
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
COMMUNICATION
Un-repeatability and Irreversibility
• Every communication is unique, it can be similar but not
the same
• It is impossible to repeat a communication activity
• Furthermore, a message once communicated cannot be
held back
• You can send a counter message but you cannot take the
words back
TYPES OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION
•1. VERBAL COMMUNICATION
•This is communication that uses
words
•It can either be oral or written
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• 2. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• It refers to interpersonal communication that takes place
without the use of spoken words or a language
• It can also look at the behaviours of people other than the
use of words
• Nonverbal communication can be used independently or
together with verbal communication to complement the
words eg saying “no” while shaking your head
TYPES OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• 2. BODY MOVEMENT
• Body movement or body language is also called Kinesics,
• This is a Greek word for movement and refers to all forms of body
movement:
• Posture
• Gesture
• Facial Expressions
TYPES OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• 3. CHRONEMICS
• Chronemics is the study of how we use time to
communicate.
• The usage of time communicates e.g arrival,
utilization, speed etc
• Be mindful of how you use time everywhere
TYPES OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• 4. PROXEMICS
• This is the study of space and distance around people including the
distance they maintain from others.
• The concept focuses on Territory – this is the space that a person
considers as belonging to him or her either temporarily or
permanently
• It can be intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and
public distance.
• Be mindful of the space you take or give
TYPES OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• 5. Haptics
• Haptics Is the study of touch.
• The amount of touching we do or find
acceptable is, at least in part, culturally
conditioned.
• Touch is relationship dependent
• How we touch sends messages about us.
TYPES OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
• 7. DRESSING AND GROOMING
• Dressing is also another way of transmitting messages. The way one
dresses tells a story.
• It is important to dress to suit the occasion
• 8. PICTURES
•
COMMUNICATION THEORIES
• A theory is a system of ideas that attempts to explain something
• A theory is a methodology for understanding a concept
• Theories explain why things happen the way they do
• Theories in communication attempt to explain how communication
occurs
• Theories give birth to models which dramatize the theory
1. Mathematical
2. Interactive
3. Transaction
COMMUNICATION THEORIES
• 1. THE MATHEMATICAL THEORY OF COMMUNICATION
• This is also known as the Linear or Transmission model of
communication
• It describes communication as a linear, one-way process in
which a sender intentionally transmits a message to a receiver
• This model does not display the feedback element, which
indicates continuous exchange of information.
• The Linear model best represent mass communication e.g via
radio or television.
THE MATHEMATICAL THEORY OF COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION THEORIES
• This describes communication as a process
where participants alternate positions as sender
and receiver through feedback
• This makes communication interactive since it
becomes a two-way process
• The inclusion of feedback allows a more complex
understanding of the roles of communication
COMMUNICATION THEORIES
• 3. THE TRANSACTION MODEL
• This is the most dynamic and complex model
• The model argues that people are always interacting and
transacting through sending and receiving messages
• In this theory participants are called communicators
• They communicate continuously and simultaneously
• The theory argues that communication happens in a social,
rational and cultural context
•Reading assignment : 7Cs of
communication
•let us stop here for today
•End of topic
