Unit 1: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics

Unit 1: Communication Processes, Principles, and

Ethics

Introduction

In this unit, you will learn about communication processes, principles, and
ethics.
In your personal life, in school, in the community and in your workplace
later, take note that effective communication is vital for success. Faced with people
of different beliefs, values, attitudes and backgrounds, communication processes,
principles, and ethics become necessary. In real world scenarios, you need to engage
in group discussions, make presentations and interact with different people. If you
do not have the necessary and purposive communication skills, you will have a hard
time relating with others in different situations. Your goal, therefore, is to become
a fully-developed, thoughtful and persuasive communicator.
Every time you talk, you present:

• Yourself
• Your purpose
• Your ideas; and
• Information to others
If you:
- Are ambitious and want to move up the ladder of success;
- Wish to have a positive impact on others;
- Want to have your skills and talents recognized and rewarded;
Then strive to be a successful communicator NOW. Now is the time to equip
yourself with the mastery of the communication processes, principles and ethics so
that you will be prepared in your future jobs.

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 Unit 1: Communication Processes, Principles and Ethics

Topic 1. The Communication Process

Learning Objectives
At the end the lesson, you are expected to:
1. discuss the importance of communication in different situations
2. share how communication helped in resolving issues you have experienced in
different situations

Communication is integrated in all parts of our lives.

a. Academics
• Communication skills are tied to academic success.
• Students who are good at writing and speaking perform better not only in
the English classroom but also in the content areas and all other areas of
learning.

b. Professional
• Desired communication skills vary from one career to another. Being able
to communicate leads to a harmonious relationship within the
organization.

c. Personal
• The skills to talk with fluency and write with efficiency lead to a person’s
achievement of his aspirations

d. Civic
• One cannot live alone, so being able to blend with the community is a
satisfying endeavor. This can only be done when a person can
communicate his/her ideas with different people coming from different
backgrounds in the community.

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Topic 2: Types of Communication

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. differentiate verbal from non-verbal communication
2. explain how the combination of verbal and non-verbal makes communication more
effective

Presentation of content
Study the pictures below and determine the type of communication being used.

1. Verbal communication
● It is a form of transmitting messages using word symbols in representing
ideas and objects which comes in two forms – oral and written.
● It includes a face to face interaction with another person, speaking to
someone on the phone, participating in meetings, delivering speeches in programs
and giving lectures or presentations in conferences.

Factors That Affect Verbal Communication

a. Tone of voice
b. Use of descriptive words
c. Emphasis on certain phrases
d. Volume of voice

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2. Non – Verbal Communication

● It is a form of communication which refers to the sending of messages to

another person using signs, gestures, facial expressions and means other than the
spoken and written language.

Two Categories of Non-Verbal Communication

a. Non-verbal messages produced by the body
b. Non-verbal messages produced by the broad setting such as time, space and
silence

Functions of Non-Verbal Communication

a. It is used to repeat the verbal message.

Example – Point in an object while saying it.

b. It is often used to accent a verbal message.

Example – verbal tone indicates the actual meaning of the words.

c. It often complements the verbal message but also may contradict.

Examples – A nod reinforces a positive message among Americans and
Filipinos.
A wink or a frown may contradict a positive message.
d. It regulates interactions
Example – Hand gestures may signal a person to speak or not.

e. It may substitute for the verbal message, especially if it is blocked by noise or

interruption.
Example – Touch to mean comfort or encouragement
A thumbs-up gesture indicating approval

Consider this:

Communication is a combination of the verbal and

non- verbal aspects. Proper blending of the two types of
communication make the message clearer.

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Topic 3: The Elements and Process of Communication

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the element of communication
2. explain the process of communication

Presentation of Content:

The diagram below illustrates the components and the flow of communication.

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Elements of Communication

1. Sender
- a person, group, or organization who initiates communication.
- She/He may be called the source, encoder, speaker or communicator.

2. Message
- an element transmitted in communication.
- It may consist of the idea, opinion, information, feeling or attitude of the
sender.

3. Channel
- a pathway or medium through which the message travels to reach its
destination.
- It may be oral, written, or visual.

4. Receiver
- a person who receives, analyses, understands, and interprets the message.
- S/he can also be called decoder, reader, or listener.

5. Feedback
- the receiver’s response that provides information to the sender.
- the return process in which the receiver provides both verbal and non-verbal
signals to show whether the message is understood or not.

6. Noise
- a form of distortion, barrier or obstacle that occurs in an of the oral
communication process.

7. Adjustment
- done if the message is distorted or is not clearly understood by the receiver.

8. Context
- It is the situation from which the communication is done. It includes
settings or environment (family, school, workplace, religious
communities); social relations (friends, husband and wife, parent and
child, colleagues/boss- subordinate in the office); scenes which include
place, time and occasion (business meeting, job interview, social
gathering – parties, weddings, etc.); and culture (history, tradition, beliefs,
norms, values)

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The Process of Effective Communication

To communicate effectively, understanding the steps in this information exchange process
is vital.

Five Steps of The Communication Process (Schreiner, 2018)

1. Creation
• It is forming the communicative intent where the sender generates and idea.
• This requires the individual who is sending the message to decide what s/he
wants to say and select a medium through which to communicate this
information.
• If the medium s/he selects is a written one, s/he must compose a concise and
clear message that others can understand and if the medium is oral, s/he must
plan out a clear spoken message.

2. Transmission
• The transmission may be as simple as meeting with the intended recipient of the
message, and orally sharing the message, or calling the individual to communicate
orally over the phone.
• If the message is a print one, it may include distributing a paper memo or sending
an email.

3. Reception
• After transmitting the message, the communication duties change hands and fall
upon the receiver of the message.
• The message is obtained either from the written format the sender selected or b
listening carefully as the message is delivered orally.

4. Translation
• Once receiving the message, the recipient must translate the message into terms
that s/he can easily understand.
• To do this, s/he must listen to or read the message in question and paraphrase it
within her/his head, turning the potentially complex context contents of the
message into more manageable and meaningful components.

5. Response
• This may be verbal and immediate, which is commonly the case if
communication is face-to-face.
• It may also be easily a written response that either expands upon the message or
simply indicates receipt of the message in question.

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Topic 4: Communication Principles

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
1. explain the seven principles of communication, and
2. point out how these principles of communication can be achieved.

Presentation of Content

Communication becomes more meaningful if it is:

Source: https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/04/7-cs-communication/

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Feedback

Read the Editorial below and explain how the seven Cs of communication are achieved:

Editorial:

Giving in to China
from: www.philstar.com

There is certainly no doubt now that China’s invasion of the West Philippine Sea is
unstoppable. The defeatist stance of the Duterte administration fuels and further emboldens
China to occupy the atolls and reefs with the installation of military facilities that can only
be dismantled with might which the Philippines does not have.
The conflict in South China Sea, in which the Philippines named West Philippine
Sea as within its Exclusive Economic Zone, involves China, the Philippines, Brunei,
Malaysia and Indonesia. The impasse had become longstanding and, worse, is turning into
a powder keg, so to speak. The controversial waterway’s strategic importance cannot be
ignored as an international waterway where some $5.3 trillion worth of goods move
through the sea every year, according to the United States Department of Defense.
Aside from being a strategic maritime territory, the South China Sea is estimated to
hold 10 percent of the total global fisheries, 11 billion barrels of oil reserve, and 190 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas deposits.
With its booming economy and skyrocketing demand for raw materials for its
industry, China cannot give in to other claimants of the South China Sea other than
declaring war where the victor gets the spoils.
Looking forward to its economic expansion, China declared in 1947 the
demarcation 9-dash line territory of the South China Sea which almost claimed for itself
the 3.5 million square-kilometer total area.
In 2012, the standoff between China and the Philippines happened in the
Scarborough Shoal which displayed China’s might and effectively took away the
Philippines’ control over it. With no other way to contest its claim, the Philippine filed case
before the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration. Philippine won the case in 2016
with the ruling that essentially dismissed as illegal China’s self-imposed 9-dash
demarcation line as illegal.
Two years after the Philippine victory over the declared 9-dash line of China and
then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte’s theatrics to jet ski to Scarborough Shoal to
plant the Philippine flag there, China has almost completed the militarization of the area in
the West Philippine Sea with its facilities installed.

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To date, China has already occupied the atolls and reefs the Philippines once
claimed before the aggressive invasion of China of the South China Sea using the 9-dash
line demarcation.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque tried to put the blame on the previous
administration of President Benigno Aquino III by saying that “the Aquino administration
did nothing” about the creeping invasion of China in the West Philippine Sea. Roque
obviously ignored that the previous Aquino administration was persistent in pursuing its
claims over the West Philippine Sea which resulted in the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s
ruling in our favor.
We cannot go to war with a superpower like China. But being in the international
community of nations, there are other ways to resist invasion and bullying by more
powerful nation. But with the attitude and stance of President Duterte kowtowing to
Chinese officials, like they are his bosses, no diplomatic protest had been lodged against
China.
Contrary to Roque’s putting the blame on the previous Aquino administration, the
Duterte administration is the one giving in to China, backtracking the gains achieved by
the Philippines’ claim over the West Philippine Sea handed by the Permanent Court of
Arbitration in 2016. What we can see in the way President Duterte handles the issue in the
West Philippine Sea is his allegedly treasonous gesture of surrendering a part of our
national patrimony without a whimper of protest while it is being shamelessly being
usurped right before our very eyes.

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Topic 5: Ethics in Communication

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

a. tell what communication ethics is;
b. explain how ethics in communication can be achieved, and
c. enumerate ways of avoiding violations of ethics in communication.

Presentation of Content

Ethics is an integral part of communication. When we communicate, we do not

simply choose words; we choose words for the effect they will have on our audiences, on
ourselves, and ultimately, on society. Also, we choose the manner of communication
because sometimes “what matters is not what you say, but how you say things.” Thus,
when we communicate, we ask ourselves how harmful or helpful our words and our ways
are.
Considerations in Ethical Communication
(Johansen, 16)

1. Ethical Communicators are Respectful of Their Audience.

▪ Communication is a two-way process. The communicator must consider the
audience ideas and feelings during the interaction.
2. Ethical Communicators Consider the Consequences of their Communication.
▪ Every communicator must bear in mind that the ultimate aim of communication is
to promote the common good. Communication must be set in a way that conflict is
reduced or eliminated.
3.Ethical Communicators Respect the Truth.
▪ A great deal of the ethics of communication involves a respect for truth. Indeed, as
one has put it, the assumption of truth undergirds the very concept of
communication itself: "an inherent end of speech is the communication of belief"
(Kupfer 118). If we cannot trust the other party, we cannot accurately judge how to
respond. If we cannot accurately judge how to respond, then our communication
becomes increasingly ineffective.

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4. Ethical Communicators Use Information Properly.

▪ Communicators have the responsibility to give and acquire adequate and accurate
information. As an ethical communicator, a respect for truth means being informed
on a topic before posing as any kind of authority on the subject. We also need to
consider the accuracy of the information and the accuracy with which we use it.
When we communicate, we expect people to react in some way to what we say and
do. When we use inaccurate information to influence others, we cause difficulty for
them and for ourselves.
5. Ethical Communicators Do Not Falsify Information.
▪ Worse than the distortion of information is falsifying information. Failing to find
information useful to our goals, we make it up. This is a form of cheating; therefore,
it should by all means be avoided.
6. Ethical Communicators Respect the Rights of Others to information.
▪ A respect for truth and an ethical consideration of others also means respecting the
rights of others in regard to information and access to information. Collecting
information is an integral part of the research process, but stealing information is
theft, taking something that does not belong to us. Beyond the personal act of theft,
stealing information is unethical because it prevents other people from securing
information and unnecessarily makes their lives more difficult.

Summary
In this chapter you have learned the Communication Process, Principles and Ethics.
You have discovered the importance of communication in the different aspects of your life
like in your family, in your community, in your school and in even in your work place later
on. It is also emphasized in this chapter that verbal and non- verbal communication are
both needed in achieving effective communication. It is very important to note that
participants of the communication process must consider the Seven C’s which are Clarity
of thoughts, Conciseness, Coherence, Completeness, Concreteness, Correctness and
Courtesy. Lastly, this chapter introduced to you the Ethics of communication which
reminds you of the standards that you have to practice when participating in a
communication process.

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References
Montano-Harmon M.R. (2014) Developing English for Academic Purposes,
California State University, Fullerton
Manzano, B.A., Arador, MVP and Ladia MAp (2018). Purposive Communication
for College Freshmen. St. Andrews Publishing House, Plaridel, Bulacan
https://www.lanecc.edu/llc/speech/ethical-communication
https://ethiccomm.weebly.com/ethical-communication.html
https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/04/7-cs-communication
https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/04/7-cs-communication/
www.ThoughtCom.com

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