Instructional Material Purposive Main PDF
Instructional Material Purposive Main PDF
Instructional Material Purposive Main PDF
MATERIAL
FOR
PURPOSIVE
COMMUNICATION
COMPILED BY:
EDELYN M, MARIANO
AMADO G. JAPSAY JR.
CLARISSE LANE CONCEPCION
No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied by recording or other electronic/mechanical methods,
without the prior written permission of the publisher/compiler via pupenglishdepartment@gmail.com. Faculty
members whose names are printed on the cover are only compilers who collected materials from different
authors. This is not for sale and the compilers have no intention to profit from this.
ii
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL
FOR PURPOSIVE
COMMUNICATION
COMPILED BY
EDELYN M. MARIANO
AMADO G. JAPSAY JR.
CLARISSE LANE CONCEPCION
iii
CURRICULUM
GUIDE
CORE SUBJECT TITLE
PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
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v
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GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS
TO STUDENTS
This instructional material is composed of four (4) modules that will introduce
you to the world of Purposive Communication. Faculty members who prepared
this instructional material purposely chose topics which are the most relevant
topics when learning about the subject.
Each module is divided into four sections: (1) objectives, (2) lesson/s, (3)
tieback, and (4) checkpoint. Objectives are the goals set in the module.
Lessons are information that are directed towards the achievement of
objectives. Tiebacks are only guide questions that students do not necessarily
have to answer; they can also be short sentences that summarize the module.
Lastly, checkpoint is a set of activities or performance tasks that you must
accomplish.
Answer sheets are provided per module. These answer sheets must bear your
name, course, section, subject you enrolled in, and instructor.
FOR STUDENTS WITH INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, you are tasked to
answer the activities or performance tasks in accordance to the instruction of
your professor.
FOR STUDENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND
RECEIVED THIS INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL VIA COURIER SERVICES,
you are tasked to accomplish the activities or performance tasks at your own
pace. If the sheets provided are not enough, use another sheet of paper for
your answers. You may have your answers handwritten OR computerized and
printed.
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CONTENTS
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL FOR ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE
COMPILED BY DAGÑALAN, DE LEON, AND CONCEPCION
ii Course Syllabus
ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE
ix CONTENTS
01 Unit 1:
COMMUNICATION AND ITS ELEMENTS
10 UNIT 2:
COMMUNICATION IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS
22 UNIT 3:
COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY
35 UNIT 4:
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
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Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 1
OBJECTIVES:
By the need of this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe the nature verbal and nonverbal communication
Identify different barriers of communication
Adapt effective communications strategies
INTRODUCTION
Over 70% of our time is spent communicating with others, and that‘s the one interaction
every person must do. Everyone must communicate their needs and ideas. Every organization
must communicate its products and services. Unfortunately, many people have trouble in this
area. Some just don‘t have the professional impact they need to get ahead in today‘s corporate
world. Communication is just as important as what we say because people judge us, our
companies, our products, our services, and our professionalism by the way we write, act, dress,
talk, and manages our responsibilities. In short, how well we communicate with others.
Successful people know how to communicate for results. They know how to say what
they mean and get what they want without hurting the people they deal with. You deal daily with
peers, outside groups, customers, employees, and managers and you must have a good
communication style. When we ask people how well they communicate, their answers usually
fall into one of three categories.
First, and most prevalent, is the person who responds, ―I communicate perfectly. I spell
everything out so there‘s nothing left to doubt.‖ Another will react with surprise and ask me,
―What do you mean ‗how well?‘ I don‘t think about communicating, I just do it.‖ The third type will
reflect on the question thoughtfully before saying something like, ―How can one ever know how
well they get their ideas across to another person? All I can tell you that I work more hours
trying to communicate than I can count, and it still doesn‘t work some of the time.‖ Each answer,
in its way, is correct.
Communicating today is both a discipline and liberation. Our language is flexible; one
size fits all. It‘s a language in which ravel and unravel mean the same thing; flammable and
inflammable mean the same thing; fat chance, slim chance, no chance at all mean the same
thing. Communication is both a science and a feeling; it‘s often a cinch, and often an
impossibility.
The smell of a woman‘s perfume, the taste of semi-sweet chocolate, the sight of a blind
person‘s cane, the feel of the feverish brow of a sick child, the sound of the background music
of a horror movie—all these moves us to action or reaction. These are all examples of effective
communication, and none of them involve words. Communication is full of risks; despite
whatever precautions and plans we make, we can never really be sure of our success. No
communication ever travels from sender to receiver in the same shape intended by the sender.
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And, no matter how hard you try, the message will never be what you say—the message
is always what they hear. But if you have a system to go by, you can at least reduce the risk and
improve your chance of being effective. For communication to occur there must be a two-way
interchange of feelings, ideas, values; clarification of signals; and a fine-tuning of skills.
What is communication?
1. Communication is a PROCESS.
It is creative, continuing condition of life, a process that changes as the communicator‘s
environments and needs change. Many words have become obsolete, trite, or altered in
their meanings while new words have evolved.
2. Communication is SYSTEMATIC
It occurs within systems of interrelated and interacting parts.
3. Communication is SYMBOLIC
Symbols, verbal or non-verbal are the basis of language.
NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
The physical climate affects us in many ways. When it‘s cold, we wear warm clothes.
When it‘s raining, we wear protective clothes. And it‘s not uncommon for weather conditions to
affect our mood. Communication climates also affect us. They can be either positive or
negative. When the communication climate is positive, it‘s easier for us to communicate, solve
problems, reach decisions, and express thoughts and feelings.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 3
In short, it makes working and dealing with other people more pleasant and
productive. We‘ve all been in restaurants, stores, offices, and homes where we felt comfortable
and at ease. We usually want to go back to those places. We‘ve also been in homes, offices,
and shops where the climate has been negative. In those instances, we were uncomfortable,
uneasy, and less open.
We usually don‘t enjoy attempting to communicate or do business in a negative climate. Are you
making the climate negative for those you work with?
Written communication should be used when communicating complex facts and figures
or information, such as engineering, legal or financial data, since communication breakdowns
often result when a complex material is presented orally. Written communication is also the best
channel when communicating with large numbers of people, when transmitting large amounts of
data, or when you need a record of the communication.
The telephone is appropriate when communicating simple facts to a few people. The
phone also has more impact and a sense of urgency than written communication, but not as
much as a meeting. To insure that messages are understood on the phone, you may want to
ask for feedback and check to make sure the communication link is complete.
Face-to-face communication has more urgency than meetings. It also has the advantage
of speed, allows considerable two-way communication to take place, and usually elicits a quick
response. It‘s usually best to use face-to-face dialogue when the interaction is personal—when
giving praise, counseling, or taking disciplinary action. Meetings are appropriate when there is a
need for verbal interaction among members of a group. Studies have revealed that supervisors
spend more than half of their potential productive time in meetings, discussions, and
conferences.
For this reason, it‘s important to decide in advance whether a meeting will achieve the desired
result.
Eliminate Static
Another helpful skill is elimination of communication ―static‖ or barriers. If there‘s too
much static, or noise, there‘s a garbled message. The problem is that each of us has different
barriers, and we don‘t usually know what kind of noise the other person is hearing. Sometimes
we guess, and sometimes we guess wrong. The major barrier to communication is our natural
tendency to judge, evaluates, approve, or disapprove the other person‘s statements.
Suppose the person next to you at lunch today says, ―I like what Kay DuPont has to
say.‖ What will you say? Your reply will probably be either approval or disapproval of the attitude
expressed. You‘ll either say, ―I do too!‖ or you‘ll say, ―I think she‘s terrible.‖
In other words, your first reaction will be to evaluate it from your point of view, and approve or
disapprove what the other person said. Although the tendency to make evaluations is common
in almost all conversations, it is very much heightened in those situations where feelings and
emotions are involved.
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Tune in
One of the best ways to ―tune in‖ to the other person is to find out how they process and
store the information they receive. Studies of Neurolinguistics Programming (NLP) have proved
that there are three sensory process types: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.
Some people are visually oriented. They remember and imagine things by what they look like.
They store pictures. Some people are auditory—they store sounds. Some people are
kinesthetic-they store touch sensations.
How can you figure out a person‘s processing system? By listening. People tend to
broadcast how they process information, how they file their data. Visually oriented people say
things like: ―Here‘s what it looks like to me. Do you see what I mean? Do you get the picture? I
need a clearer vision of that. That‘s not coming in clear to me.‖ All visually-oriented terms.
Auditory people remember and imagine things by what they sound like. They say: ―Here‘s
what it sounds like to me. That rings a bell. Do you hear what I mean? We need to have more
harmony in this office. We‘re not in tune with this.‖ Kinesthetic people remember and imagine
things by the feel of them. They say: ―Here‘s what it feels like to me. Do you grasp what I‘m
saying? That was a tough problem. That was a heavy burden. That was a weighty issue.‖
People don‘t always use the same sensory words, of course, but we do tend to use one
sensory process about 70% of the time. If you want me to understand how you feel or see what
you mean or get in tune with your ideas, you need to talk to me in words I‘ll either relate to
visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. If you talk to me in flowers, and I hear in pastry, we can‘t
communicate. This is a very sophisticated form of communicating and can be very effective.
So you need to be constantly aware of the image you portray. Is it one of the assertive
confidence? Someone willing to listen and solve problems? Or is it of someone unfriendly and
uncaring? Do your clothes and posture reflect a person of high quality or one of the sloppy
habits?
Over 2 centuries ago, Ben Franklin said, ―Power is with the person who can communicate well.‖
It‘s truer today than it has ever been. And the power exists within you. All it takes is awareness
and practice. (Kangal, 2020)
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 5
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
Two common elements in every communication exchange are the sender and the
receiver. The sender initiates the communication. In a school, the sender is a person who has a
need or desire to convey an idea or concept to others. The receiver is the individual to whom
the message is sent. The sender encodes the idea by selecting words, symbols, or gestures
with which to compose a message. The message is the outcome of the encoding, which takes
the form of verbal, nonverbal, or written language. The message is sent through a medium or
channel, which is the carrier of the communication. The medium can be a face-to-face
conversation, telephone call, e-mail, or written report. The receiver decodes the received
message into meaningful information. Noise is anything that distorts the message. Different
perceptions of the message, language barriers, interruptions, emotions, and attitudes are
examples of noise. Finally, feedback occurs when the receiver responds to the sender's
message and returns the message to the sender. Feedback allows the sender to determine
whether the message has been received and understood.
The elements in the communication process determine the quality of communication. A
problem in any one of these elements can reduce communication effectiveness (Keyton, 2011).
For example, information must be encoded into a message that can be understood as the
sender intended. Selection of the particular medium for transmitting the message can be critical,
because there are many choices.
For written media, a school administrator or other organization member may choose
from memos, letters, reports, bulletin boards, handbooks, newsletters, and the like. For verbal
media, choices include face-to-face conversations, telephone, and computer, public address
systems, closed-circuit television, tape-recorded messages, sound/slide shows, e-mail, and so
on. Nonverbal gestures, facial expressions, body position, and even clothing can transmit
messages. People decode information selectively. Individuals are more likely to perceive
information favorably when it conforms to their own beliefs, values, and needs (Keyton, 2010).
When feedback does not occur, the communication process is referred to as one-way
communication. Two-way communication occurs with feedback and is more desirable.
The key for being successful in the contemporary school is the ability of the school
administrator to work with other school stakeholders (faculty, support staff, community
members, parents, central office); and develop a shared sense of what the school/school district
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is attempting to accomplish – where it wants to go, a shared sense of commitments that people
have to make in order to advance the school/school district toward a shared vision and clarity of
goals. As school administrators are able to build a shared mission, vision, values, and goals, the
school/school district will become more effective. Building a relationship between school
administrators and other school stakeholders requires effective communication.
For example, research indicates that principals spend 70 to 80% of their time in
interpersonal communication with various stakeholders. Effective principals know how to
communicate, and they understand the importance of ongoing communication, both formal and
informal: faculty and department meetings; individual conversations with parents, teachers, and
students; and telephone calls and e-mail messages with various stakeholder groups.
The one constant in the life of a principal is a lot of interruptions – they happen daily,
with a number of one- and three-minute conversations in the course of the day. This type of
communication in the work of the principal has to be done one on one - one phone call to one
person at a time, one parent at a time, one teacher at a time, one student at a time; and a
principal needs to make time for these conversations. For example, a principal may be talking
with a parent with a very serious problem. She may be talking with a community member. She
may be talking with the police about something that went on during the school day. The principal
must be able to turn herself on and off in many different roles in any given day. (Lunenburg,
2010)
Before we proceed to another lesson, list down all the difficulties you‟re experiencing
when you have to communicate to other people.
BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION
We have referred to the term 'Noise' while discussing the models and elements of
communication in the previous sections. Barrier or Noise is a term used to express any
interference in communication between source and receiver. A successful communication is the
one in which the message is conveyed undiminished with least distortion. However, it is not
always possible as a number of barriers make the process of communication complex. Some of
these barriers could be physical, psychological, cultural, linguistic (semantic), technical or due to
information overload. Let us try to understand these barriers and how these can be minimized
for effective communication.
Physical barriers: If the source is not visible to the receiver and s/he is not comfortable in the
environment, it may create barriers in communication. Geographical distance may also create
barriers, as people may like to communicate with one another but due to physical distances may
not be able to do so. For example, people may be interested to communicate with an expert in a
particular area who is not available in other areas/ regions as there is physical barrier.
Psychological barriers: Due to individual differences, attitudes, interest and motivation levels,
we perceive things and situations differently. Apart from this, the varied levels of anxiety,
inherent prejudices and previous experiences also create barriers in communication. Studies
have revealed that due to the process of selective perception, selective recall and selective
retention, we perceive, retain as well as recall a message selectively thus creating barriers in
communication.
Socio-cultural barriers: In communication process, socio-cultural barriers also operate. To
illustrate, in the Indian context, some women may not like to discuss their health related problem
with a male health worker. Similarly, some issues may be perceived as personal and not fit for
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 7
discussion outside the realm of family, thus creating barriers. Some societies are less vocal
which may affect their level of communication with those from other cultures who are more vocal
or aggressive in behavior.
Linguistic barriers: During the process of communication, faulty expressions, poor translation,
verbosity, ambiguous words and inappropriate vocabulary create barriers. Moreover, words and
symbols used to communicate facts and information may mean different things to different
persons. This is due to the fact that meanings are in the minds of people who perceive and
interpret meanings in different ways according to their individual frame of mind.
Technical barriers: While using technology, technical barriers also make the process of
communication complex. When audio quality is poor or video signals are weak, the message
may not clearly reach the target group. Erratic power supply also creates barriers in
communication. Barriers due to information load: At times too much information is imparted
which we may not able to comprehend and assimilate, thus creating a barrier in communication.
To illustrate, in a meeting when a speaker provides information at a fast pace for considerable
period of time many of the issues and concepts may get lost at the end. While using media, this
type of barrier can greatly affect the level of comprehension and utilization of the message.
Hence, great care needs to be taken while deciding the amount of information in a
communication transaction.
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8 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
persuading them to pose questions. Appreciation of their (receivers) views increases their self-
esteem and builds confidence.
Proper environment: Proper seating arrangements, visibility of the source and relatively
comfortable environment facilitate communication. This is especially conducive in overcoming
some of the physical barriers discussed above.
Feedback: Feedback is an integral component of any communication activity. Regular feedback
at appropriate levels facilitates understanding of the needs and views of the receiver/s. It helps
to bridge the gaps, if any, in the communication approach and improves the process of
communication.
CHECKPOINT
Activity:
Part I
Match the following situations with different types of barriers. Write your answers on the
spaces in the first column.
1. Rural women may not like to discuss their a. Linguistic
problems with males.
2. Failure of satellite link b. Socio cultural
3. Too many concepts in a lesson c. Physical
4. Individual differences d. Content load
5. Weak and faulty expressions e. Technical
6. Poor seating arrangements f. Psychological
Part II
1. Watch closely two persons communicating with each other. Note the various signs and
symbols used for interaction. Analyze how their roles as sender and receiver interchange while
interacting. Examine if there is any noise or barrier existing in their communication. If yes,
observe the effect of the noise on the communication process. Chose another situation where
noise/barrier is affecting communication. Analyze the causes leading to noise/barriers and the
steps that can be taken to remove them.
2. Plan an effective communication strategy to communicate your views on any topic to a group
of 20 adults.
Part III
On your list, what are the common barriers that you experience on a day-to-day basis and the
strategies that you can use to fix it?
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 9
References
Baruah, T. D. (2012). Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communication. Assam: International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications.
Dresang, J. (1985). Authoritariam Controls and News Media in the Philippines. ISEAS - Yusok Ishak Institute.
Kangal, S. (2020). Definition and Nature of Communication. Retrieved from iEduNote:
https://www.iedunote.com/nature-of-communication
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Communication: The Process, Barriers, and Improving Effectiveness. Houston.
Ellis, R. and Ann McClintock, You Take My Meaning: Theory into Practice in Human
Communication (London: Edward Arnold, 1990), 71.
Schramm, W., The Beginnings of Communication Study in America (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage,
1997).
Shannon, C. and Warren Weaver, The Mathematical Theory of Communication (Urbana, IL:
University of Illinois Press, 1949), 16.
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10 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
OBJECTIVES:
By the need of this lesson, you should be able to:
Discover intercultural communication and cultural diversity to different countries around
the globe.
Learn some tips and help when experiencing multicultural communication
Discover unique cultural practices and cultural characteristics that shape
communication.
One of the greatest things that a person can have is their own identity that represents
their own cultural background and behavior, and every citizen in the society carries that
reflection to show the world what kind of community you have. Culture is the total inherited
ideas, values, beliefs, and knowledge that offer to the shared bases of interaction
(culturedictionary.com).
This topic, we will be talking about intercultural communication, its richness and its
importance to us, in how we carry our culture and beliefs and are able to adapt the culture of
different community and country. So, here are some explanation of the meaning of Intercultural
Communication according to some scholars:
Intercultural Communication
Tin-Tooney (1999) said that the intercultural communication occur when a person starts
to interact, negotiate, and create meanings while showing their unique cultural backgrounds
What will be shown below are the list of characteristic traits that define one competent
intercultural communicator, these traits are not easy to apply as a competent communicator,
however it is not impossible to gain these traits. This is according to the World Bank (2010):
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 11
Reflectiveness or mindfulness.
Open-mindedness; creativity.
Sensitivity.
Adaptability
Remember that culture is not separable to the other elements such as gender, age,
religion, and social status, these must also be taken seriously in the communication especially
with a person you know is not having the same culture that you have, perhaps, that person is
living in the other country or a community away from you.
So, mentioned below will be some tips that will help you to refrain from showing bias
when talking to these kind of people that for sure, you will experience in the future:
Challenge gender norms; avoid using too much ‗he‘ and ‗man‘ whenever
referring to a general group of people. To practice this, you may use plural nouns
to address the group of people, or in written communication, rewrite a sentence
to avoid using pronouns. The use of ‗his or her‘ is also acceptable and much
better to hear in talking to a group of people.
Have some sensitive mindset towards some religious practices and traditions,
even though it is not the same as what you have, being respectful towards
different principles is important.
Be polite at all times; avoid belittling people you thought to be on a lower social
class than you.
Of course, these are common tips and help to make your behavior have some good
reflection towards other people. Although, we can perceive that these are just common and
easy to apply, a lot of people still struggle and is not wanting to apply these tips because of
some certain reasons, like the attitude that they bear. We all know, our attitude is also rooted in
our culture that also reflects our family, friends, and communities.
Filipinos have the abilities to easily adjust to different communities, partly because of our
country‘s historical experiences when we were being colonized, our language changed and the
lifestyle also changed to fit in what our society needs, even our food choice and fashion, our
interest in lives, and even our government system. When the crisis comes, some Filipinos will
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12 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
include an option to become Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and through this we
unconsciously adjust our interaction toward people, our empathy and cultural understanding are
unconsciously widening. To avoid complex communication problems, they (OFWs) are mostly
required to undergo ‗Pre-departure Orientation Seminar’ (PDOS) conducted by the
Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO).
According to their regulation, this seminar is not only for the OFWs but also for those
people who want to settle permanently abroad. PDOS covers topics like some important cultural
aspects that one shall be familiar with before leaving. This seminar happened to make Filipinos
be prepared for some uncertain events or culture-shock situation that they may face afterwards,
they are being prepared for multicultural communication. Filipinos still have to undergo to this
kind of seminar even though we can easily adjust to the cultural diversity in the world, because
we do not generalize our citizens that everyone is capable to understand multicultural
communication.
But, do not worry. Filipinos are known for being hospitable (well, not everyone these
days, but most of us) and warm to people around the globe. So, whenever we go, culture shock
is just a minimal thing, and we can easily embrace cultural diversity.
As we talk about cultural diversity and intercultural communication, both certainly affect
each other, so, we will be talking about some important information that you need to know when
the time comes that you need to visit and experience the cultures of the following countries.
Communication in China
So here are some tips when you are communicating with some Chinese people. In a
formal business meetings, because Chinese are known to be one of the countries who takes
business seriously, one must be aware of the Chinese‘s desire to preserve harmony
(Mclaughlin, 2013). According also to Mclaughin, Hierarchy is very important factor in Chinese
communication. When speaking to a superior or elders, you must generally phrase you‘re their
words carefully. Speaking without giving you permission might give you bad perception.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 13
Communicating in Korea
When you plan to go to South Korea, there are things that you must be aware of in terms
of verbal and nonverbal communication, because their communication pattern is indirect and at
times—verbose. They have the tendency to depend less on words and are very keen at a
speaker‘s gestures, body language, facial expressions, and tone of your voice to know the
message of what you are trying to say. Just like Chinese and most of Asian citizens, they are
particular with maintaining harmony in the country and in the relationship.
In some friendly conversation scenario, eye-contact is also important for a person you
are communicating with. When receiving some offerings or gifts, you have to use both of your
hands or your right hand. Lastly, sneezing is considered rude in South Korea.
Communicating in Japan
Firstly, you have to refrain yourself from pointing when communicating in Japan. Use a
wedge hand aimed in a direction where you wanted to point at. Keeping your voice low and
peaceful is also a sign that you are creating a harmonious ambience in communication.
Whenever you see some errors, you have to present it carefully so as not to appear that you are
pointing out harshly. Secondly, when communicating with Japanese people and asking
questions you do not pressure them for an accurate answer. This means that if a question
remains unanswered twice, one has to respect the unanswered and silence.
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Communicating in America
READING:
Read this short article that tackles about how do different cultures and our culture shape
our everyday communication in life.
THE TIE-BACK
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16 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
3. Give one characteristics of one competent intercultural communicator and how are
you able to apply it in the future?
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This topic, we will illustrate the essence of what culture is all about. Culture, basically, a
way of life that is rooted and grown in the community or society of people who possess similar
beliefs and traditions. Some said that what we always do every day, what we do to make our
task done is part of our tradition, but, habits are different to culture, all people eat every day, all
people work every day, all students go to school every day and that don‘t differentiate our
identity, because culture is the mirror of our identity which we have learned from our community
where we live.
Culture also reflects our sets of behavior that are expected to be accepted, although
we cannot deny that some certain instances there will be disrespectful and discrimination going
on in a situation, and that can be the effect of misinterpretation and lack of knowledge in a
multicultural setting. We, Filipinos, we always demonstrate our endeavor respect to our elders
or even older people, we are showing them through our gestures of mano po, with reaching
their hands to put it on our forehead, and this is not because it is required to do as a role of
younger person, but because it is innate to us—the characteristic of being magalang
(respectful) to them
Remember that communication does not always achieved through verbal language and
gestures, to learn how to value the culture you are behaving, and value other‘s culture, the
communication you wish to occur will process unconsciously through the behavior that carried
your culture throughout the days that you are showing it to your friends and classmates.
Food as Language
Do you believe that food also speaks? And when I say speak, it means it communicates
and can say something that only you, perhaps, only a certain group of people can understand.
Do you believe that food is part of our language and culture? As we eat every day, do you
notice that the food you eat is carrying a message that reflects our cultural identity? Well, in fact,
Doreen Fernandez said that ―Food speak, and not only to the palate and senses‖ but it also
delivers messages.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 17
For example, when you did something wrong with your high school teacher, it was
typical for high school students to be guilty and start to gather money from classmates and buy
a cake as an apology gift for your teacher. When you were going to a formal meeting, you would
bring something nice to your boss, something pleasant and convenient to eat, perhaps,
cookies? Brownies? During all-souls day, Filipino families are traditionally making delicacies like
kakaning malagkit (rice cake), which gives message and meaning for us and for the soul that
passed away. It derives from the tagalog word kain (to eat) and kanin (rice). Big celebration
sometimes forced us to prepare and have a grand feast. And we have different impact and
feeling in the rarity of the gift, when someone gave us a home-made food and you know that
they made an effort to cook it for you, you feel so special.
Certainly, we are also going to talk about some foreign food that Filipinos adopted and
recreated to suit our taste and identity of being a Filipino. Observe the pictures below, one does
not just become like that without the origin of its terminology and story of the culture they
represent.
Photo was retrieved from: https://simply-delicious- Photo was retrieved from https://www.yummy.ph/recipe/easy-
food.com/easy-chicken-adobo-recipe/ pinoy-pancit-bihon-recipe
The famous Adobo is originally derived from the Spanish food called Adobado which is
a stewed meat dish in Mexico, which somehow close in how to cook it, Filipinos just adapted it
in a creative way where we mix olive oil, garlic, laurel, oregano, paprika, salt, soy sauce and
vinegar together, it can have a chicken or pig meat, and because in our country, we treat rabbits
as pets, we do not include it in our option that it can be a meat to eat because in other countries,
they sometimes eat rabbit meat. We all know that Pancit was originated from Chinese food and
culture, the term Pansit comes from Hokkien: pian + e + sit, which still can be recognized as
Chinese, but the meaning is not what you think it is, there has no noodles‘ significance in the
origin but it really means: something that is conveniently cooked (Kirshenblatt-Bimblet &
Fernandez, 2003) which can be a general food that indicates a process of frying since it was
convenient and easy to cook through frying. However, the Philippine style of pansit is creatively
different, we do not cook it as instant as it is but rather, we put a lot of effort in order to prepare it
to some very special occasions or events.
Now, that we are aware that food and language are inseparable, and it affects our
culture that is reflecting in our behavior, here, I am going to show you an interesting article that
answered the question why does tea only has two-word translation in the whole world?
READING:
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18 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Tea if by Sea, Cha if by Land: Why the World Only has Two Words for the Tea
By Nikhil Sonnad
To see the image in colored: https://qrgo.page.link/DoW3P
1. With a few minor exceptions, there are really only two ways to say
―tea‖ in the world. One is like the English term—té in Spanish
and tee in Afrikaans are two examples. The other is some variation
of cha, like chay in Hindi.
2. Both versions come from China. How they spread around the world
offers a clear picture of how globalization worked before
―globalization‖ was a term anybody used. The words that sound like
―cha‖ spread across land, along the Silk Road. The ―tea‖-like
phrasings spread over water, by Dutch traders bringing the novel
leaves back to Europe.
and Korean terms for tea are also based on the Chinese cha, though
those languages likely adopted the word even before its westward
spread into Persian.
5. But that doesn‘t account for ―tea.‖ The Chinese character for tea, 茶,
is pronounced differently by different varieties of Chinese, though it is
written the same in them all. In today‘s Mandarin, it is chá. But in
the Min Nan variety of Chinese, spoken in the coastal province of
Fujian, the character is pronounced te. The key word here is ―coastal.‖
7. The main Dutch ports in East Asia were in Fujian and Taiwan, both
places where people used the te pronunciation. The Dutch East India
Company‘s expansive tea importation into Europe gave us the
French thé, the German Tee, and the English tea.
8. Yet the Dutch were not the first to Asia. That honor belongs to the
Portuguese, who are responsible for the island of Taiwan‘s colonial
European name, Formosa. And the Portuguese traded not through
Fujian but Macao, where chá is used. That‘s why, on the map above,
Portugal is a pink dot in a sea of blue.
9. A few languages have their own way of talking about tea. These
languages are generally in places where tea grows naturally, which
led locals to develop their own way to refer to it. In Burmese, for
example, tea leaves are lakphak.
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publisher/compiler via pupenglishdepartment@gmail.com.
20 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Did you know that French fries are not originated from france?
Open this link for the short article: https://qrgo.page.link/hf8Z7 or scan this QR code to view the
article even without an access to internet.
THE TIE-BACK
CHECKPOINT:
Activity: Write a journal where you or a person you know experience and encounter multicular
communication. Tell a story how you or the person you know faced and went through it. Write
your response on the space provided below.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 21
REFERENCES:
Gepila, Emejidio Jr., Rolando P. Quiñones, Edelyn H. Dagñalan, Sherry Ann C. Medrano, Melanie M.
jimenez, Marissa L. Mayrena, Jennline Christina B. Aguilar (2017). Purposive Communication in
English (the FACE Model Approach). Jenher Publishing House
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara & Doreen G. Fernandez (2003). Culture Ingested: On the Indigenization of
Philippine Food. New York University. Retrieved from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250976631_Culture_Ingested_On_the_Indigenization_o
f_Phillipine_Food
Sonnad, Nikhil (2018). Tea if by Sea, Cha if by Land: Why the World Only has Two Words for Tea. Quartz
Media. Retrieved from: https://qz.com/1176962/map-how-the-word-tea-spread-over-land-and-
sea-to-conquer-the-world/
Suarez Cecilia A., Marianne Rachel G. Perfecto, Maria Luz Elena N. Canilao, Devil benedicte I. paez
(2018). Purposive Communication in English. Ateneo De Manila University Press
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22 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
OBJECTIVES
We all know that in this generation we can have an access to anything by just one click
on your keyboard or by just swiping on your screen. But, not only you have an access to
anything on your smartphones or internet, you also have the power to voice out your opinion or
thought that can shape an idea and events as it passes through time.
Our lifestyle had become so dependent on technology, every day and every hour,
there are technologies around us doing some stuff to aid us, for an instance, when you wake up
every morning and you want to have a bread but not just an ordinary bread, then there is a
toaster. To cook your favorite sunny side-up egg easily? You have your stove (sometimes
electric stove). Going to your school even you just left 30 minutes before your class starts, then
you have your transportation. To communicate with your friends and classmates, to ask them if
their teachers are absent? Then you have a social media on your smartphone. With just one
click, then you can now assure yourself that your lifestyle is swift and convenient every day.
Through technology, we can now find out what is happening outside our house, even reaching
the news outside our country. The communication that built by this generation became the
spotlight of others to find what is wrong about it.
We cannot really deny the fact that communication in times of Digital Native continuously
evolves and adjusts the way people need it. Have you ever tried to think about the
difference of communication way back before the first digital telephone ever produced and our
mode of communication now?
What do you recall from these pictures? How do you think that the accessibility to information
during this historical events perform?
If you want to think more about it; it was far different from now, not only for personal use
but also for country‘s effectiveness of having accessibility to information which is one of the
most basic rights a citizen should have. How about give yourself a time to take a moment and
imagine our one of the unforgettable historical events here in the Philippines, way back in 1982,
even without any internet connection and gadgets such as smartphones EDSA People Power
Revolution still happened (Suarez et al, 2018), imagine how difficult it was to access such
information about news during Martial Law.
Nowadays, those simple smartphones you often bring are making a huge impact for
your decision-making every day, you can instantly access to some legitimate news outlet in just
one tap, and you may know what is currently happening. But, the rights of these people during
Martial law to have an access to information were stolen from them (Dresang, 1985). That is
how the communication well important on our today‘s society, that if one authoritarian controls
News Media, communication and technology became one of the allies of the people.
We cannot deny the fact that our generation today became Digitally Connected World,
everything became instant, and we are wanting everything instantly. That is why we sometimes
call our generation the Instant World, meaning, it ―brought occasional convenience‖
(https://www.argh.com/articles/living-in-an-instant-world/) whenever we hear the word Instant
there were few things we think similarly, like an instant noodles, where you can just pour a
lukewarm water in the cup noodles, then there you have it—an instant quick lunch, or a
television advertisement, in just 30 second you can now understand one object you want to
purchase. And that explains why, nowadays, we look forward to make our lifestyle more
convenient and easily adopt.
1. CONNECTIVITY. This occurred by digital tools that we use such as cellular phones,
smartphones, tablets, computers without giving much effort to do it. Through sending
Text messages or emailing.
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24 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
To this time of digital native, there would be less bothersome barriers when it comes to the
distance of time and space, everything could be accessible to retrieve and information from
the past and even produce some from the present. Because of this evolution of communication,
our feelings to different information we are able to access also alter, today, we now have
different way to interact with people and even react to some news articles we are reading
online. We can now see vividly the difference of media ages in different generations.
This graph that was adapted from A. Edwards, et al The Communication Age:
Connection and Engaging, will show you the distinction between the first and second media
ages:
As you notice, the distinction between two media ages is too broad and noticeable, from
being centralized, in second media age, conferences and other forms of meetings happening
inside the manner of communication that is characterized by Interactivity are now possible.
In just shows to this distinction that first media age favors the speaker alone and people
who have the authority to broadcast, while second media age favors the general individual to
communicate freely and give themselves their owne decision-making.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 25
FOR YOUR INFORMATION: This needs an internet access, not required. You
can watch the TED Talk of Sherry Turkle titled: Connected, but Alone on this
link https://qrgo.page.link/igPBT or you can scan this code to easily access.
THE TIE-BACK
2. Do you agree that people of today‘s generation would likely to have an instant of
everything?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
3. How important the access to information nowadays, especially in this time of pandemic?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
Social media refers to the means of digital interactions that neglect the hindrances of time
and space of two communicators with the use of web-based or mobile technologies that allow
you to have an access to some applications that are used extensively for the purpose of
communication (Baruah, 2012) such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Tumblr, Instagram,
Snapchat and many more. One of the advantages that these social media outlet gives you is
that it increases your communication skills not only among the people you know but of the
educational institutions through online sharing of information
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26 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
As you can see, the similarity of two generations is both have the desire to achieve social
networks. These two generations didn‘t contradict each other, but it actually helped our today‘s
social network to improve and possibly be happened because of the previous social networks
we had.
To further understand social media, and to explain it technically, according to Kaplan and
Haenlein (2010) it is ―a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-
generated content.‖ As citizen of this community we can produce and receive information
through communication, in the usage of social media, not only we can produce and receive
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 27
information. But we can also retrieve and construct information or memories that could be
stored forever as long as internet is still existing. That is one thing social media can serve us.
The users of social media are random individuals that you may perhaps know as critics,
writers, scholars, like-minded persons, experts, or decision-makers. We may not know who can
read and see our message or post, but one thing is for usre that we retrieve and build
messegaes that can be read all around the world if you wish to.
The table below shows classification of social media according to Kaplan and Haenlin
(2010).
Social Presence
Low Medium High
Self-presentation/self-disclosure
High Blogs and microblogs Social Networking sites Virtual social worlds
(e.g., Twitter) (e.g., Facebook) (e.g., Fairy land of Second
Life)
Low Collaborative projects Content Communities Virtual game words
(e.g., Wikipedia) (e.g., YouTube (e.g., World of Warcraft)
.
As you notice, our social presence also varies in different social media outlet or application
we are trying to use. And that explains why every user of social media outlets has different
reactions and interpretation toward the idea we read or we see on social media. That also
explains why the matter of our behavior is also changing, either we are getting used to being
alone, or we are just seeking for companionship because we feel lonely using these social
media outlets.
It is different if I am just going to give you thumbs up for approval, or I will instead send you
a message telling that I approve to your work, we have a different respond to how we give our
message on different social media outlet. The heart-react on social media had now become
normalized, but if I will send you a heart emoticon, out of nowhere it may have a different
meaning of how you interpret it.
This generation of digital age, has undeniably altered our emotions and thinking that
caused our reaction and responses reshape our interpretation of things. Even in news and other
issues, we now have different way to respond on it if you shared-post it on Facebook. When you
see humorous pictures or jokes, it is strange now to respond on it because it is just visuals and
no words at all. Memes, today, had entered our social media world, there would be no day that
you couldn‘t see any memes whenever you swiped on your screen. They emerge everywhere,
not only on one social media but all of it.
Memes, as it sounds like, and even on its visual, it seems so casual. But, professionally
speaking, memes have become the spotlight of the newer tool to communicated using words
and images in social media. It is not really new but it has been developed through time, from
generation to generation. Let us first define what is a Meme?
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28 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
As we all know that there is one thing that meme can do to us, it‘s either it gives us
humor from the image we can relate to or find interesting and fun facts from the reality that the
image is showing to us. Sean Rintel (2014) stated on his essay, What are Memes, that memes
are shared ―nuggets of cultural currency‖. These quick-edited pictures of showing both relevant
and funny pictures had become an important way and mechanism to create meanings that
―predates the internet‖ (Suarez et al, 2018). But, now not only to a particular public post, memes
are being used as part of creative comment culture.
It is fun to discover that through these visual elements that social media reconstructed,
we are now allowed to share our feelings in more interesting way and less embarrassment.
Technically speaking memes or memetics are not really new or the unique invention of
today‘s social media. The term ―memes‖ was first adopted from a biologist named, Richard
Semon, and through his research in theorizing biologically inhetiable memory, he used the word
meme to explain his study about it, although, we are not studying biology or any genes.
Later on, in the other explanation, Richard Dawkins, from his book The Selfish gene,
took the opportunity to coin the meme term from Greek ―mimes‖ meaning ―imitator‖ as a cultural
analogue to ―self-replicating unit of information‖ (Rintel, 2014)
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 29
They argued that the evolution of the term ―Meme‖ also carried its purpose to replicate,
imitate one information from generation to generation. On its similar principles (2014) particular
thought has left and arrived; which are the concepts of arts and humanities, politics and
religions, trends and fashion. Basically, perhaps, memes have a purpose to retain one idea from
the past bringing to the future in order to not be forgotten.
Unfortunately, not all memes are successful, some meres have failed to be replicated,
and that was because memes have three properties by which they evolve and exist.
1. INTERTEXUALITY. This property will let you create a meme with the reference of
the other memes, mashing up photo with historical or famous reference with a text as
a message you want to communicate.
2. INDEXICALITY. A property that can be used to comment on different situations.
Having one image that can be used to different message, and could give you same
feeling and reaction visually.
Internet had become so rich when it comes to being a host or transmission of ideas, and
memes are not exempted on it. Internet and social media performed a very heavy task to make
the meme transmit to all individual accounts of social media. This explains the great function
and importance of social media to retain, transmit, produce, and retrieve similar ideas and beleif
that one culture in one society possesses.
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THE TIE-BACK
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publisher/compiler via pupenglishdepartment@gmail.com.
32 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
So, I will give you a list of expectation of audience when you are presenting a topic in
front of them.
1. Deep understanding of the topic through explanation of it to others.
2. Exposure of your work to the scrutiny of the audience.
3. Improvements in your ability to articulate an argument.
4. Contribution to the learning of your peers.
5. Demonstration of your research skills
6. Communication of your work to a wider audience other than via written work.
7. Development of workplace skills and skills necessary for lifelong learning.
8. Skills to defend an argument or stand.
Your visual support material will be your friend throughout your oral presentation, it can
assure your success and great deployment of information you are presenting to your audience.
It can be your keywords or cues whenever you forget something along the way. And it makes
you more professional and ready-looking standing on the podium and communicating with your
audience with the help of the technology.
CHECKPOINT
Activity. Share one of your experiences when you need technology the most in a particular
situation. Write your own story on the sheet given below
Answer Sheet:
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publisher/compiler via pupenglishdepartment@gmail.com.
34 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
REFERENCES:
Baruah, T. D. (2012). Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communication. Assam: International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications.
Dresang, J. (1985). Authoritariam Controls and News Media in the Philippines. ISEAS - Yusok Ishak Institute.
Kangal, S. (2020). Definition and Nature of Communication. Retrieved from iEduNote:
https://www.iedunote.com/nature-of-communication
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Communication: The Process, Barriers, and Improving Effectiveness. Houston.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 35
OBJECTIVES:
Heading
If your company uses a template that contains your company‘s logo, complete office
address, contact numbers e-mail address, you may simply proceed to the next part which is the
dateline. If your company does not follow a template, typing the heading is necessary. The
heading of a business letter contains information about the sender. The first line of the heading
contains the complete address of your office. The second line contains the name of the city
where your company is located followed by the ZIP code number. The third line contains the
date that is, if there is no template that is prescribed by the company.
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36 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Dateline
Dateline shows the date when the sender wrote the business letter. It appears on a
single line about two to eight lines below the margin on top of the page. The placement of the
dateline depends on the format or style of the business letter that you will write. The American
business letter begins with the month followed by the day and then the year when the letter was
actually typed of dictated.
The British business letter on the otherhand begines with the day, followed by the month
and then the year when the letter was typed or dictated.
In spite of the differences, the widely used format in the Philippines is the one that starts
with the month, day and year. Look at the sample below:
December 1, 2008
Inside Address
The inside is necessary in all letters regardless of its type and format. The inside
address contains the individuals courtesy title and his full name. You should also know his
professional title, the company name and full adress. If you are not sure of a woman‘s courtesy
title, it is safe to use ―Ms.‖
Salutation
Salutation contains the name of the person or office to which you are writing. It is
usually typed two or four lines below the inside address or the attention note. Two spaces is the
most common spacing being used by the senders. The sample below shows how the salutation
looks like.
The body of the letter should be single-spaced. There should be two spaces in between
paragraphs. In cases where the letter is too short, double-spacing can be used within the
paragraphs, using the semiblock style of indentation to indicate new paragraphs.
Women may indicate how they wish to be addressed by placing Miss, Mrs., Ms. or
similar title in parentheses before their name. The signature line may include a second line for a
title, if appropriate. The signature should start directly above the first letter of the signature line
in the space between the close and the signature line. Use blue or black ink. (Lotich, 2019)
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 37
Example:
Attention line. If the letter is going to a large company, an attention line can provide the
bit of necessary emphasis you need so that the letter goes where it needs to go. Write
―Attention:‖ and then the name of the recipient (for example, ―Attention: Human
Resources‖). The attention line should go two lines below the recipient address.
Through Line. ―This part appears in the letter if the sender is a subordinate who writes
to a person higher in position than his immediate superior. It is a protocol that
communications should pass through channels.‖
Subject or reference line. This part can focus the recipient on the letter‘s actual
purpose. Start with a ―Subject:‖ or a ―Re:‖ or write in all caps.
Enclosures. If there are any enclosures, e.g. leaflets, prospectuses, etc., with the letter,
these may be mentioned in the body of the letter. But many firms in any case write
Enclosure, Enclosures, Enc., or Encl. at the bottom of the letter, and when there are a
number of documents, these are listed. The first letters are capital and the articles are
omitted in the list of the enclosed documents.
Confidence Notation. The phrase Private and confidential may be written at the head of
a letter or below the inside address, and more importantly on the envelope, in the case
where the letter is intended for the eyes of the named recipient. It should always be
underlined. There are many variations of the phrase – ‗Confidential‘, ‗Strictly confidential‘
– but little difference in meaning between them.
Copy Notation. The copy notation c.c. (carbon copies) is written, usually at the end of
the letter, when copies are sent to people other than the named recipient. The names of
those who will receive copies of this letter follow the copy notation. Sometimes you will
not want the recipient to know that other people have received copies. In this case, b.c.c.
(blind carbon copies) is written on the copies themselves, though not on the top copy
(the original letter).
Postscript. The postscript is written at the very bottom of the letter only in the case
when after the letter had been singed something very important happened. We treat
postscripts in the same way as we treat other paragraphs, except that we precede each
postscript by P.S., PS: or PS.
Typist's initials. If someone else types the letter for you, include your initials in capital
letters and the typist's initials in lowercase letters three lines below your signature.
Separate the sets of initials with a colon (:) or slash (/):
There are three main styles of business letter: block, modified block, and semi-block
styles. Each is written in much the same way, including the same information, but the layout
varies slightly for each one.
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38 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 39
You should pay special attention to the font when typing a business letter. Even if you do
the entire form exactly right and choose the wrong font, it can still make the document look very
unprofessional and even hard to read. Some companies have a preference they would like you
to use. Most of the time, using Times New Roman or Ariel is recommended, with a font size of
12. It is important to keep in mind that if you are working for someone and writing letters on the
company letterhead, you are representing that company. Therefore, it is best to keep personal
innuendos, fluff, and cutesy stuff out of it. (Rockowitz & Rockowitz, n.d)
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40 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
The Six C’s of Business Communication (The Letter Writer’s Creed) (Butt, 2016)
Completeness
giving all the necessary information to bring the desired response
leaving no questions in the mind of receiver
answering all questions
checking for the 5 Ws and 1 H (who, what, when, where, why, and how)
giving additional information wherever required
For the following letters, here are some of the most important information that you should
include.
Application Letter
= position applied for
= qualifications (educational attainment, work experience, skills, achievements)
= desired action of the receiver of the letter
Collection Letter
= amount of debt
= date of payment
= interest
= the length of time the debt was incurred
= desired action of the receiver of the letter
Sales Letter
= name of product or service
= description
= price
= benefits for the consumer
= instructions on how to avail the product or service
Example:
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 41
Clearness/Clarity
The foundation of clearness is well-built plan. The clearer the plan and the simpler the
language, the more quickly your message can be understood. Letters filled with a jumble of
scattered facts can do great damage.
Completeness is one of the essentials of clearness, for if an important detail is omitted, the
letter is not clear. Suppose a customer places an order for 200 boxes of apples. But the letter
does not specify which kind the customer has ordered.
Punctuation Marks
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42 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Punctuation Marks
Sentence Structure
Sentence Structure
Example:
Concreteness
Communicating concretely means being specific and vivid rather than being vague and
general.
Vague/general/indefinite: This computer reproduces invitation letters fast. Our products have
won several prizes.
Definite/convincing: This computer types 1ooo personalized invitation letters in an hour. Sony
TV has won first prize in four national contests during the past three years.
Use vivid, specific words to focus descriptions, relate actions, and convey meanings exactly.
General: The batter pleased the crowd with a hit that won the game.
Specific: The batter lifted thousands from their seats with a game-winning double.
General: The leader vowed to win against the enemy.
Specific: The admiral vowed to seize the enemy‘s flagship.
Use action verbs in the active voice whenever possible to make statements precise and lively.
Linking verb: Steve‘s costume was frightening to the children.
Action verb: Steve‘s costume frightened the children.
Linking verbs: The judges were certain that Alvin was the winner of the race.
Action verbs: The judges declared that Alvin won the race.
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44 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Checkpoint
Activity: Change the following sentence into more concise and precise sentence.
We have your recent letter.
You can depend on us to deliver your order quickly.
The applicant is well-educated.
He went to the bookstore which is located at a short distance.
Damage from the typhoon was significant.
He will need several new pieces of equipment soon.
Prices last year were excessive.
Conciseness
A good letter fuses completeness and conciseness. Conciseness prunes the message to
the logical minimum, completeness guarantees that the message will be transmitted in full.
A. (Wordy-47 words): I wish each and every person who receives this notice and has a
suggestion to make states what he has to say on the enclosed card, sign it and drop it in the
mail at once so that I may know his opinion as soon as possible.
B. (Concise-12 words): Please write your suggestions on the enclosed card and mail it
immediately.
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46 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Wordy
Three days ago, you asked us to investigate the problem of discomfort among your
office workers. We have found out that too low humidity is apparently the main cause of your
problem. Your building is steam-heated: therefore, your solution is to...
Concise
Too low humidity is apparently the cause of your workers‘ discomfort. Since your
building is steam-heated, your solution is to…
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48 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
CHECKPOINT
Activity
Example:
Dear Mr. Japsay:
I am of the opinion that in the event a conflagration of such magnitude as the one which
was traumatically and disturbingly experienced by the people of Pasay City recently when they
celebrated their annual fiesta occurs adjacent to our office, we must of necessity advise our
workers not to easily or immediately panic but to be calm and composed and to search for the
fire exits which are very conspicuous.
I think that if a fire as big as what took place in Pasay City the other day happens near
our office, we must tell our workers to look for the fire exits calmly.
Correctness
This quality of effective business letter writing includes not only the use of proper
grammar, punctuation and spelling, but also the appropriate level of language. Correctness also
refers to the use of accurate facts, words, and figures in your business messages.
Sentences may be improved by using verbs that convey strong action. For instance, in
some noun/verb constructions, the verb and the second noun can be replaced by a single more
vivid verb, as in the following examples:
NOUN/VERB/NOUN: Baron Von Steuben led the Continental Army in drills at Valley Forge.
Baron Von Steuben drilled the Continental Army at Valley Forge.
NOUN/VERB/NOUN: Heavy rains caused a flood in our basement.
REVISED: Heavy rains flooded our basement.
NOUN/VERB/NOUN: The newspaper gave its endorsement to the incumbent.
NOUN/VERB/NOUN: The newspaper endorsed the incumbent.
Use the active voice to make statements more vivid and forceful. Active voice allows the
subject of the sentence performs an action. Conversely, the subject of the sentence written in
passive voice has an action performed on it. Frequently, a change from passive to active voice
will increase the impact of your sentence.
Passive: The new driving test was failed nine times out of ten.
Active: Nine out of ten people failed this new driving test.
Passive: The sunshine was filtered by the fog.
Active: The fog filtered the sunshine.
General: The batter pleased the crowd with a hit that won the game.
Specific: The batter lifted thousands from their seats with a game-winning double.
General: The leader vowed to win against the enemy.
Specific: The admiral vowed to seize the enemy‘s flagship.
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50 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
The Clichés
Avoid worn-out words or expressions; replace them with fresh, direct ones.
CLICHÉ: Getting the lead in the play put Roberto in cloud nine.
REVISED: Getting the lead in the play exhilarated Roberto.
GRAMMARLY
Grammarly is a writing tool that helps you check for several types of errors.
For new writers and professional writers, this grammar checker acts as another line of
defence, even if they are native English speakers. Plus Grammarly offers settings specific to
Canadian English, American English, British English, Australian English and more.
You can use it to make sure your book, article or blog post is accurate and easy to read.
The premium version is also useful for students who may have a batch of work they want to
check. You can take out a subscription for a month, check your work and then cancel if you
need to. That said, be careful to check that you‘re not violating any rules and regulations set by
your university or school.
Option 1
Copy and paste your entire article, book or extracts of your writing into Grammarly for
proofreading, grammar checking and for a spell check.
Option 2
By clicking on ‗Import,‘ you can also upload a Microsoft Word document into Grammarly.
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52 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Option 3
You can actually use Grammarly as your primary writing app, by writing directly in the tool. As
you type, Grammarly will automatically start pointing out errors. Once you click on the ―Correct
with Assistant‖ button, Grammarly will show you the errors.
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Coherence
Coherence describes the way anything, such as an argument (or part of an argument)
―hangs together.‖ If something has coherence, its parts are well-connected and all heading in
the same direction. Without coherence, a discussion may not make sense or may be difficult for
the audience to follow. It‘s an extremely important quality of formal writing.
Coherence is relevant to every level of organization, from the sentence level up to the
complete argument. However, we‘ll be focused on the paragraph level in this article. That‘s
because:
1. Sentence-level coherence is a matter of grammar, and it would take too long to explain
all the features of coherent grammar.
2. Most people can already write a fairly coherent sentence, even if their grammar is not
perfect.
3. When you write coherent paragraphs, the argument as a whole will usually seem
coherent to your readers.
Although coherence is primarily a feature of arguments, you may also hear people talk
about the ―coherence‖ of a story, poem, etc. However, in this context the term
is extremely vague, so we‘ll focus on formal essays for the sake of simplicity.
Coherence is, in the end, a matter of perception. This means it‘s a completely subjective
judgement. A piece of writing is coherent if and only if the reader thinks it is.
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 55
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56 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Thirdy Japsay
Courtesy
Not one of the qualities of a personality that engendered goodwill and friendliness than
does courtesy. Goodwill is the decision of the customer to return to the place where he has
been well served.
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes that life is short but there is always time for courtesy. A
great man once said, ―I do not know of a more certain key to success than courtesy. It will carry
you further in this world and cost you less than any other single quality you could possess. If I
could talk in thirty languages, I would preach courtesy in all of them.‖
Courtesy is often secured by avoiding words and ideas that offend the reader. Courtesy
is far more than generous use of words Please and Thank you.
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58 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
b. Omit expressions that irritate, hurt or belittle. Avoid irritating expressions such as:
contrary to your inference irresponsible
delinquency why have you ignored
I do not agree with you your neglect
I am sure you realize your stubborn attitude
c. Grant requests if needed: should you apologize, do so good naturedly. Whenever you
send messages to your customers, begin your letter with the best news in a courteous,
ungrudging tone.
Grudging : Your request to change monthly payments causes a great deal of extra
paperwork. Anyway, we will try to find out how we can possibly comply with it. Only, it would
take time before we can do this.
Good-natured : As you requested, we will send you the latest copy of your statement of account
with all the necessary changes.
A job application letter can impress a potential employer and set you apart from other
applicants. In your letter, you may also want to show your familiarity with the company to which
you‘re applying. You can talk about how your professional goals and aspirations align with the
company‘s goals. It‘s important to use your job application letter to showcase aspects of your
personality.
Example header:
Your name
Your physical address
Your phone number
Your email address
Date
By including a professional and detailed heading, you can make it easier for the hiring manager
to follow up with you regarding the position.
Example: “I saw the posting for the Marketing Intern role on my university‟s online job board and
I am very interested in the role. I am in my final year of earning my bachelor‟s degree in
marketing with a minor in communications, so I feel my educational experience has prepared
me to work in a fast-paced marketing department like the one within your organization.”
8. Express appreciation
Before you sign off on your letter, express your appreciation to the hiring manager for
reviewing your letter and considering you for the position. The hiring manager is taking time out
of their day to read what you have written, so expressing your gratitude for that time spent is a
polite and professional way to close the document.
Example: “I appreciate the time you have taken to review my application letter. Since you likely
received a number of applications and letters for this open position, I am extremely grateful for
the time you have spent reading about me and what would make me a good fit for this role.”
copy of the letter, include your signature above your typed name. When submitting an
application letter via email, you should include your contact information beneath your name,
rather than including it in the header.
When emailing a job application letter, it is also important to consider what subject line to
use to make sure the hiring manager opens the email and reads your letter. When scanning
their inbox, the hiring manager will see the subject line you included first, along with your name
and email address. The decision to read or delete an email ultimately depends on what subject
line you choose which means it is your chance to make a first impression.
The best subject lines are professional, polite, relevant and concise. When sending a job
application email, it is important to include the title of the job into which you are inquiring or for
which you are applying. Making your subject line specific also helps the reader categorize the
email properly and respond accordingly. Review your subject line to make sure it is free of any
errors. (Indeed.com, 2020)
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62 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
Purposive Communication Compiled By: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay 63
2. Career objective
As a fresh graduate with very little experience, your objective is an important section of the
resume. Its main purpose is to get the immediate attention of the recruiter. However, this part
should be short and concise and should emphasize what skills, knowledge, and abilities you
have that will help the company achieve its goals. Remember, every company has different
goals, so your objective should be tailored fit for every job application you're applying for. Divide
your paragraph in three short sentences:
Mention your degree and years of work experience (if you have any)
Describe your strongest provable traits
Emphasize your abilities that will help in achieving company goals
3. Education
While most professional resumes continue with work experience, a college graduate's
resume should begin with your highest educational attainment. Recruiters first check if
a candidate meets the certain job requirements, and such requirements may often be your
degree. Begin with the most recent academic qualification coming first, and earliest ones last.
Mention your GPA to strengthen the chances of getting noticed. Include only your relevant
educational attainment (college degree, masters, and/or short-courses).
4. Work experience
You might be wondering why this section exists in an article that clearly states to having
no work experience. Well, your internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer experiences are already
work experiences and have been crucial to you as you‘ve developed professionally. This is
where you place them. Write down the most recent job on your list down to the earliest. Mention
the company, your position, how long you rendered in that job. The important key here is
mentioning the details, so highlight your responsibilities, and what you've achieved during your
stay there.
show where you have been and where you hope to go in your career. When should you use an
objective, and when can you exclude it from your resume?
Some people say that objectives are no longer necessary in a resume—at best, they are
unnecessary, and at worst, they are outdated. 1 However, a resume objective that focuses on
your skills and abilities can actually enhance your resume by convincing employers that you
know what you want to do and that you have the skills needed for the job.
For example, it might state some of your past accomplishments, and then move on to the kinds
of accomplishments you hope to achieve in the future (ideally, accomplishments you want to
achieve for the company you are applying to).
Ultimately, stating an objective is optional, but it can help convince employers that you
know what you want and are familiar with the industry.
Be Specific
The more specific you are, the better chance you have of being considered for the job
you are interested in. It is a good idea to write a new resume objective for each job you apply
for.
Use Keywords
Another effective strategy is to include keywords from the job listing in your resume
objective. Not only can this increase the chances of your resume getting picked up by a
company‘s applicant tracking system; it can also emphasize how your qualifications align with
the job listing.
Make a Match
You should also only state career goals that are feasible within the company. For
example, if you ultimately want to become a managing editor at a magazine, but you are
applying for a job at a newspaper, do not state this. Focus on how you want to grow within the
company.
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66 Compiled by: Mariano, Concepcion, Japsay Purposive Communication
To obtain a position that will enable me to use my strong organizational skills, award-
winning educational background, and ability to work well with people. (Doyle, 2020)
Points to Remember:
Don‘t claim any still you don‘t have.
Define or specify what skill you have.
Don‘t copy other people‘s objective.
You sometimes use online resume maker to create your resume like:
o LinkedIn
o Resume.com
o CVMaker
o CakeResume
o novuresume
Final Requirements:
1. You are tasked to write a letter inviting a key speaker in a seminar for your organization.
2. Write an excuse letter for your teacher.
3. Write a lost I.D replacement letter.
4. Create an application letter
5. Write a comprehensive resume
100%
References
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communication
Cullen, M. (2020, June 19). What is Business Writing? [A Simple Definition]. Retrieved August
16, 2020, from Instructional Solutions:
https://www.instructionalsolutions.com/blog/business-writing-simple-definition
Doyle, A. (2020, June 17). Resume Objective Examples and Writing Tips. Retrieved August
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How-does-Grammarly-for-MS-Office-work-
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Indeed.com. (2020, May 27). How to Write an Application Letter (With Examples). Retrieved
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job/how-to-write-an-application-letter-for-a-job
Kalibrr. (2016, May 30). How to Write a Fresh Graduate Resume With No Work Experience.
Retrieved August 2020, from Kalibrr: https://www.kalibrr.com/advice/2016/05/how-to-
write-fresh-grad-resume-no-experience
Kangal, S. (2020). Definition and Nature of Communication. Retrieved from iEduNote:
https://www.iedunote.com/nature-of-communication
Lampert, L. (2017, September 26). The Qualities of Effective Business Letters. Retrieved
August 2020, from Bizfluent: https://bizfluent.com/info-8370483-qualities-effective-
business-letters.html
Lotich, P. (2019, June 19). What are the Seven Parts of a Business Letter? Retrieved August
16, 2020, from Thriving Small Business: https://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/what-are-
the-seven-parts-of-a-business-letter/
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Communication: The Process, Barriers, and Improving Effectiveness.
Houston.
Rockowitz, D. M., & Rockowitz, A. C. (n.d). BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING
Writing a Business Letter. New York.
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