Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

(CvSU)
Don Severino De Las Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite, Philippines 4122

Prepared by:

MODULE I: COMMUNICATION PROCESS AND ITS

COMPONENTS
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the process of communication;
2. Identity the elements and components of communication;
3. Differentiate the types and and levels of communication;
4. Discuss communication ethics.

Lesson 1: The Communication Process and Its Components

A. The Communication Process
Communication is defined as the “systemic process in which people interact with and through
symbols to create and share meaning” (Wood, 2003; cited by Agustin, et al., 2018). It can also be defined
as the process of sharing meaning in any context (Agustin, et al., 2018).

Basically, the communication process takes place once we send codes to convey a certain
message and we get feedback from anyone who receives it.

Figure 1. The communication process 1

1
https://www.educational-business-articles.com/wp-content/uploads/communication-process-model.jpg
Communication Process and Its Components
2

Why is it called a process, then? Answer is it is because this happens with a “procedure” through
its components or elements. Communication cannot begin unless there is a message sent from a sender.
After encoding and sending the message, it then travels through a channel to be decoded by the receiver,
and the receiver in turn will encode another message (called the feedback). The original sender now
becomes the receiver of the feedback and they decode the feedback as well; hence, it becomes a cycle as
the conversation goes on unless there is an external or internal factor (noise) that will hinder the successful
reception of the intended message.

B. Elements of communication

1. Context - this is the “setting in which the communication process takes place” (Agustin, et al.,
2018). The context may be any of the following:
● Physical context refers to the environment in which the communication takes place.
Temperature, lighting, and noise level are some factors that may affect the flow of the
conversation.

Ex. You and your friend are riding a jeepney in Quiapo, Manila. Since the traffic jam is heavy
in Quiapo and there are lots of honking horns from other vehicles, you adjust the volume of
your voice when talking in order for the two of you to understand each other.

● Social Context is “the relationship that exists between and among participants”2. The way
that we communicate with a person close to us would be different from the way we
communicate with an acquaintance or a stranger. In the same way, even with people close
to us, the way we communicate with our parents would be different with the way we
communicate with our friends.

● Historical Context has something to do with previous encounters that somehow influence
their current conversation.

Ex. *Your friend comes crying to you*

Friend: Friend, Patrick and I broke up and--
You: Oh come on! Spare me the empty promises. I know you two will be back together again
after a few days.

● Psychological Context has something to do with the mood and emotions evoked by the
interaction between and/or among the participants.

Ex. You can’t stop laughing because your friends always deliver the best jokes and
punchlines.

● Cultural context includes the beliefs in, values, and norms that are shared by a large group
of people (Lustig and Koester, 1993; cited in Agustin et al., 2018).
Ex. In several Asian countries, you take off your footwear upon entering the house of
another person because wearing them inside the house would be impolite.

2
Agustin, R.Q., Feranil, B.S., Hernandez, R.R, Jimenez, K.D., Manaig, R.A., Mendoza, L.D., & Mojica, C.R. (2018).
Communication Process and Its Components. In E.C hernandez, B.J. Ilagan, & A.R. Solis (Eds.), Communication in Multicultural
Contexts: Meanings and Purposes (pp. 1-8). Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc.
Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.
Communication Process and Its Components
3

2. Participants - the people exchanging the message and feedback-- the sender and the receiver.

3. Messages - the code or information being sent to the receiver.

4. Channel - the medium in which the message travels through from the sender to the receiver.

5. Noise - the factors that impede the successful transmission of the message and cause
communication breakdown. Noise may be external, internal, or semantic.
● External noises are those around the participants that may cause the sender from being
unable to encode the message or the receiver from being unable to decode the message
successfully.

Ex. You were not able to hear your mother’s call because you were listening to music with
your earphones.

● Internal noises may be emotions, thoughts, or state of being that may interfere in the
transmission of the message.

Ex. (emotions) You’re annoyed with the classmate who is discussing in front that is why you
did not want to listen to their topic.

(thoughts) You were not able to answer the teacher’s question because your thoughts were
flying to what you would eat for lunch during the discussion.

(state of being) Since you stayed up late on a Saturday night, you struggled to stay awake
and listen to the priest’s sermon.

● Semantic noises refer to the unintended meanings from certain messages that prevent
successful decoding from the receiver.

Ex. You got misunderstood by your classmate on your comment online that read “SML”
which originally meant “so much love” instead of “share mo lang?”

6. Feedback is the response of the receiver which reflects how the receiver decoded the message.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Why is communication considered a process?

2. Given that the message was sent successfully but the receiver did not give any feedback, is it still
considered as communication?

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.

Communication Process and Its Components
4
Lesson 2: Levels of Communication
A. Forms of Communication
People use verbal and non-verbal codes to communicate. Verbal communication refers to any form
of communication that involves the use of words (oral or written). Sending text messages and emails are
examples of verbal communication.

Non-verbal communication, on the other hand, is the type of communication that does not use
words but may enhance or change the linguistic code. Below are the following functions of nonverbal
codes:

a. Repeating - strengthens the verbal message. (Ex. pointing your finger to the direction that you are
saying,)

b. Conflicting - this happens when the verbal message is opposite the nonverbal signals that we give,
(Ex. saying “It’s okay” even when your eyes twitch out of annoyance).

c. Complementing - using non-verbal signals to reinforce the general message of what is being said.
(Ex. When endorsing a certain food product, endorsers use a lively tone accompanied by a grin or a
wide smile to indicate their satisfaction on the product).

d. Substituting - this is when non-verbal codes take the place of verbal messages but with the same
meaning and sometimes deliver a deeper message. (Ex. When our mothers are angry--like really
angry--they tend to get silent and give us “that stare” to tell us that she has had enough).

e. Regulating - non-verbal codes may also be used sometimes as tools to regulate the conversation.
(Ex. Aside from holding your hand up with your palm facing the other person, touching one’s arm
during a conversation may also give a signal for them to pause and give you room to speak).

f. Accenting/Moderating - this happens when someone uses nonverbal signals to emphasize

(accenting) or reduce attention to (moderating) verbal messages through the use of touch, pitch,
and other gestures.3
(Ex. Increasing volume at certain words during a speech to emphasize those words - accenting).
(Ex. Speaking fast at some parts of the topic when reporting to avoid questions).

Forms of non-verbal communication are the following:

a. Kinesics - a nonlinguistic element of communication that refers to the movement of any body part to
deliver a particular message.
i. Gestures - uses a body part in replacement of or along with a verbal message.
ii. Facial expressions - movements of the face to indicate emotions or moods.
b. Proxemics - the use of space to convey a message.If we are going to observe, we can somehow
determine the closeness of the people talking to each other by their distance from each other. The
farther they are from each other, the more distant their relationship is.
c. Haptics - the use of touch to convey a message. (Ex. Slight tap on a member’s shoulder to indicate
delegation of task)

3
Changing Minds. (n.d.) Non-verbal functions. Retrieved September 7, 2020:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/body_language/non-verbal_functions.htm
Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.
Communication Process and Its Components
5
d. Oculesics - the use of eye movement to indicate a particular message. (Ex. Looking away from the
other person’s eyes may indicate lying)
e. Other paralinguistic elements such as the following:
i. Pitch - the highness and lowness of the voice may also show the emotions of the speaker.
When we are angry, our voice either gets dangerously low, or ear-piercing high. Usually,
one’s voice becomes high-pitched when happy.
ii. Tempo - the speed of saying a specific utterance also indicates the mood of the speaker.
When we are angry, we tend to speak faster than normal, that is why we tend to stutter when
angry.
iii. Voice intensity - this refers to how much our voice gets amplified at specific parts when
uttering certain statements. Refers to the volume of our voices.
iv. Juncture or pauses - helps create suspense and dramatic effect. Long pauses usually put
the audience at the edge of their seats.

B. Levels of Communication
1. Intrapersonal - a level of communication that happens within oneself. Thought-processing and
decision-making are examples of intrapersonal level of communication.4
2. Interpersonal - a level of communication that involves two to fifteen people (small group). Gossip
mongers sharing a rumor or gossip about someone else is an example of interpersonal level of
communication.
3. Public speaking - this level of communication involves a speaker and a crowd of people (16 or more
people) as its audience. Meeting de avance and research congress are examples of public level of
communication.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you agree with the saying that “what is being said is more important than how it is being said”?
Why or why not?
2. Would verbal communication be successful by itself without non-verbal communication and vice
versa or not? Why do you think so?

Lesson 3: Functions of Communication

Before we enumerate the functions of communication, let us remember that function is synonymous
to use and purpose. Hence, we can say that we use communication for several purposes. Below are the six
functions of communication in our lives:

a. We communicate to meet needs.

Whenever we need something, we need to communicate it to another person in order for
them to distinguish what we need. Even as a baby, our mothers knew that we needed milk
whenever we suckled our thumb, or that we were sleepy when we became irritable and cried. At
present, we just need to say what we need for it to be provided like asking your classmate for a
sheet of yellow paper for the activity.

4
Agutsin, R.Q., Feranil, B.S., Hernandez, R.R, Jimenez, K.D., Manaig, R.A., Mendoza, L.D., & Mojica, C.R. (2018).
Communication Process and Its Components. In E.C hernandez, B.J. Ilagan, & A.R. Solis (Eds.), Communication in
Multicultural Contexts: Meanings and Purposes (pp. 1-8). Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc.
Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.
Communication Process and Its Components
6

b. We communicate to maintain or enhance our sense of self.

In this function, we communicate in order to discover something about ourselves. For
instance, It is through interaction (for interaction needs communicating with the other person) that
we discover that we do not like certain vegetables. It is also through interaction that we discover that
we prefer deep talks with a sensible person rather than a meaningless conversation with a shallow
person.

c. We communicate to fulfill social obligations.

As social beings, we humans have certain social obligations that we fulfill. Greeting our
friends and acquaintances on Facebook on their birthdays, participating in those “leave a dot”
games on Facebook, or greeting our instructors upon entering the meeting room are some of the
things we do to socially connect with other people.

d. We communicate to develop relationships.

Not only do we develop relationships when we communicate, but we may also maintain or
end them through communication. How do we make friends? We talk to the first person we see in
the class list from the portal especially if we do not know anyone from the section. We also develop
the relationship by constantly talking to them starting at trivial things or things about class until the
time that we already share secrets and jokes that only we and our friends understand.

e. We communicate to exchange information.

We also communicate when we need to exchange ideas like how we brainstorm when we
need to pass a research topic to our research adviser back in Senior High School. We also
communicate when we exchange our understanding of the instructions that our instructor gave us
for the assignment or an upcoming activity.

f. We communicate to influence others.

Have you ever noticed that you and your close friend share some common behaviors,
attitudes, likes and dislikes? It is because through the years of doing things together and constantly
communicating with each other, you have somehow influenced each other into behaving like the
other. The same also goes to tweets or posts that you constantly see as you scroll through your
feed. Reading a thread of tweets with pieces of credible evidence somehow influences your way of
thinking and you somehow find yourself agreeing with the author’s argument.

Lesson 4: Principles of Communication

Aside from the functions of communication, of course there are still some guiding principles in
communication.

a. Communication is purposive.
Remember the functions of communication? We communicate because we have a purpose
for communicating. We communicate because there is an underlying motive why we communicate.
Whether it be to convey that we need something, or developing relationships or influencing others,
communication has a purpose.

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.

Communication Process and Its Components
7
b. Communication is continuous.
Communication is non-stop. Even when you try it for a day, you will realize that you are still
communicating with others because communication takes place verbally and non-verbally. So we
better be conscious of the verbal and non-verbal signals that we send instead because we won’t be
able to stop communicating anyway.

c. Communication messages vary in conscious encoding.

Messages may be encoded spontaneously (such as in conversations that we have with
friends) or from a script (such as in interviews where the questions are pre-listed already with
follow-up questions depending on the answers of the interviewee).

d. Communication is relational,
When we communicate, not only do we share and create meanings, we also create
connections among the participants. Whether it be transactional, or relational, there is a relationship
created in communication. That is why communication is involved in developing, maintaining, and
dissolving relationships.5

e. Communication has ethical implications.

We must always remember that ethics is non-negotiable when it comes to communicating
with others. Why do we filter what we say when talking to others or when posting in social media? It
is because we cannot deny the fact that communication has certain ethical standards and we must
abide by them as ethical communicators.

f. Communication is learned.
I think everyone will agree that everyone can talk but not everyone can communicate.
Communication does not only involve speaking, but also listening and thought processing before
constructing a response to the message. Also, it involves different strategies to successfully get the
message across to your intended receiver. For instance, not everyone can get the full attention of a
child, but some can successfully communicate with them. Being able to communicate with people
from different age groups, gender, and culture is a skill that everyone can acquire through constant
practice. And how do we practice that? By communicating with everyone.

Lesson 5: Communication Ethics

Ethics is defined as the behavioral rules and standards set for people to follow. Ethics deals with
what is the proper thing to do and what is not, and in communication, there are certain ethical standards
that we need to consider.

According to Berko (1995; cited in Agustin et al., 2018), “a speaker who uses language that
degrades or injures human personalities by exaggeration, pseudo truths, twisting of words, and name
calling is clearly acting unethically”.

Let us take note that:

5
Agustin, R.Q., Feranil, B.S., Hernandez, R.R, Jimenez, K.D., Manaig, R.A., Mendoza, L.D., & Mojica, C.R. (2018).
Communication Process and Its Components. In E.C hernandez, B.J. Ilagan, & A.R. Solis (Eds.), Communication in Multicultural
Contexts: Meanings and Purposes (pp. 1-8). Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc.

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.

Communication Process and Its Components
8

● Exaggeration - represent a matter or situation to be bigger or worse than it really is.

Ex. Your male friend accompanied you home to make sure you are safe and word has spread in
your community that different boys take you home every night just because gossip mongers
exaggerated your male friend’s concern for you.

How did this become an exaggeration? Witnessing something but giving it a bigger meaning
compared to what it really is and then spreading your own version of what you saw is clearly
exaggerating.

● Pseudo-truths - These are lies that appear to be the truth.

Ex. A circulating news online that Coronavirus is a bacterial infection curable by antibiotics.

How did this become a pseudo-truth? People believed that Coronavirus was really curable
by antibiotics because there have been “reported” cases in Italy that patients were given antibiotics
and recovered from the illness and who shared the news on their timelines.

● Twisting of words - Spreading a word or a statement in a manner different from its original and
intended meaning.
Ex. Buknoy Glamurr posted Awra Briguela’s conversation with the former’s manager about doing a
collaboration with Buknoy and saying that Briguela’s posts were quite different from what he told
Buknoy’s manager in the screenshot. Then Briguela clarified that that conversation happened way
before the issue between them began.

How did this become twisting of words? Buknoy used Briguela’s own words in a
conversation that happened way before to somehow tell the people that Briguela’s posts contradict
his exchange of words with Buknoy’s manager.

● Name calling - tagging a person with other names.

Ex. Typical bullying scene where the bully calls the person names to insult or hurt the other person.

Hence, in avoiding this, Berko (1995; cited in Agustin et al., 2018) listed some behaviors that ethical
communicators must have:

1. Speaks with sincerity.

As ethical communicators, we must always speak with sincerity. Yes, we crack jokes. But not
everything of course can be expressed through jokes, especially matters that need to be taken
seriously.

2. Does not knowingly expose an audience to falsehood or half-truths that can cause
significant harm.
As ethical communicators, we must always remember that we are accountable for
everything that we utter because it may cause harm, if not inconvenience, to the people that will
believe the half-truths that we utter.

3. Does not premeditatedly alter the truth.

I guess this is already self-explanatory. No one in their right mind would alter a truth just for
the sake of their own benefit. That is not just unethical, it is also cruel.

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.

Communication Process and Its Components
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4. Presents the truth as they understand it.
Presenting the truth as we understand it is not enough. We must also seek supporting
evidence especially if we did not witness the truth that we heard about.

5. Raises the listeners’ level of understanding by supplying the necessary facts

It is also important to not leave your listeners uninformed and “in the dark”. Whatever
evidence we have gathered (or resibo as netizens call it), we have to make sure to show it as well to
our audience/listeners. Keep them informed and educated about certain and important matters.
Everybody in this age of technology needs to know the truth.

6. Employs a message that is free from mental as well as physical coercion

Blackmailing is the other term for this one, and blackmailing does not only occur physically.
As ethical communicators, we must not exercise manipulation of the other person with the things we
say. For instance, using your relationship with someone for favors that you ask can be considered
as manipulation and coercion, especially if the other person does not want to do it.
Ex. Uy, ipaggawa mo naman ako ng essay sa Ethics… Sige na, ang damot naman nito. Kung
totoong kaibigan ka, ipaggagawa mo ‘ko...Bakit noong nagpapasa ka ng assignment kay Ma’am,
ginawa ko naman ah?

7. Does not invent or fabricate information.

This is a given. No one should ever fabricate stories about anything. We will not gain
anything from it anyway. It just destroys our credibility as a person once the truth gets uncovered.

8. Gives credit to the source of information.

Citing your reference is a MUST. Never ever forget to cite the source of information. It is
already common knowledge to cite the source of our information.

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.

Communication Process and Its Components
10
REFERENCES

Agustin, R.Q., Feranil, B.S., Hernandez, R.R, Jimenez, K.D., Manaig, R.A., Mendoza, L.D., & Mojica, C.R.
(2018). Communication Process and Its Components. In E.C hernandez, B.J. Ilagan, & A.R. Solis
(Eds.), Communication in Multicultural Contexts: Meanings and Purposes (pp. 1-8). Panday-Lahi
Publishing House, Inc.

Changing Minds. (n.d.) Non-verbal functions. Retrieved September 7, 2020:

http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/body_language/non-verbal_functions.htm

Figure 1. The communication process. From “The communication process model”, by

Education-Business-Articles.com, 2016,
https://www.educational-business-articles.com/wp-content/uploads/communication-process-model.j
pg. © 2016 by Educational-Business-Articles.com.

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.

Communication Process and Its Components
11

Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
(CvSU)
Don Severino De Las Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite, Philippines 4122

Prepared by:

INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY

Make a short video presenting 10 facts about you. The video must be at least 1.30
and max of 2 mins. .

RUBRICS:

Communicative Skills = 30
Video Presentation = 25
Creativity = 20
75 pts

Make a folder using your Google Drive and share it with me using the email address
treeshaannemagsino@cvsu.edu.ph. Once your output is available for checking, kindly
post your link on the comment box of our FB page. Thank you!

Warning: No part of this module shall be reproduced or redistributed in any form.