Five Principles of Communication

THE DISCIPLINE OF COMMUNICATION

Handouts # 1- Module I 1. Communication is a process.
It begins with the sender formulating the
Learning Objectives: message, delivering the message and it ends with the
1. Identify the Goals and Scope of Communication transmission of the message. That is one-way
2. Explain the Principle and Scope of Communication communication. When message is successfully
3. Describe the Elements and Levels of Communication transmitted, the receiver may respond and initiate
Process. the process of communication, thus having the two-way
communication. Two-way communication is considered
as effective communication (Bowles 2017).
Communication is a manner of passing
information between people or group for common 2. Communication has elements.
understanding and confidence. It includes the move Like any process, communication involves some
of information from the sender to the receiver. The actors or elements. The main elements are the sender,
receiver must understand the meaning and message the message, the medium, the receiver and the
feedback. The sender encodes or formulates the
of information. It can also be taken as the way of
message, which is decoded by the receiver. Message is
sharing ideas, thoughts, opinions and views from the information that the sender wish to convey. Medium
one person to another person. or channel is the means by which the message is
This handouts will help understand the goals transmitted. Feedback is the response of the sender.
and scope of communication. It will also introduce There are also other elements that affect the process of
principles and elements of communication. communication and these are communication barriers
and context. Barriers, like noise and psychological
conditions, are elements block communication process.
REMEMBER Context, according to an English professor, is the setting
and situation in which communication takes place
(Nordquist 2020).
Communication
Communications comes from Latin word 3. Communication has goals.
‘communicare’ which means “to share”. As the As mentioned earlier in this module, people
meaning suggests, it is a process of sharing information, communicate to achieve goals that are each unique for a
ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions from one person particular setting, time and place. People communicate
to another or from one person to a group of people using with various intentions. However, these varied
various channels or media. communication goals may be categorized into
1) to express, 2) to command, 3) to persuade,
According to Dunn and Goodnight (2003), 2) 4) to inform and 5) to entertain.
communication is an interdependent process of sending,
receiving, and understanding messages. In addition, 4. Communication has levels.
Luther defined communications as the transmission of In the context of the number of people involved
commonly meaningful information. It is a process that and reachedby the communication process,
involves the exchange of behaviors. communication levels can be divided into four.

Also, It as a process of conveying a message or Level One, called intrapersonal

messages to another or others for a purpose or purposes. communication, is when communication
involves one participant and that would be one’s
Basic Goals of Communication self.
 to attain understanding, which happens because of
the successful process of conveyance or Level Two, called dyadic communication, is
transmission of message. when communication involves two participants.

1. to express Level Three, called group communication is

2. to command when communication involves more than two
3. To persuade participants.
4. To inform
5. To entertain Level Four, called mass communication is
when communication involves a large number
of participants which includes groups of people.

5. Communication has forms.

 People convey messages in different forms. In above all else and uses certain methods – the foundation
this module four forms communication are presented. of which is a discipline of verification –” to gather and
These are verbal, non-verbal, written and graphical assess what he or she finds+
forms of communication. (www.americanpressinstitute.org n.d.).
Journalists seem to be the more familiar professionals
1-Verbal communication is in spoken form. and practitioners in communication to you but there are
actually other communicators.
2- Nonverbal communication types include Professionals and practitioners of
facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistics such communication are the people who seriously deal with
as loudness or tone of voice, body language, the elements of communication and who work with
proxemics or personal space, eye gaze, haptics mastering the what, who, where, when, how and why of
(touch), appearance, and artifacts (Cherry 2020). communication to discover patterns, principles, tools,
arts and sciences of communication effectively bring
3-Written form of communication are those about desired results. They are the ones who work
that are printed in letters and legible characters towards the achievement of goals of communication
which may be to express, to command, to persuade, to
4-Graphical form of communication uses inform and to entertain in professional and business
symbols, lines, shapes, pictures and the likes to manners. They use the different forms and levels of
convey messages. communication in technical ways with sophisticated
programs and processes to ensure the achievement of
professional and business communication goals.
Handouts 2-Module 2 Mastering the arts and sciences of
PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTIONERS OF communication, a communicator becomes a
COMMUNICATION professional in this field. Organized and coordinated
activities and practices of communication towards
Learning Objectives: specific goals led to specialization of communication
works. For instance, a news reporter specializes in
1. explain the roles and functions of communicators and gathering information about a significant social event
journalists and plays the role of providing the public
2. identify specific work areas in which communicators comprehensive and essential news. That is just one work
and journalists work area. Familiar work areas include television, radio,
3. explain the rights, responsibilities and accountabilities print media (newspaper, magazines, newsletter, etc.),
of communicators and journalists social media,
4. distinguish between ethical and unethical behaviors
among practitioners Professional Areas of Communication

Can you remember your class electing the P.I.O. 1. Business & Organizational Communication-
of your homeroom organization at the start of the school application in businesses and other organizational
year? What does P.I.O. mean? Well, it means Public settings to effectively convey information,
Information Officer. From the title itself, you can tell convince and persuade others, resolve conflicts, and
that this officer informs the public. How does he achieve clearly defined goals.
inform? He has to communicate. Right? There you can
see that communications play a part in public or social 2. Journalism & Media:
concerns. P.I.O. is just one of the practitioners in the The practices of journalism and news reporting and their
field of communication. place within the larger media environment, their role in
In this module, the people in the field of societal and political contexts, and how the power of
communications are called basically communicators mass media is harnessed and deployed.
and journalists. Their basic function is to communicate.
I believe you are familiar with some prominent figures 3. Politics & Public Relations:
in Philippine journalism like Jessica Soho, Kara David, The art and science of messaging, branding, and
Noli De Castro and Ted Failon. using language, visual data, and other tools of
Journalism originally referred to the reportage communication to convince, persuade, and otherwise
of current events in printed form, specifically influence the thinking and actions of others.
newspapers, but with the advent of radio, television, and
the internet in the 20th century the use of the term 4. Advertising & Marketing:
broadened to include all printed and electronic Using the tools of communication and media
communication dealing with current affairs (Britannica technologies to sell and market goods, products, and
2020). Journalists differ from other communicators. services to targeted consumers and mass audiences.
The American Press Institute provided reason for this
and stated that “the journalist places the public good 5. Electronic & Digital Media Production:
 The technical aspects of working in various
communication media, including radio, film, video, 2. I shall not violate confidential information or material
television, and online platforms. given me in the exercise of my calling.

6. Strategic Communication: 3- I shall resort only to fair and honest methods in my

The coordination of an organization’s internal effort to obtain news, photographs and/or documents,
and external communication assets to promote long-term and shall properly identify myself as a representative of
messaging, branding, and/or business objectives. the press when obtaining any personal interview
intended for publication.
7. Interpersonal Communication:
The study of different modes of communication, 4.I shall refrain from writing reports which will
the cultural and societal factors that impact these modes adversely affect a private reputation unless the public
of communication, and how this affects the interest justifies it. At the same time, I shall fight
communication of information and ideas between vigorously for public access to information.
groups and individuals (online education.com n.d.).
5. I shall not let personal motives or interests influence
Existing Communication Professionals me in the performance of my duties; nor shall I accept or
1. public information officer offer any present, gift or other consideration of a nature
2. public relations officer which may cast doubt on my professional integrity.
3. spokesperson, 11. blogger,/vlogger,
4. media expert, 12. producer, 6. I shall not commit any act of plagiarism.
5. advertising officer, 13. book writer,
6. news anchor, 14. host, 7. I shall not in any manner ridicule, cast aspersions on,
7. news reporter, 15. Secretary or degrade any person by reason of sex, creed, religious
8. correspondent, 16. teacher belief, political conviction, cultural and ethnic origin.
9. column writer,
10. magazine editor 8. I shall presume persons accused of crime of being
innocent until proven otherwise. I shall exercise
Five Core Principles of Ethical Journalism caution in publishing names of minors and women
1- truth and accuracy, involved in criminal cases so that they may not
2- independence, unjustly lose their standing in society.
3- fairness and impartiality,
4- humanity, and 9. I shall not take unfair advantage of fellow journalists.
5- accountability (ethicaljournalismnetwork.org n.d.).
10. I shall accept only such tasks as are compatible with
In 1988, the Philippines Press Institute, the the integrity and dignity of my profession, invoking the
National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, and the 'conscience clause' when duties imposed on me conflict
National Press Club approved the Journalists’ Code of with the voice of my conscience.
Ethics (philpressinstitute.net 2017). Also, the Kapisanan
ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas established its own system of 11. I shall comfort myself in public or while performing
self-regulation and standards for radio and television my duties as journalist in such manner as to maintain the
stations in the country (kbp.org.ph n.d.). dignity of my profession. When in doubt, decency
should be my watch word.
Communication indeed is a process that
involves elements, forms and levels to achieve its
purposes. Communication practitioners and
professionals are definitely vital elements of
communications. Playing institutional roles and Handouts 3- Module 3
performing essential functions, communicators have to CLIENTELE and AUDIENCES OF
be responsible, accountable and ethical. They deserve to COMMUNICATION
be protected and respected
Learning objectives:
1. describe the clientele and audience of
JOURNALISTS’ CODE OF ETHICS communication
2. distinguish the needs of individuals, groups,
1. I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, organizations, and communities
taking care not to suppress essential facts or to distort
the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize
the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct
substantive errors promptly.
 When someone is communicating, it is usually communication agencies are information, updates,
towards someone or some people. The receiver of the statistics, research results and analysis, project
communication may react or respond in so many ways. assistance and other organizational and business
It is good if one gets the desired respond or feedback. communication needs.
Thus, it is important to identify and understand the
clientele and audiences of communication, the receivers. Communities as audiences of communication
The audiences of communication are also complex have special needs as well. They may need
just like the forms, levels and other elements of services and assistance in the aspects of health,
communication. education, governance, livelihood, and other social
communication needs.
In this module, we will categorize the clientele
and audience of communication into three types. These
are individuals, groups and organizations, and Communication is effective if the message has
communities. been successfully transmitted to an audience that
responded with desired feed backs. Thus, it is necessary
Basically, individuals are the persons who to identify the type of audience and their particular
receive the communication and who independently communication needs to become effective
involve themselves in the communication processes for communicator.
their personal purposes. Examples of this category of
audience are your parents when you talk and
persuade them to buy you something. The COMMUNICATION MEDIA CHANNELS

Groups and organizations are associations of Mass media - they are all forms of
individuals who are linked by their common communication that are devoted to transmitting
characteristics. These associations engage in the standardized messages to widespread audience.
communication for their group or organizational goals. This includes newspapers, magazines, books,
An example of this category of audience is a business e-books, radio, social networking sites and Internet,
entity listening to a presentation about a project proposal television, and motion picture. By and large, much of
of an advertising firm that has been convincing the said mass media has become electronic media and covers
business entity to become a regular client. radio, television, media technology, and web design
with streaming audio and video.
Communities are inhabitants or populace of a
particular geographical location who become audiences
of agencies and organizations because of their shared Levels of Communication
common characteristics and social needs. An example of
this category is an indigenous tribe educated by a civic 1. Intrapersonal Communication. This refers to a
organization about responsible farming. communication “within” a person. Often, we used to
talk with ourselves especially when making a decision,
There are also other classifications of audiences having a dilemma, in times of confusion, reflection and
and clients. They can also be classified according to age self-evaluation. We act as both sender and receiver of
group like children, youth, adult, and senior citizens or communication.
according to economic status such as upper class,
middle class or lower class. There can be many 2. Interpersonal Communication. It is also known as
classification of clients and audiences. Classification of dyadic communication. This communication happens
audiences is dependent upon the needs, strategies, nature when one person is conversing to another person using
and specialization of the communication agency or verbal and non-verbal cues.
organization. Classification of audience may also
be according to their needs. 3. Small Group Communication. In this
communication, respect, understanding is very necessary
The needs of individuals as audiences are for people might have different culture, background,
diverse. A person listens, watches or observes to be beliefs, set of practices, religion and etc. Examples of
informed, to be entertained, to be involved or even to these are conferences, seminars, classroom setting
be amazed. They have varied personal communication discussions, sessions and more.
needs and reasons for involving themselves in the
communication process. 4. Mass Communication. This type of communication
uses the media as the medium to transmit message to
mass audience. It can be categorized into printed media
and non-printed media.
Groups and organizations have unique and
sophisticated needs. Their needs from