Human Communication

INTRODUCTION

     Basically, most of the persons’ waking lives entail a lot of oral communication transactions, be it formal or informal, verbal or non-verbal, oral or written, intentional or unintentional or at given communication contexts or situations purposively or slimly at times sans a purpose. The human communication process may involve intrapersonal, interpersonal, organized communication, public communication or mass communication which certainly observes the basic principles and ethics of communication. In this respect, communicators are ought to observe ethical implications in the process of having communication activities in the perspectives of the society, local and global communication encounters carefully observing some language varieties and registers of spoken and written communication especially in the context of visual communication and the multi-media for intelligibility and understanding.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

The learner…

• explains the communication process across contexts.
• analyzes the role of communication participants in achieving effective communication.
• proposes commendable ways to overcome communication barriers.
• acts out varied communication situations purposively.

OVERVIEW

     Communication is an integral aspect of living—of being human.  It occupies a large chunk of your day.  Intrinsically, you feel the need to express yourself—your thoughts, ideas, perspectives, emotions, etc.—and to interact with others with a purpose (i.e. to seek or share information, to persuade, to request).  Your ability to communicate effectively enables you to establish connections and rapport with other people.  Mastering the skill of getting your ideas across will allow you to share them clearly to your interlocutor (audience).   Nevertheless, as George Bernard Shaw expressed, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”   You may have the brightest and most incredible ideas but may not be able to express them clearly.  That is why you have to strive to enhance this valuable craft of communicating effectively in everyday life.  In fact, according to Paul J. Meyer, communication is the key to personal and professional success.  Whatever path in the stage of your life you follow, your communication skills will propel your progress at every phase. However, failure to communicate or overcome communication difficulties when they arise can create dilemmas and hinder your success.  

Communication Processes

A.      Directions:  Preview the following questions with a partner.  Then, watch the video presentation on communication.  Discuss and answer the questions after viewing.  Be ready to share your ideas with the class.

What is Communication? (Click this link)

Questions

1  1. How is communication defined in the video?

   2. What types of communication are mentioned?  How do they differ?  Cite example/s from the video and from your own observations and experiences.

    3. Answer the last question posed at the end of the video: “Do you consider the interaction with a computer, [real] communication?”  Justify your answer/s.

    4. What can you surmise or infer about the nature and process of communication from the video presentation and the previous exercises?