Oral Communication

Ritchel B. Bernardo
 A. Definition of Communication
 Communication is a vital element in varied
disciplines because of its richness in scope and
extent of the application. It is in this context
that numerous definitions of communication
will be illustrated to grasp further the concept
as viewed by experts.
 Schramm states communication is “a tool that
makes societies possible and distinguishes
human from other societies.”
 Berelson and Steiner explain communication as the
transmission of information, ideas, and emotions,
skills through the use of symbol, words, pictures,
figures, and graph.
 Rogers states that “ Communication is the process
of transmitting ideas, information, and attitudes
from the source to a receiver for the purpose of
influencing with intent.”
 Kar visions communication as “all those planned or
unplanned processes through which one person
influences the behavior of others.”
 The following definitions when put together
comprehensively suggest that communication
can be defined as: “a process of transmitting
ideas, information, attitudes by the use of
symbols, words, pictures, figures from the
source (who is the originator of the message)
to a receiver, for the purpose of influencing
with intent.” Therefore, communication is
considered as a process through which senders
and receivers of messages interact in a given
social context.
The Four Basic Components of
the Concept of Communication
Communication Components
A sender transmits a message to receivers
depending on the previous definitions; it
can be resolved that communication is a
process used for timely and proper
exchange of information between a
sender and a receiver to achieve the
desired objective.
Factors in the Definition
 Process
It advocates that the components of
interaction are dynamic in nature
which simply means that no single
aspect of communication can be
meaningfully understood apart from
the other elements.
 Interaction
It is the process of relating between
senders and receivers of the message
because communication is an attempt to
bridge the gap between two individuals
through production and reception of
messages which is central to the
understanding of the concept of process
in communication.
 Social Context
Human communication is influenced to
a great extent by the social context in
which it occur where it consists of a set of
rules which govern the origin, flow, and
effect of the messages.
B. Communication Process
It is the partaking of significant information between
two or more people where the objective of the receiver
understanding the sender’s intended message.
Developing Transmission of Receiving
Selecting
Ideas by the Encoding Message message by the
Medium message
sender receiver

Decoding
SENDER

Receiver

FEEDBACK
Thus, it is evident that communication
process is the set of some sequential steps
involved in conveying the message as well
as feedback. The process requires a
sender who transmits a message through
a channel to the receiver where the
receiver decodes the message and sends
back some signal or feedback.
Steps or Elements of Communication
Process
The communication process refers to the steps
through which communication takes place
between the sender and the receiver. This
process starts with conceptualizing an idea or
message by the sender and ends with the
feedbacking from the receiver. In details,
communication process consists of the
following eight steps:
Developing Idea by the Sender
The first step, the communicator
develops or conceptualizes an idea to be
sent. It is also known as the planning
stage since in this stage the
communicator plans the subject matter
of communication.
 Encoding
Means are converting or translating the
idea into a perceivable form that can be
communicated to others.
 Developing the message
After encoding, the sender gets a message
that can be transmitted to the receiver.
The message can be oral, written,
symbolic or nonverbal. For example,
when people talk, speech is the message;
when people write a letter, the words and
sentences are the messages; when people
cry, the crying is the message.
 Selecting the medium
Medium is the channel or means of
transmitting the message to the receiver.
Once the sender has encoded the
message, the next step is to select a
suitable medium for transmitting it to
the receiver. The medium of
communication can be speaking, writing,
signaling, and gesturing.
 Transmission of message
In this step, the sender transmits the
message through chosen medium. In the
communication cycle, the tasks of the
sender end with the transmission of the
message.
 Receiving the message
This stage simply involves the reception
of sender’s message by the receiver. The
message can be received in the form of
hearing, seeing, and feeling.
 Decoding
Decoding is the receiver's interpretation
of the sender’s message. Here the receiver
converts the message into thoughts and
tries to analyze and understand it.
Effective communication can occur only
when both the sender and the receiver
assign the same or similar meanings to
the message.
 Feedback
The final step of the communication
process is feedback. Feedback means
receiver’s response to sender’s message. It
increases the effectiveness of
communication. It ensures that the
receiver has correctly understood the
message. Feedback is the essence of two-
way communication.
Examples and observations
 Sender and Receiver
“ In the basic interpersonal communication
model, the sender, also known as the source,
is the person who initiates the
communication process…. In a dyadic, or two
person, communication situation, the
receiver is the other person involved. In a
public speaking or public communication
situation, the audience is made up receivers.
The numbers can vary from a few to a few
hundred. In mass communication, there could
be hundreds, millions, or even billions of
receivers while in dyadic communication or
public speaking, the channel, or a means of
sending or receiving information, is both
verbal communication (the spoken word) and
nonverbal communication.
 Interaction of Senders and
Receivers
“ Communication is interaction where
participants take turns ‘sending’ and
‘receiving.’ This turn- taking is even true
for mass- mediated communication, for
instance, the process whereby an
entertainment program is created,
programmed, and aired for an audience’s
enjoyment.
If the audience watches and enjoys the program,
it is likely to continue to be aired. If the audience
is not amused, the program is prone to be
canceled. Interaction means that both parties –
persons or entities– can affect the other. in this
way, both parties are senders and receivers. They
also co – persuaders in that they may take turns
trying to affect one another by sharing symbols.”
 Context
“It refers to the idea that every act of
communication must happen in some
surroundings or the physical context – which is to
do with the occasion involved and the people in it.
It could be might be a group of friends in a club or
a family meal or a group of mourners at a funeral.
On the other hand is the cultural context which
refers to an even broader set of circumstances and
beliefs, which still may affect how we talk.
 For example, it would matter if the funeral was in
Hindu or an Anglican context. It is particularly
important to see that the media are part of the
cultural context in which we operate. How we talk,
what we talk about, what music we listen to, has a
lot to do with the influence of the cultural context
of the media.”

(Richard Dimbleby and Graeme Burton, More than

Words: An Introduction to communication, 3rd ed.
Routledge, 1998)
 Noise in the Communication
Process
“Noise is anything that interrupts or interferes
with the communication process which can be
physical or psychological which can disrupt the
communication process at any point, and
which can be associated with any element in
the system.”
(Sandra D. Collins, Interpersonal Communication:
Listening and Responding, 2nd ed. South – Western, 2009)
Feedback in the Communication
Process
Feedback is the final link in the chain of the
communication process. after receiving a
message, the receiver responds in some way and
signals that response to the sender. The signal
may take the form of a spoken comment, a
long sigh, a written message, a smile or some
other action. Even a lack of response, is in a
sense, a form of response.
 Without feedback, the sender cannot confirm
that the receiver has interpreted the message
correctly. Feedback is a key component in the
communication process because it allows the
sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the message
to take corrective action to clarify a misunderstood
message.”

(Sathya Swaroop Debaish and Bhagaban Das, Business

Communication. PHI Learning, 2009)
 Co – orientation in the
Communication Process
“ An interesting manifestation of the attention
paid to the receiver in the study of the
communication process is the concept of ‘co-
orientation,’ which has become popular in the
United States recently. The idea behind this
concept is that two persons can have similar
perception and interpretations of the same
object, and the greater the similarity (co-
orientation),
 the more efficient will be the flow of
communication between the persons.
Conversely, an intense flow of
communication may increase co-
orientation.”

(Juan Diaz Bordenave, “Communication Theory and Rural

Development.” Communication for Social Change
Anthology, ed. by Alfonso Gumucio Dagron and Thomas
Tufte. CFSC Consortium, 2006)