ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATI
ON
1. SPEAKER
The speaker chooses his or
her purpose, crafts the
message accordingly, and
decides how to deliver it. This
is the first element of the
communication process.
Example:
• When a president delivers his
State of the Nation Address
(SONA).
But in other forms of
communication, the speaker
might not be as obvious.
Examples:
• When one is talking with his or
her mother, both participants
alternate as speaker.
• When just hanging out with
one’s friends, everyone can
become a speaker from time to
2. MESSAGE
The message is what needs to
be delivered or imparted to
somebody else. This is central
to the process because the
point of communicating is to
say “something.”
The message to be sent is based on
why the speaker wants to say it (to
persuade, to inform, or to entertain),
what the speaker wants to say, and
how the speaker wants to say it.
Example:
• Speech of Pope Francis at the
2015 Youth Summit at the
University of Santo Tomas.
There is always a message in
communication, even in
informal communication.
Examples:
• The student talks to the teacher to
ask about the assignment given when
he or she was absent.
• Another message could be to
convince his or her friends to go to
the mall after class instead of going
straight home.
3. LISTENER
The listener receives the message. It
is said that even if the speaker is great
and the message is beautiful, if there
is no listener or the listener is not
paying attention, then communication
fails.
It is the listener who makes sense of
what is said and reacts to it–by
clapping, nodding, replying, asking a
return question, following the
speaker’s words, falling asleep, or
walking away.
Communication is an
interactive process and if the
speaker is one-half of the
communication, then the
listener is the other half.
Examples:
• Imagine how it must feel when
someone wants to tell his or her best
friend about something nice that
happened today, only to find out that
his or her friend was absent.
• Even more disappointing is if his or
her best friend was present but, for
4. CHANNELS
Channels are the means by which
the message is sent and received.
There are only five channels: ears,
eyes, skin, mouth, and nose. In
other words, a message is sent
and received via the senses.
Of course, messages are first
received through the ears by
hearing, while gestures and
facial expressions are received
by the eyes through seeing.
The skin, mouth, and nose are
not the main pathways for
sending a message, but they
are still crucial in the imparting
and receiving of messages.
Example:
• Imagine trying to comfort
relatives whose house had just
burned down. Not knowing what
to say, an arm around their
shoulders or an embrace will
“say” the message.
If one is deeply moved,
sometimes one cannot help but
cry with them. This is a
message that does not use any
words.
Examples:
• When someone sticks his or her
tongue out after having eaten
something; this tells the people
around what the person has just
eaten is sour, bitter, or hot.
• Then there is the smell of food
emanating from a restaurant
where one passes by and that
tempts potential diners to come
in and eat.
5. RESPONSE
The response is the only way the
speaker knows that the message
has been received. Whether the
listener responds or not is central
to the communication process.
The response is, of course,
based on the interpretation of the
message by the listener. If the
interpretation is positive, then
the response will be positive.
Listeners will say yes, nod, smile,
or clap their hands. They will even
do what the message asks: sign a
petition, work in the school garden,
or volunteer for a program.
But if the interpretation is negative,
then the response will also be
negative. They will frown, boo, refuse
to clap (or clap just out of politeness)
even walk out, or walk away.
Example:
• If listeners, agree that planting trees
is one way of helping save the
environment, then those who agree
will come to the tree planting area.
Those who do not agree (even if they
“say” they do) will not even show up.
6. FEEDBACK
Feedback is the result of the
speaker’s monitoring of the
listener’s response. The listener
may respond to the message
positively or negatively.
The speaker needs to watch out for
this response to know if the
message was effectively imparted or
not. Ensuring what the feedback is
will help the speaker in continuing
with the communication or with
crafting of the next message.
7. NOISE
Noise is any barrier to
communication.
THREE TYPES OF
NOISE
1. PHYSICAL NOISE – actual noise
Examples:
• loud music
• irritating throttle of a motorcycle
engine
• a seatmate who talks to you while the
teacher is explaining the lesson
2. PHYSIOLOGICAL NOISE – when the
body becomes a hindrance to good
communication
Example:
• because of a headache or a toothache,
one may not be able to effectively listen
to a friend, listen to music, or do
3. PSYCHOLOGICAL NOISE – occurs
when one is talking deeply about
something or is suffering from an
emotional condition
Examples:
• sadness
• depression
• confusion
8. COMMUNICATIVE
SITUATION
Communicative situation has
two components: the physical
location and the psychological
setting.
TWO COMPONENTS OF
COMMUNICATIVE
SITUATION
1. PHYSICAL LOCATION – usually
chosen for the purpose it will serve
Examples:
• classroom is used for teaching
• auditorium is used for school
programs
• streets are used for vehicles
2. PSYCHOLOGICAL SETTING –
depends on who the participants are
Examples:
• The classroom is for teaching, but the
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) holds
its meeting there.
• The auditorium for school programs is now
the stage for the Drama Club’s production of
“Supremo: The Life of Bonifacio.”
• The streets meant for vehicles to traverse are
now used by the group One Billion Rising to
hold a rally protesting violence against
women.
