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Mass Communication
Studies
Introduction to Communication
What is Communication?
 “Communication” is derived from
Latin commūnicāre, meaning "to share"
 Communication is the process by which we understand
others and in turn endeavor to be understood by them.
It is dynamic, constantly changing and shifting in
response to the total situation (Anderson, 1959)
 Communication is all of the procedures by which one
mind can affect another (W. Weaver, 1949)
 Communication means that information is passed from
one place to another. (Miller, 1951)
 “Communication is social interaction through messages.”
 “Communication is sharing of experience.”
How we communicate?
 Verbal communication
 Transmitting messages, using words/language and
symbols to represent real objects and ideas.
 Non verbal communication
 Almost 80% of all communication is nonverbal.
 It includes a series of gestures, such as facial
expressions, signs, body movements, eye contact,
tone of voice, and sounds.
How we communicate?
Includes all forms of transmission of messages not
represented by words and symbols. Sign language,
action or movement language and pictorial
language.
How we communicate?
 Look at this traffic officer. He is not speaking but
still conveying message.
Types of non-verbal
communication
 Chronemics –
 Communication through use of time. Chronemics is the study of
the use of time in nonverbal communication. The way that one
perceives and values time, structures time and reacts to time
frames communication..
 Kinesis
 Communication through body movements.
 Occulesics
 Use of eye contact in discussions.
 Haptics
 Use of touch to communicate feelings
 Voclics
 Communication through changes in human voice e.g. a sudden
change in one's voice tone during a communication process can
communicate annoyance.
Types of verbal communication
 Paralinguistic
 Communication through tone, pitch, e.g., sighing.
Paralinguistic is Paralanguage includes pitch, loudness, rate,
and fluency.
 Meta communication
 how verbal information should be interpreted.
 It is based on idea that the same message accompanied by
different meta-communication can mean something entirely
different, including its opposite,
 The term was brought to prominence by Gregory Bateson to
refer to "communication about communication", which he
expanded to: "all exchanged cues and propositions about
(a) codification and (b) relationship between the
communicators".
Types of Communication
 Intra-personal
 In intrapersonal communication, one communicates with
himself or herself. It involves the exchange of messages
between the brain and the sense organs of the body.
 Interpersonal
 Interpersonal Communication is that between two or more
individuals.
 it is communication that goes on between people, mostly in
a face-to-face situation. Such a situation makes it possible
for feedback to be immediate. Feedback is given in the form
of both verbal and non-verbal cues
Types of Communication
 Group communication
 Group communication has to do with communication
between different groups of people. It is a form
interpersonal communication because it is mostly in a faceto-face situation and feedback is most time immediate. For
example, lecture, round table discussion etc.
Types of Communication
 Organizational communication
 Organizational communication is communication between
different set-ups, e.g. department; units- or segments
of an organization.
 Public Communications
 Public communication is the
communication among people of
common interest and, perhaps,
of same social background, e.g.
communication between members
attending political parties,
social clubs, village meetings etc.
Types of Communication
 Mass Communication
 It is a type of communication where a large body (Millions of
people) of people is addressed.
 It uses any medium of media to convey the message at a
mass level.
 In this case, the target audience does not have same
interests or social backgrounds.
 They can only be reached through a mechanical device,
hence, it is a mediated form of communication to a larger
audience who are all reacting or responding to the stimuli of
that communication.
Recognizing barriers to
effective Communication
 Encoding Barriers.
 Obstacles listed below can interfere with an effective
message.
 1. Lack of Sensitivity to Receiver.
 A breakdown in communication may result when a message
is not adapted to its receiver. Recognizing the receiver’s
needs, status, knowledge of the subject, and language skills
assists the sender in preparing a successful message. If a
customer is angry, for example, an effective response may
be just to listen to the person vent for awhile.
 2. Lack of Basic Communication Skills.
 The receiver is less likely to understand the message if the
sender has trouble choosing the precise words needed and
arranging those words in a grammatically-correct sentence.

Recognizing barriers to
effective Communication
 3. Insufficient Knowledge of the Subject.
 If the sender lacks specific information about something, the
receiver will likely receive an unclear or mixed message. .
 4. Information Overload.
 If you receive a message with too much information, you
may tend to put up a barrier because the amount of
information is coming so fast that you may have difficulty
comfortably interpreting that information.
 5. Emotional Interference.
 An emotional individual may not be able to communicate
well. If someone is angry, hostile, resentful, joyful, or
fearful, that person may be too preoccupied with emotions to
receive the intended message.
Recognizing barriers to
effective Communication
 Transmitting Barriers: Things that get in the way of
message transmission are sometimes called “noise.”
 1. Physical Distractions.
 A bad cellular phone line or a noisy restaurant can
destroy communication.
 2. Conflicting Messages.
 Messages that cause a conflict in perception for the
receiver may result in incomplete communication. For
example, if a person constantly uses jargon or
slang to communicate with someone from another
country who has never heard such expressions, mixed
messages are sure to result.