Download Elements of Communication

Elements of
Communication
Elements of Communication
 6 Elements of Communication
1. Verbal messages
2. Nonverbal messages
3. Perception
4. Channel
5. Feedback
6. Context
Elements of Communication
1. Verbal Messages
 Verbal messages are spoken words you use when
communicating
Elements of Communication
1a. Verbal Messages
 Most children begin to use words by the time
they are 10-14 months old
 Words do not have the same meaning for
everyone
 Also words change their meanings over
time…can you think of an example?
 Communicators need to know how to select the
most exact words to get their messages across
accurately
Elements of Communication
1b. Verbal Messages
 Differences in meaning:
 Not all words mean the same thing to all people
 Interact: With a small group of 3 or 4 people list the
possible meanings of the following words or phrases
See you later
Expensive
Tall
Hot
Free
Bad
Party
What’s on Friday night?
What a day!
She is bad.
Elements of Communication
1c. Verbal Messages
 Denotative meaning of words
 The definition of a word found in a dictionary
 Connotative meaning of words
 An emotional or personal response to a word
 For example: home-denotative meaning is
one’s place of residence ----home-connotative
meaning is security
 Everyone’s connotative meaning for words will
be different
Elements of Communication
2. Nonverbal Messages
 Nonverbal messages are messages expressed
without words
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a. Appearance
b. Facial expression & eye contact
c. Posture
d. Gestures
e. Voice
2a. Appearance
 If you needed to ask someone for directions, who
would you ask first?
 An old man in dirty clothes
 A cute teenage boy or girl
 A woman with an infant
 Or a woman in a sari
2a. Appearance
 Clothes, body size, hairstyle, makeup, and
decorations such as jewelry or slogan buttons
all send messages about how a person sees
herself or himself
 You probably make quick first judgments about
others based on appearance
 So that means that others make first judgments
about you based on your appearance
2b. Facial Expression & Eye
Contact
 Smiles or frowns tell others a great deal about how a
person is feeling
 A person’s face often reveals rather quickly that a
person is angry, happy, frustrated, or nervous
 What is a look that tells you not to bother your parent?
 Most people believe the eyes are the most expressive
part of the body
 Eyes show feelings that might be hidden otherwise
 You can learn a lot from a person’s willingness or
unwillingness to look at you
2c. Posture & Walk
 Posture refers to your body’s position as you
sit, stand or walk
 The way you sit or stand communicates a great
deal about your mood or feelings
 If you are slouching, you create a very different
image than if you are standing or sitting up
straight
2c. Posture & Walk
 Posture can also send other messages
 Models are taught to “walk tall” to make good
impressions
 Persons interviewing for jobs are taught to
stand and sit up straight because they will
seem more confident
 Interviewers usually notice people’s posture
while they talk with them about their
qualifications
2c. Posture & Walk
 The way you walk also sends nonverbal messages to
others
 When you watch people walking slowly & dragging
their feet, you might decide they are reluctant to get to
where they are going
 When you see people walking briskly, you may
conclude they are anxious to get somewhere
2d. Gestures
 The way people move their arms, hands, and
fingers plays a part in communication
 Most good speakers use gestures to help make a
point
 Besides large gestures, people use hand signals to
communicate
 Think of the different meanings of the peace sign,
the OK sign, or crossed fingers
 Can you think of other gestures that are used to
send a message?
2e. Voice
 A person’s voice, that is, not what is said but how it is
said, conveys important messages
 Voice includes
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Pitch-how high or low the tone of voice is
Rate-how quickly or slowly something is said
Vocal quality-the tone or sound of a voice
Volume-the loudness or softness of a voice
Elements of Communication
3. Perception
 The process of giving meaning to information you learn
through your five senses: taste, touch, hearing, sight,
and smell provide you with information about the world
Elements of Communication
4. Channels of Communication
 In communication terms, the channel is the means by
which a message is transmitted
Examples
 Television
 E-mail
 What are some other channels of
communication?
Elements of Communication
4a. Channels of Communication
 People tend to place greater importance on 1
channel than on another
 Example: if you are talking on the phone and
watching tv, you tend to place greater importance on
only 1 of those. You can’t truly focus on both
Elements of Communication
4b. Channels of Communication
 When a person has trouble understanding a
message, there is said to be noise in the channel
 Noise is anything that interferes with a listener’s
ability to receive a message
 Could be outside the person (tv, radio, hard chair)
 Could be inside the person (a headache, worries,
boredom)
 Sometimes you can control the noise (turn down
music and sometimes you can’t)
Elements of Communication
5. Feedback
 Positive and Negative Feedback
 Positive feedback tells you that you’re doing fine (a
smile, nod of the head, all indicate that you are
getting through as you intended)
 Negative feedback tells you there is a problem to
deal with or lets you know the listener does not
agree with your ideas
 It is important to recognize whether a listener is
confused or whether a listener is disagreeing
 Communication goes smoothly when speakers &
listeners pay attention to feedback
Elements of Communication
6. Context
 Finally, all these essential elements of communication
come together within a context
 Context is the setting and people that surround the
message
 Setting involves time, place, and occasion
 You may say something at a certain place or time that you
wouldn’t say at another place
 The people in the setting influence what is said and
what is not said
 The way you see the setting and the other people
involved will affect how you handle certain topics