Lecture 3 Oral Communications in Context

Types of Communication

I. Intrapersonal
It involves talking to yourself. It may also involve deliberation, where you think about
your decisions or possible courses of action. It may also involve meditation about
yourself, where you think about your life and what is involved in it. Negative meditation
is worry when you meditate on negative things about your life and the possible threats
they have towards you. Intrapersonal communication allows you to get to know yourself
better, organize your thoughts, and heal yourself emotionally. In intrapersonal
communication you have the opportunity to explain yourself including your motives and
actions against your values and allow yourself to make adjustments to your behavior
based on what you think is best. This does not include clarification because there is little
or no need for clarification when talking to you.

II. Interpersonal
It involves talking to one or a limited number of people. This requires you to adjust your
speech to suit the character and personality of the person or people you talk to. Since
you are communicating with a limited number of people, the opportunity for feedback
and clarification is much greater.

When interpersonal communication is between two people, then it is considered a dyad

(couple or pair). In this context, the possibility of clarification and feedback is maximized
because the interlocutors (participants in a communication situation) are focusing one on
one. Adjustments also are maximized because either one has to adjust to only one
person. In addition, the opportunity for either participant to speak and express ideas is
also maximized. This context is very much personalized and in many cases is the best
context in communicating with a person.

When interpersonal communication is between three or more people, it is considered a

small group. In this context, the possibility of clarification and feedback is lessened
because there is more than one person to adjust to. In fact, adjusting to accommodate
one person may negatively impact others in terms of communication. This means that
any attempt by a speaker to adjust must bear in mind what is beneficial to all
interlocutors. Also, any attempt to clarify may actually disrupt the flow of communication.
For example, even when only one participant fails to comprehend what is spoken by the
speaker and asks for clarification, the others have to take a pause when in fact they are
already prepared to listen to the next flow of ideas. In a small group, the possibility of
focusing on the topic is also lessened because a participant may say something that is
not very much connected to the topic. Participating in a small group therefore requires
important skills to develop.

In interpersonal communication, Jakobsons six functions of language can be fully

realized. In simple terms, interpersonal communication may be cognitive (relating to
facts about the world), conative (influencing behavior), phatic (emphasizing the
 interaction), emotive (relating to emotions particularly that of the speaker), metalingual
(focusing on the code or language used), or poetic (relating to the message itself).

III. Public
It involves communicating to a wide group of people with very varied traits, background,
interests, and persuasions. It, therefore, requires a lot of background explanation in
expressing your ideas. Engaging in this type of communication means avoiding
specialized language, such as jargon or slang, this type of communication also requires
you to avoid topics or discussions that may be understandable to only a selected few. In
addition, when communicating publicly, you avoid any comment that may be prejudicial
to a particular group of people. Public communication also limits the opportunity for
feedback and clarification due to the large number of participants.

IV. Intercultural
It involves communicating with a person or group of people who may not share the same
assumptions, values, allegiances as that of yours and may have different associations
with the symbols you take for granted as having a particular meaning. It requires you to
be very careful and engage in a lot of clarification. One good way of facilitating
intercultural communication is to minimize contextualization of what you say. This
means the utterances you make must be understandable outside of any context. This
also means avoiding loaded language such as metaphors and other figures of speech.
Intercultural communication may require the groups of people involved to speak in a
language of wider communication, usually called a lingua franca (a common language
used by speakers of different languages).

The Functions of Communication

Communication, whether verbal or nonverbal, can be thought of as a tool. This is also true of
the primary means by which humans communicate language. Ever tool has a function. As a
tool, communication is used by humans to accomplish a task, goal, or objective.
Communication functions are not limited to a particular grammatical structure. They can take
different grammatical structures declarative, interrogative, imperative, or even exclamatory.

Communication as a human activity always serves a function. Functions of communication

refer to how humans use language for different purposes. Theoreticians such as Roman
Jakobson, Michael Halliday, and Bronislaw Malinowski have categorized the different uses or
functions of communication. Below are five common functions of language:

1. Regulation/Control
Communication can be used to control the behavior of human beings. It ca be used to
regulate the nature and amount of activities humans engage in. Examples of
regulation/control include doctors prescriptions, parents instructions to their children,
friends giving advice on what course of action to take, scolding, employers orders to
their employees, customers making orders, and many others.

Language Forms for Regulation Control

 Communication as a means of regulation or control can come in the form of commands
(grammatically known as imperatives) such as the following:

Please come in. Get a chair. Run.

Another form in which communication can take as a form of control would be questions
that influence human behavior. They are called rhetorical questions because they are
not intended to get information. Examples are the following:

Why dont we go to the dining room now?

Do you have a pen?
Can you pass the salt?

Statements (grammatically known as declaratives) may also be the form in which

communication becomes a means of regulation or control. The idea is that when a
person says something, he or she wants the listener to do something. The following
are examples:

I want to be alone
Its not hot in here. (So, do something to deal with it.)
You need to hurry.
Thats not the right thing to do.

Humans need to have a sense of control over their lives and the world around them.
Without this, we feel powerless. That is why we use communication for
regulation/control. Communication as a means to regulate/control human behavior
ranges from simple requests to laws governing large countries and territories. It is a
powerful function of language.

Regulation/control is observable if we focus on the verbal and nonverbal cues used by

the Speaker to achieve hi/her purpose.
Verbal cues are the specific words chosen and used, the speaker and the
Listener, when using verbal cues, should be respectful of each others culture as
well as their age, gender, social status, and religion. The words are usually
directives, orders, requests, etc., meant to regulate and control other
peoples behavior. In certain cases involving women or the powerful in a
society, an order is oftentimes worded as a request.

Nonverbal cues include hand gestures, bodily action (including posture), vocal
tone (paralanguage), and eye contact. The Speaker and the Listener, when
exhibiting nonverbal cues, should be respectful of each others culture as well as
of their age, gender, social status, and religion. The tone and the bodily action
that accompany the words are authoritative and firm. Eye contact is direct.
In our culture, these cues may be softened for children and the elderly.

2. Social Interaction
 Communication can be used to produce social interaction. In their daily course of living,
human beings develop and maintain bonds, intimacy, relations, and associations.
Humans do this primarily through communication. Examples of communication as social
interaction include pick-up lines, invitations, greetings, appreciation, encouragement,
marriage proposals, game plans, and many others. Below are examples of
expressions that produce social interaction.

Lets be friends. Will you marry me? I like you I love you

You mean so much to me Hello!

It is interesting to note, however, that by simply interacting through communication,

human already form relationships even without direct invitation to do so. The mere act
of spending time with a person and talking about oneself already produces closeness.
This is why a young man trying to develop a romantic relationship with a woman spends
a lot of time with her. It is also evident when parents spend time with their children or
when friends hang out with each other. Social interaction as a function of
communication comes about in any human activity involving communication. As
Bronislaw Malinowski says, Ties of union are created by a mere exchange of words.
Social interaction is probably the most natural result of communication. This is because,
by its very definition, communication is always social and always involves interaction.

Social interaction also occurs when verbal and nonverbal cues are appropriately applied.

Verbal cues are the specific words chosen and used. The Speaker and the
Listener, when using verbal cues should be respectful of each others culture,
age, gender, social status, and religion. The words usually used are mostly
informal terms and casually delivered, although our society, dictates certain
decorum (propriety in manners and conduct) when talking to elders or figures of
authority.

Nonverbal cues include hand gestures, bodily action (including posture, vocal
tone (paralanguage), and eye contact. The Speaker and the Listener, when
exhibiting nonverbal cues, should be respectful of each others culture, age,
gender, social status, and religion. The tone used is friendly, even teasing,
and the bodily action is relaxed.

3. Motivation
Motivation as a function of communication refers to a person using language to express
desires, needs, wants, likes and dislikes, inclinations, choices, and aspirations.
Examples of communication used as motivation include expressing ones ambitions,
talking about preferences, ordering in a fast food restaurant, asking for something,
making petitions, picketing, expressing a need, communicating desire and aspirations,
and many more. Motivation as a function of communication can be grammatically
realized usually as declaratives but sometimes as commands (grammatically known as
imperatives) and rhetorical questions (questions not intended for merely eliciting
information).

Forms expressing motivation include the following:

I need..... I want........ Give me..... I dream of ...... I like......
We pray for...... Do you have......? Can I...........?

Motivation as a function of communication is one of the most basic functions of human

communication. Humans have been using communication to obtain their needs even as
little babies. A baby communicates by crying in order to have its needs met milk,
comfort, and others. A person who could not use most means of communication to
obtain what he/she wants experiences powerlessness and a feeling of being trapped.
Being able to communicate our preferences, desires, need, and sentiments is closely
connected to how a person identifies himself or herself in relation to fellow human
beings.

Motivation can also serve to strengthen social interactions. As individuals express their
preferences, goals, and aspirations, they bond more closely with persons who share
similar preferences, goals, and aspirations. This greater social interaction is turn
strengthens their adherence to such preferences. This makes motivation as a function
of communication a center of human identity.

Motivation as function of communication is also the most purposive. When people

communicate, they always have a purpose or a reason. Why do people talk about this
and not that? Why talk to him and not to her? It is because there is a goal to be
achieved, motive that must be accomplished.

This is also when the Speakers purpose is to persuade or try to persuade another
person to change his/her opinion, attitude, or behavior. This is different from
regulation/control where the Speaker simply directs others and insists on his/her own
agenda. In this function, persuasion is used to move the Listener away from his/her own
position towards the Speakers own or the position where the Speaker wants other
person move. For example, convincing friends to go to the mall after school to watch a
movie.

Motivation is accomplished using the following:

Verbal cues are the words chosen and used specifically to achieve the
motivational function. The Speaker and the Listener using verbal cues should
be respectful of each others culture, age, gender, social status and religion.
More direct and purposeful words are chosen for both men and women,
although these can be softened for children and the elderly.

Nonverbal cues include hand gestures, bodily action (including posture), vocal
tone (paralanguage), and eye contact. The Speaker and the Listener, when
exhibiting nonverbal cues, should be respectful of each others culture, age,
gender, social status, and religion. Strong words are accompanied by
 emphatic gestures and a forceful tone of voice. Direct eye contact is
necessary to underscore the Speakers sincerity and conviction.

4. Information
Communication can be used for giving and getting information. Giving information
usually comes in the form of statements of facts (grammatically known as declaratives)
and sometimes in terms of rhetorical questions. Getting information can come in the
form of questions intended for getting information (grammatically known as
interrogatives), commands (grammatically known as imperatives) and even through
statements. The following show some forms in which giving and getting
information takes place.

Giving information using statements

I have three brothers.
Philippine Normal University was established in 1901.
For every action, there is a reaction.

.....using rhetorical questions

Did you know that some earphones can be used as microphone?

Getting information using questions

Where is Mt. Everest?
Did it rai last night?
Is it windy outside?

.....using imperatives
Tell me how much a can of corned beef costs.
Show me how to tie a knot.
Give me information regarding the weather.

.....using declaratives
I dont know where to find the city hall.
I need to understand how my bill was computed.

Communication as information enables humans to get to know the world. It enables

them to process and structure what they learned about it.
Whether talking to friends or acquaintances, to convince or to motivate them, what is
usually necessary is to provide information. For example, a weather forecaster on TV
tracks the path of a low-pressure area which might turn into a typhoon.

Verbal cues in this case really have to be carefully chosen. The scientist in
presenting an invention, most likely will used Filipino to be understood by many
and will used po and opo. A school dentist for example, will use simple words for
the benefit of the children in a kindergarten class. A weather forecaster will not
use too much technical jargon to be understood by the people listening to the
radio and watching TV. Again, the Speaker and the Listener should be respectful
of each others culture, age, gender, social status, and religion.
 Nonverbal cues include hand gestures, bodily action (including posture), vocal
tone (paralanguage), and eye contact. The Speaker and the Listener should
respect each others culture, age, gender, social status, and religion. To
convince the community to try the experiment, the scientist will do an actual
demonstration. The dentist can show pictures or a video that children can
understand the benefits of brushing their teeth. The forecaster calmly gestures
on the map, pointing out the path of the LPA, using a soothing tone of voice to
avoid alarming the audience.

5. Emotional Expression
Humans always need to express their emotions both verbally and nonverbally. Emotions
are a central part of who we are. Harm Beyond thinking about the things and people in
our world, we feel about them and about ourselves. Whether it is love, fear, anger, joy,
hope, or any other emotion, humans need to let them out, otherwise they can harm our
well-being. Emotional expression through language can come in the form of
interjections or exclamations. Below are some of them.

Yes! Oh no! Ouch! <expletives> (curse words) Really?

Aside from being expressed through language and verbal communication, emotional
expression is the function of communication most commonly expressed non-verbally.
Not unusually, emotional expression can be done through gestures, facial expressions,
and other simple or energetic body movements.

Appealing for the Listeners feelings can also be the purpose of emotional expression. It
is used by the Speaker for the purpose of moving another person to act, to move in the
particular direction the Speaker wants that person to move. Filipinos can be moved to
tears by a movie, a TV drama, or a song. A speaker may appeal to the listeners by
disclosing how he/she was also moved by that particular movie or teleserye, or song.
Photos of suffering or devastation tug at the heartstrings of a Filipino.

Verbal cues are the chosen words used specifically and carefully to achieve this
function. The Speaker and the Listener should be respectful of each others
culture, age, gender, social status, and religion. Words that may appeal to men
may not be appealing to women. There are words childrens uses that the
elderly might find insulting and vice versa. Also, be careful about using
English words in different cultures. For example, the word gift means poison in
German.

Nonverbal cues include hand gestures, bodily action (including posture), vocal
tone (paralanguage), and eye contact. The Speaker and the Listener again,
should be respectful of each others culture, age, gender, social status, and
religion. When we appeal to someone by using emotions, we accompany
this appeal with touching, hand holding or hugging, or even putting an arm
around someones shoulder. Certain societies do not allow women and
men to touch, while others still frown on men and women intermingling
 freely (unless they are married or related by blood). This has to be
considered when using function of emotional expression.

The Special Case of Expressing Opinions

In expressing opinion, what function does it perform? The function to which expressing an
opinion belongs depends on the purpose and setting in which it is done. For example, when a
doctor or lawyer gives an opinion, it is likely to be about regulation/control. When a teacher
gives an opinion about a topic, it is likely to be about information. A teenage girl giving an
opinion on whom among the currently popular male celebrities is the most handsome, that is
likely to be about motivation. Lastly, when a teenage guy express an opinion about what his life
would be now that his girlfriend broke up with him that is likely to be in the realm of emotional
expression. Expressing an opinion has broad functions covering every category of
communication functions.

Functions of Communication focused on the reasons why people communicate. This function of
communication serves so that human beings live harmoniously in a society. Still, it must be
emphasized that these functions are not mutually exclusive they do not exist independently to
each other, because most of the times, the functions overlap. To be able to use
regulation/control, information must be given. Information is also important so that there will be
a basis for motivation to persuade the listener to believe in what the Speaker want or need for
what he/she is saying. Motivation will also be achieved if there is emotional expression in the
appeal. Finally, social interaction is the basis for the other functions to be accomplished.

As long as humans communicate, there will always be a particular use of those functions to our
communication efforts.