PURCOM

• Communication is the art of creating and sharing ideas for a specific purpose
• Communication may come in many forms: verbal, aural, non-verbal, written, and visuals
• Effective communication is dependent on how rich ideas are and how much ideas are retained in the cyclical process
• Effective communicator should have a number of skills to be utilized, which greatly varies and is dictated by the situation, the content, or the actual information a person needs or wants to convey, and the intended recipient of that information
• Communication Process includes:

  • The source of the message
  • The information the person wants to convey
  • Encoding: process of transferring the message into a format that is expected to be understood
  • Channel: method(s) one uses to convey the message
  • Decoding: when the intended recipient of the information receives the message
  • Receiver: the target recipient of the message
  • Context
  • Feedback
• • Empathy: effective communicators know how to adapt to the varying needs and expectations of their audience
  • Flexibility
• Principles of Effective Communication:

  • The message should be clear using appropriate language and communication channels
  • Clarity: the message should be as brief as may be required depending on one’s purposes
  • Conciseness: the message should still be complete and accurate
  • Completeness: effective communication is usually planned to ensure the systematic flow of ideas and transition from one point to another
  • Organization: the sender of the message should be sensitive to the needs and interests of the receiver
• Criteria for Effective Feedback:

  • Describe the behavior
  • Timely Delivery
  • Direct Communication
  • Ownership by the sender
  • Express real feelings
  • Clarity check
  • Asks relevant questions
  • Specifies consequences of behavior
  • Is solicited or at least to some extent desired by the receiver
  • Refers to controllable behavior
• Communication Styles in Various Multicultural Contexts:

  • Communication styles refer to the choices people make and the strategies or tools they use in the process of information
  • Each style has two dimensions: Assertiveness Level and Emotiveness Level
  • Basic Communication Styles:
  • Spirited = High Expressiveness + High Assertiveness
  • Considerate = High Expressiveness + Low Assertiveness
  • Direct = Low Expressiveness + High Assertiveness
  • Systematic = Low Expressiveness + Low Assertiveness
• Ethics in Communication:

  • Effective communication is ethical communication
  • Ethics in communication is best observed by:
  • Active and respectful listening
  • Avoiding prejudice
  • Showing commitment and genuine interest
  • Respecting socio-cultural beliefs and practices of others
• • The challenge in communicating in a highly global environment is to learn to understand, accept, and address cultural and communication differences
• Communication and Globalization:

  • Globalization has been regarded as the key to the worldwide integration of humanity
  • Communication in the modern world must be anchored on the concept of diversity
  • Digital technology has erased territorial boundaries among countries and among people with varying cultures
  • The need to develop graduates and professionals who are multiculturalists
  • Instances where lack of cultural or linguistic sensitivity in global communications severely affected companies and products
• Something to Ponder On:

  • The attitude of sharing fabricated or exaggerated emotions on social media for acceptance
• World Englishes are regionally distinct varieties of English that have arisen in parts of the world with a long history of English being used in education, commerce, and government
• Examples of World Englishes include Indian English, West African English, Singapore English, and Filipino English
• Kirkspatrick (2007) proposed a scale with two extremes characterizing the issue of intelligibility of regional varieties of English:

  • Extreme 1: The goal of regional identity, affirming national or ethnic identity
  • Extreme 2: The goal of intelligibility, users of regional varieties should be understood by users of English worldwide
• The challenge is to find a good balance between identity and intelligibility extremes, often resorting to code switching
• Culture is a system of knowledge, beliefs, values, customs, behavior, and artifacts acquired, shared, and used by members of a society
• Multiculturalists are persons respectful of and engaged with people from distinctly different cultures
• Culturally Confused individuals lack an understanding of cultural differences
• Intercultural Communication involves interaction with individuals from different cultures
• International Communication is communication between persons representing different nations
• Interethnic Communication involves interaction with members of the same racial or ethnic group
• Assimilation is the means by which co-culture members attempt to fit in with the dominant culture
• Co-culture refers to groups of people who differ in some ethnic or sociological way from other groups of the same culture
• Accommodation is the means by which co-culture members maintain their cultural identity while establishing relationships with the dominant culture
• Separation is the means by which co-culture members resist interacting with the dominant culture
• Ethnocentrism is the tendency to see one's own culture as superior to all others
• Cultural Relativism is the acceptance of other cultural groups as equal in value to one's own
• Melting pot philosophy advocates for different cultures to assimilate into the dominant culture
• Cultural Pluralism adheres to the principle of cultural relativism, allowing other cultures to blend with the dominant culture without losing their identity
• Competence in intercultural communication is crucial for establishing rapport and harmony with colleagues in an organization
• In a multicultural society, people must learn culturally appropriate terms, gestures, expressions, and images for effective communication
• Dominant cultures practicing ethnocentrism feel superior and do not acknowledge differences when interacting with other cultures
• Cultural relativism involves trying to understand the behavioral patterns and communication styles of other groups based on their own contexts to promote positive co-existence
• To improve intercultural communication, refrain from forming expectations based solely on your culture, remove personal biases or stereotypes, and commit to developing communication skills appropriate for multicultural settings
• In a multicultural society, people must use culturally appropriate terms, gestures, expressions, and images in communication, evolving the use of registers or words in formal and informal settings
• Multimodal texts use two or more communication modes to make meaning, highlighting the significance of interaction and integration in constructing coherent text
• Multimodal texts require a creative design concept that combines text, color, photo, sound, spatial design, language, gesture, animations, and other semiotics to bring meaning to life
• Considerations when creating a multimodal text include purpose, audience, and context