Engage

According to Oliver Schinkte, communication is a critical part of our daily

lives, and it is something that we often overlook and fail to practice. There are
times that we also disregard the importance of speaking, listening and other
forms of communication.
Although communication is an innate skill that is subconsciously learned
and used, this skill needs to be enhanced in order to attain a strong foundation
of your communication ability.

What are the Basic Communication Principles?

In the aspect of communication, there are basic skills that help from the
foundations of our more advanced communication skills. If these basic skills are
missing, it is unlikely that more advanced communication can develop.
As a student, you can thrive whether in writing or speaking, if you
understand several foundations of successful communication. The following are
considered as communication fundamentals: know your purpose, know your
audience, organize your ideas and follow basic communication principles.

1. Know your Purpose

Why are you speaking? You need to have a specific
purpose in mind. A purpose is an exact statement of
what you want your audience to understand, to do, or
to believe. You may want to entertain, inform or
persuade your audience.

2. Know your Audience

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 To whom will you speak? As a communicator it is important that
you need to analyse, cater and respect the needs of your audience.

3. Organize your Ideas

How will you put your ideas together? Create an outline to diagram how
your communication will be organized. Your outline should help you ensure
that you don’t omit any vital information.

4. Follow Basic Communication Principles

How will you be an effective communicator?

Master the principles of clarity in presenting
your ideas, use familiar words in communicating
your thoughts and be an active participant in
the entire communication processes.

ELABORATE

PURPOSES OF COMMUNICATION

Various information and meaning are conveyed when people

communicate with each other. People may use language, which is a system of
symbols in communicating. These symbols can either be written or spoken.

Communication is considered as one of the basic activities of human

beings, which may be used for varied purposes. Communication can be
informative, affective, imaginative, persuasive and ritualistic.

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 Informative communication pertains to the presentation of messages
that are objective, truthful and unbiased. Affective communication takes place
when people express their positive and negative feelings about people,
circumstances or events. People who engage in imaginative communication are
those who express their appreciation on fictional messages from books, films and
conversation. Persuasive communication on the other hand takes place when
people attempt to influence the beliefs or actions of others, while ritualistic
communication is done when people are able to meet social expectations.

Why do people communicate?

Communication is a part of everyone’s life; people from every walk of life

communicate. They do so to express their feelings, opinion, aspirations, dreams,
fears, apprehensions or regrets in life. Humans are creative beings and they know
how to communicate in various and creative ways through verbal, non-verbal,
linguistic, or non-linguistic cues.

Specifically, people communicate in order to inform, evoke, entertain,

argue and persuade. These purposes are discussed below:

1. To inform
To inform is to impart knowledge, to clarify information and to
secure understanding.

2. To evoke
To evoke means to rely on passion and controversy to make a
point. Evocative communication centers on controversial topics
that typically use emotion to make a point. Evocative
communicators must show a lot of enthusiasm and concerns for
the topic and must use personal experiences to draw the audience.

3. To entertain
To entertain is to transmit a feeling of pleasure and goodwill to the
audience. The communicator is considered gracious, genial, good-
natured, relaxed and demonstrates to his or her listeners the
pleasant job of speaking to them.

4. To argue
To argue is to persuade, to assent to the plausibility of the
communicators’ side of a debatable question.

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 5. To persuade
To persuade is to move the listener’s action. The communicator
should demolish the listener’s objection, and prove the
acceptability of his or her argument or position

INFO CORNER

Kinds of Speech according to Purpose

1. Informative Speech
According to Osborn and Osborn (1988) an informative speech
gives rather than asks or takes. The demands on the audience
are low, as the listeners are asked to attend, to comprehend, to
understand, to assimilate but not to change their beliefs and
behaviours.

2. Persuasive Speech
Gronbeck (1994) explains that persuasive speaking is the process
of producing oral messages that increase personal commitment;
modify beliefs, attitudes or values.

3. Argumentative Speech
This is a speech that aims to persuade the audience to assent to
the plausibility of the speaker’s side of debatable questions.

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 Kinds of Speech according to Delivery

1. Read Speech
Reading from a manuscript is a manner of speaking
where a written speech is read and delivered word for
word.

2. Memorized Speech
This is a written speech which is mastered and delivered
entirely from memory. This kind of speech requires the
speaker a considerable memory skill in order not to
forget his or her presentation.

3. Impromptu Speech
This is a speech where the speaker develops his or her
ideas, thoughts, and language at the moment of
delivery.

4. Extemporaneous Speech
This is a speech where the topics or ideas are prepared
beforehand; however, the speaker will compose his or
her views and language only at the moment of delivery.

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 DISCUSS

RHETORICAL SITUATION

According to Sprout, Driscoll and Brizee (2012) there is no one singular

rhetorical situation that applies to all instances of communication. Rather, all
human efforts to communicate occur within innumerable, individual, rhetorical
situations that are particular to those specific moments of communication.

Likewise, Johnson-Sheehan and Paine, in their textbook Writing Today,

states that an awareness of rhetorical situations can help in both composition
and analysis. Once you know how to identify and analyse the elements of
rhetorical situations, you will be able to produce writing that meets your
audience’s needs, fits the specific setting you write in and conveys your
intended message and purpose.

What are the Five Rhetorical Situations?

As social beings, we communicate on a daily basis. In a broader sense,

communication is not only about using explicit language like speaking and
writing words but also about using implicit messages like tone or eye contact.
Miller and Webb (1995) identified additional components to consider in
communication called the rhetorical situation which includes: author, audience,
purpose, topic and occasion.

1. Author
a. Consider your needs as an author:
i. Work habits
ii. Style
iii. Environment

b. Knowing your style and being able to edit and adjust to a particular
situation is essential to effective communication.

2. Audience
a. The level of formality and intimacy are determined by the recipients
of communication, your audience.
b. Different audiences:
 Friends, classmates (personal, informal, jargon, slang)
 Professionals (Professional tone, formal language)

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 3. Purpose
a. Identify the purpose why you communicate, is it to:
 Inform
 Persuade
 Convince
 Entertain

4. Topic
a. This is a specific area of a particular subject that you choose to
communicate.
b. This should be clearly revealed to your audience.

5. Occasion
a. This is one of the circumstances prompting a communication.
b. There should be formality, purpose and tone in an occasion.

INFO CORNER

Rhetorical Situation

In classical tradition, the art of public speaking is called rhetoric; the circumstances in
which you give your speech or presentation are the rhetorical situation.

By understanding the rhetorical situation, you can gauge the best ways to reach your
listeners and get your points across. In so doing, you’ll make the transition from your viewpoint
to that of your audience members.

Remember that without an audience to listen and respond to you, it’s really not much of
a speech. The audience gives you the space and time as a speaker to fulfil your role and
hopefully their expectations. Just as a group makes a leader, an audience makes a speaker. By
looking to your audience, you shift your attention from an internal focus (you) to an external
(them/others) emphasis. This “other-orientation” is key to your success as an effective speaker.

Source:http://open.lib.umn.edu/businesscommunication/chapter/12-1-rhetorical-situation/

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