Foundations of Human
Communication
Mr. Quiros
Doral Academy Prep
Period 2/6
Principles of Communication
• Be aware of your communication with
yourself and others
• Effectively use and interpret verbal
messages
• Effectively use and interpret nonverbal
messages
• Listen and respond thoughtfully to others
• Appropriately adapt messages to others
Principle One: Be Aware of Your
Communication with Yourself and Others
• Intrapersonal Communication =
Communication that occurs within
yourself, including your thoughts and
emotions
• Talking to yourself
• Why is it important to be able to talk to
yourself?
Principle Two: Effectively Use and
Interpret Verbal Messages
• Language = System of symbols (words or
vocabulary) structured by rules (grammar) that
makes it possible for people to understand one
another.
• Symbol = A word, figure, sound, or expression,
that represents a thought, concept, object, or
idea.
• Verbal Messages make us of both LANGUAGE
and SYMBOLS
• Power of words
Principle Three: Effectively use and
Interpret Nonverbal Messages
• Intentional and Non-Intentional
• How do we perceive non verbal
messages?
• Examples?
– Faces we give off when someone takes an
empty seat next to us
– Silence when someone walks into a room
Principle Four: Listen and Respond
Thoughtfully to Others
• Other Oriented: Focusing on the needs
and concerns of others while maintaining
one’s personal integrity
• Listening is one of the hardest things to do
• Why?
– External and Internal distractions
– Egocentric beings
– Hobbes theory of Human Nature
Principle Five: Appropriately Adapt
Messages to Others
• Adapt = to adjust both what is communicated
and how a message is communicated, to make
choices about how best to formulate a message
and respond to others to achieve your
communication goals.
• Adapting is not telling people what they want to
hear
• Adapting is to articulate how you communicate
to meet the needs of the audience and settings
Communication Defined
• Communication: What does it mean?
• Broad definition: Process of acting on
information.
• Not unique to humans
• Human communication = process of
making sense out of the world and sharing
that sense with others by creating
meaning through verbal and nonverbal
messages
Communication Competence
• Messages should be understood as the
communicator intended it to be understood
• The message should achieve the intended
effect the communicator intended to
achieve
• The message should be ethical
Understanding the Message
• Message clarity
– Panda Mating Fails: Veterinarian Takes Over
– Drunks Get Nine Months in Violin Case
– Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
– Police Begin Campaign to Run Down
Jaywalkers
– Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Intended Effect
• To inform
• To persuade
• To entertain
Ethical Messages
• Ethics = The beliefs. Values, and moral
principles by which we determine what is
right or wrong.
• Is honesty is the best policy?
Why Study Communication?
• Improve Employability
• Improve Relationships
• Improve Physical and Emotional Health
Communication Models
• Communication as Action: Message
Transfer
• Communication as Interaction: Message
Exchange
• Communication as Transaction: Message
Creation
Component of Human
Communication Process
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•
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•
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Source
Encoding
Decoding
Receiver
Message
Channel
Noise
Communication as Action:
Message Transfer
• Communication takes place when a
message is sent and received
• Who (sender)
• Says what (message)
• In what channel
• To whom (receiver)
• With what effect?
Communication as Interaction:
Message Exchange
• Introduction of Feedback into the mix
• Like a game of pong
• Source  Message  Channel 
Message  Receiver  Feedback 
Source
Communication as Transaction:
Message Creation
• Sender/Receiver  Message/Feedback 
Sender/Receiver
Communication Characteristics
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Communication is Inescapable
Communication is Irreversible
Communication is Complicated
Communication Emphasizes Content and
Relationships
• Communication is Governed by Rules
Communication with Others
• Interpersonal Communication
• Group Communication
• Presentational Communication