CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Problem (Statement)
1.2 Conceptual Framework and Conceptualisations
2.0 Source
2.1 Communication
2.1.1 SMCRE Model
2.1.2 Noise
2.2 Persuasive Communication
2.2.1 Qualities of the Source
2.3 Nonverbal Communication
3.0 Message
3.1 Persuasive Communication
3.1.1 Qualities of the Message
3.2 Some Communication Principles
3.3 Plain English
3.4 Journalism Principles
4.0 Channel
5.0 Receiver
6.0 Effect
7.0 Ethical Considerations
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Problem (Statement)
 How to ensure greater collaboration between knowledge
leaders/promoters and the public
 How to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge through
the various media
1.2 Conceptual Framework and Conceptualisations
 This study will be underpinned by thinking from various
disciplines like Philosophy, Sociology, Communication,
Plain English Campaign, Social Psychology, Journalism
and principles from Public Speaking and Presentation
 Knowledge/Science/Wisdom/Truth from the perspective of
Philosophy of Science sees the phenomenon as emanating
from epistemology, ontology, logic and methodology, and
others like ethical and/or political considerations.
 From a cultural relativist perspective, knowledge within the
African or specifically Ghanaian context can be seen from an
epistemic context , which is essentially, the means of
knowing
 “Knowledge (nunya) then may be defined as inferences or
ideas derived from experience, be they active or passive and
expressed as statements or propositions. Nunya becomes
nyansa (wisdom) when it can be regarded as a complete
principle of comprehension for a fairly large segment of
experience. Without knowledge (nunya) and wisdom
(nyansa) human life returns to animality; they are the divine
creative Intelligence and Principle at work in the creation,
organisation and support of the universe and of life” (Dzobo,
1992)
o What does it mean to know or what is knowledge
o How do we know etc.
 Dzobo (1992) provides categories of knowledge
o Four groups in Ewe which are all sensory experience based
a) Nyatsiname (traditional knowledge transmitted
verbally)
b) Susununya (knowledge derived from reflection and
is deductive and contemplative)
c) Nusronya (knowledge coming from formal knowledge –
“book knowledge”
d) Sidzedze (knowledge coming from gaining some
understanding of “things, relations and situations”)
 Nyansa as “wisdom”, sometimes seen as “knowledge”. An
Akan proverb says:
Nyansa yesua na yento
“Wisdom is something we acquire through
learning; it is not something we buy”
Nyansa is a precious item within the indigenous context
 Nunya (knowledge) becomes nyansa (wisdom) if it is a
complete principle of comprehension for a chunk of
experience (Dzobo, 1992 from Wiredu & Gyekye, eds)
 Media
o Outreach/Group Communication
o Folk Media/Indigenous Media System
o Print
o Radio
o TV
o New Media (DVD, CD, computer multimedia systems,
mobile phones, smart phones etc ) Blogs and Websites
o Social Media( web-based applications that run on web 2.0
and output user-generated messages-face book, Twitter,
Linked in, YouTube, collaborative media like Wikipedia)
 Knowledge Channels
o
o
o
o
Peer reviewed/Scholarly Outlets, Conferences/Lectures,
Manuals, Handbooks, Books
Presentations
Public Media
New Media and Social Media like blogs and websites
2.1 Source
2.1 Communication
2.1.1 SMCRE Model
 One of the earliest “communication theories” by Harold
Lasswell known as the Source Message Channel Receiver and
Effect Model, also known as SMCRE Model is key to dealing
with the problem as:
Source
↓
Message
↓
Channel
-
↓
Receiver
-
↓
Effect
-
Postgraduate Students
↓
Packaged Science Information
↓
Mass Media and Various
Outreach Outlets
↓
Readers, Listeners, Viewers
and Participants/Audiences
↓
Information which has the
designated impact
2.1.2 Noise
 Noise which explains the obstacles to (effective)




communication situations
In speech communication, noise is an ever present
phenomenon and is reflected in three main ways
First environmental noise, which comes in two forms, the
acoustic type, which blocks out the speech and/or makes
hearing a challenge
The second environmental noise, deals with visual noise, which
refers to any action or object which affects the communication
context.
Second, noise can emanate from the listener, listenergenerated, which is seen in the feelings towards the speaker;
the receivers’ views/emotions about the issue being discussed;
reaction to specific words like stupid, nonsense, bastard,
dummy, character etc.
 The third, speaker-generated is reflected in faulty grammar,
syntax, wrong word choices, accent; paralinguistic behaviour
like uneven loudness, rate/rhythm or abnormal voice
attributes; extra verbal behaviours like inappropriate
gestures, facial expressions etc.
Knowledge Promoter as a Public Speaker/Presenter
 Deportment is important since such an activity entails
choreography in terms of movement, voice, position,
appearance, personality traits, personal appearance posture,
eye contact, gestures and mannerisms, body language, most
especially for TV or an audio visual medium.
 Carving an image as a pundit or knowledge leader in your
area of academic/professional/research interest.
2.2 Persuasive Communication
From Social Psychology, the area of Persuasive Communication
offers some useful perspectives
 Social psychologists explain that we live in a psycho-social
environment consisting of hordes of information and
messages being transmitted at the same time
 Individuals or institutions/organisations send varied types of
information but intelligible verbal and non-verbal
information for maximum impact is challenging.
 To achieve the desired impact, the message has to be well
packaged and beamed to (a) well-stratified/segmented
audience(s)
 The major factors here are:
 qualities of the source
 qualities of the knowledge
 qualities of the individuals in the audience
2.2.1 Qualities of the Source
 Credibility here explains how far the target can depend on
the communicator’s “expertness” and “trustworthiness”.
 Expertness implies the ability to transmit a valid statement
and is an authority/expert on the specific issue.
 Trustworthiness is about the extent of confidence the
receiver has in the source to send valid information.
 Attractiveness is a strong factor where the source is
attractive/beautiful, likeable etc.
 Similarity can be a factor where the source is or shares
identical characteristics with the target.
2.3 Nonverbal Communication
Early thinking on nonverbal communication identified three
types – nonverbal process
 Sign Language – these range from gestures like V sign,
thumbs down, thumbs up, raising two hands with tight fists,
salutes, wagging etc to frown, raised eyebrows, complex sign
language for the deaf.
 Action Language – specific movements in a communication
situation like pacing, other movements or swivel chair
movements, handshakes, hugs etc
 Object Language – all objects, jewellery, clothing, dress code,
colour of clothing, make-up etc.
 There is also the nonverbal process which deals with the
cue, expectation and inference.
A cue is wordless but which transmits meaning/message.
It is then matched against expectation and then it leads to
an inference.
 The functions of nonverbal communication are:
o
Accenting (highlighting/emphasizing)
o
Complementing
o
Contracting
o
Regulating
o
Repeating
o
Substituting
It is difficult to separate the impact of nonverbal and verbal
actions because the two reinforce each other or contradict
each other.
 Nonverbal communication is generally culturally relativist
 Nonverbal communication is seen as the transmission of
meaning devoid of verbal signs. It can also be regarded as the
actions, objects and communication contexts which
communicate without using words.
 Paralanguage refers to vocal cues which complement speech
and incorporates areas like:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Rate: speed of speaking
Pitch: highness or lowness of tones
Volume: how loud
Quality: pleasing or unpleasant sound
Pause: signal to show the end or break of a thought
unit, gives an idea, some time to sink in and creates a
dramatic impact to the phrase or sentence
Vocal Variety: varying the rate, pitch, volume and pauses
 Pronunciation: Pronounce words correctly
 Articulation: Effective delivery and pronunciation of phrases
and sentences
Body Movements/Kinesics:
 Emblems are body movements which can be translated into
words like thumbs up, V sign, thumbs down etc
 Illustrators emphasise words and is often done with the
hands to show size, pace, giving direction etc.
 Regulators control the back and forth flow of speaking and
listening incorporating nods, hand gestures, shifts in
postures and other body movements showing the start or
end of interactions.
Affect displays
 Display of Feelings is seen through face and body movements
when a person is upset, excited or sad.
 Adaptors are used to adjust to a communication context
when a person is nervous or uncomfortable (playing with
your jewellery, drumming on the table or turning in a swivel
chair).
 Eye Message is what is realised from looking at the eyes
which shows interest, boredom and excitement.
3.0 Message
3.1 Persuasive Communication
 Although from the perspective of persuasive communication
principles, certain factors like: fear arousal or rational appeal;
primacy and recency; one – sided or two – sided messages;
and explicit or implicit are crucial, for our purposes, these
principles will not matter considerably.
3.2 Some Communication Principles
 The principles of communication with concepts like
“intelligible”, “understandable symbols” and an emphasis
on the transmission of messages (Process school)
emanating from the social science like psychology,
sociology etc.
 The emphasis is about how knowledge promoters and
their audience encode and decode.
 How knowledge promoters use the platforms/media in a
communication context.
 There is an emphasis on efficiency and accuracy
 Just as the principle of noise, failure is inherent in any
communication context where there is a big gap between
intention and effect.
 It is not about “impressing”, rather it is about “expressing”; it
is not about talking to your peers and supervisors but to your
inferiors.
3.3 Plain English
 Some principles can be taken from the Plain English
Campaign approach, which is an international plain
language movement which encourages speakers to
communicate clearly with the public.
 They frown on jargons or gobbledygook. They quote Engels:
A compilation of words and turns of speech which has
no other purposes than to be at hand at the right time
where thought and positive knowledge are lacking.
 Avoid/use sparingly technical language/register and avoid
uncommon words and phrases, especially those coming from
Latin, Greek, Italian, Hebrew, French, Japanese etc.
3.4 Journalism Principles
 Journalism principles of hard and soft news are important in
appreciating the tools media practitioners use for news
production.
 Hard news (odd/unusual, proximity, huge interest/attention,
current ground breaking etc.). Soft news is the opposite and
deals with less appealing information, sometimes there to fill
space/airtime, less prominent.
 The commercialisation and commodification of media
products mean that there is greater interest in news which
will sell.
 For a knowledge promoter the challenge is how to take
cognisance of the various media and the way each operates,
and customises knowledge for prime time or front/other
prominent pages, placement, all for the purposes of
prominence
4.0 Channel
 One influential thinker in the area of the media and also
sociology, Marshall McLuhan believes that “the medium is
the message”, that is the media type in any milieu impacts on
the structures more than the content/message.
 This offers a conceptual basis for appreciating major media
channels and their influence. For instance for political
information, TV is first and newspaper is second in the US
while in Ghana radio is the most popular medium.
 The impact for certain messages are often greater for the
audio visual that is where it is accessible. Radio is now a
conduit for “news agency” news (originating from another
medium). The “newspaper review” culture has led to the
multiplication of audiences for the newspapers.
 What are the implications? The modern society has become
a multi-media phenomenon implying that knowledge
promoters should be able to handle radio, TV, newspapers,
new media and social media (internet).
 The peculiar prerequisites for each medium the
philosophical/ideological orientation or the mission and
vision should be determined in order to function effectively
as a news source. For TV, radio especially, presenters have
their style and philosophy during interviews ( Discuss the
DKB issue of Big Brother Africa on the Delay Show on TV3
and Rundown on TV Africa.)
 Second, the issue of timing and the format for the
knowledge/message and the personal preparedness of the
source should be paramount.
 Under what circumstances is the knowledge being disseminated?
The knowledge leader as a pundit; expert, or a full interview, with
one or more interviewers, or is the knowledge promoter a panel
member for an issue. All these require specific preparations.
 Which principles come into play here? Are you writing an essay
with or without graphs/tables? Are you writing a feature or are you
a columnist? Do you have a blog or a website for expressing your
“scientific” position? Are you using face book? What are the
specific presentation pre-requisites for the media/channel?
 What about the use of language? Can you use your native
language or a lingua franca to explain complex issues, bearing in
mind the challenges of communicating to the layperson? What
about your ability to function in an outreach context?
5.0 Receiver
 A comprehensive appreciation of the audience is key in any
knowledge discrimination and/or communication context.
Social scientists call for “audience research”, while any
presenter knows that, you need to know and understand who
make up your audience.
 What are the key factors? The psychographics and the
demographics among others specific details have to be
established.
 Since this is not a full “persuasive communication” discussion
, some social psychology factors like the “personality”, “extent
of persuasibility”, “history of success”, aggressiveness” and
“group factors” will not be emphasised. Broad audience
background attributes will be sufficient for any attempt at
spreading knowledge here.
6.0 Effects
 The issue of effects can be discerned from certain principles
like “persuasive communication” “propaganda, “effects
theories” (big effects, magic bullet theory etc).
 The basic principle, for our purposes is the
“communicability” prowess of knowledge promoters in
tailoring the message to suit the medium/channel/ forum
and also the needs of the audience/ target
7.0 Ethical Considerations
 The issue of ethics is about the moral philosophy which deals
with how one determines a morally appropriate action in the
face of other options or another option. It is a universal
human value.
 Wiredu (1992) provides a “minimal” idea of morality
It is simply the observance of rules for the
harmonious adjustment of the interests of the
individual to those of others in society.
 It also encompasses the phenomenon of “sense of duty”.
 It can provide guideposts for public speaking/speaking to the
media on how a person should behave in any communication
context.
 It can be grounded in broad religious, philosophical, social,
cultural or professional principles/codes. They are situation/
context and time dependent
 Some of the principles are respect for authority/ society,
adherence to decent language upholding cultural values,
adherence to truth and a control of emotions avoiding
stereotyping by race, age, religion, ethnicity, avoiding
personal/ad hominem attacks, avoiding plagiarism among
others.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION