ENG 03- SPEECH COMMUNICATION
TOPIC ONE
SPEECH: ITS NATURE AND IMPORTANCE
Have you imagined how the world would go without speech? Are you aware that you are spending most of your
waking hours talking? Sometimes, you do not even realize its value. For us, speech is well-worth careful study
because we depend on it so heavily for our communications with others. The development of human civilization
owes it to a great extent to man’s ability to share experiences, to exchange ideas, and to transmit knowledge form
one generation to another.
CREDO by E. Christian Buckner
I believe that of all human functions the gift of speech is the most miraculous.
I believe that, if speech were to stop, all civilized living would suddenly vanish.
I believe that the ability to articulate is essential to inner harmony, to emotional maturity, and to mental balance. If
all people could be completely articulate at all times, human relations might improve to the point where there would
be no more wars and no more jails, more stable homes and more happy people.
I believe that speech is essential to the growth of the human personality and that it provides a way for self-discovery
and self-renewal. For many, it is a way of self-expression without brush or pen.
I believe that the act of speech is a total process, that when it reaches optimum effectiveness, the whole man
communicates. What one is, is always part of what one says.
I believe that there is no substitute for content in the speaking process. Material or intellectual worth provides the
essence of eloquence. Speech skills have their importance, but they no more make speech than clothes make the
man. The center of gravity in all speech communications is thought and idea.
I believe that every student should develop a concern for truthful and responsible speech, exhibiting sense – not nonsense, sincerity – not cleverness, forthrightness – not superficiality, and should never be a party to plagiarized or
dishonest work.
I believe that speech has no absolutes, that a completely perfect speech has not yet been made. I believe that speech
offers a lifetime challenge in which there is never a final summit of achievement beyond once cannot climb.
I believe that the individuality of the speaker is a valuable asset in the speaking process, and that any person with
normal intelligence, normal emotional balance, and normal speech mechanisms has at his command the resources
enabling him to make certain speeches that can be equaled by no other person. Every student has the potential to
speak superbly at some time.
RELATIONSHIPS OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
Communication is the dual or two-way process of transmitting messages from one person to another. It is the
symbolic interaction between two or more people that influences each other’s behavior. Speech and language are
only a portion of the larger process of communication. Language is the medium or vehicle through which messages
are sent and received while speech is one of its modes. It is the verbal means of communicating or conveying
meaning. More specifically, speech is the process of shaping into words the sound of the voice and the energy of the
breath by means of speech organs. Thus, these terms are not identical but under the same process.
ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Verbal or linguistic aspect- makes use of words; may be oral or written, formal or informal
2. Nonverbal or extralinguistic- does not make use of words but may enhance or change the linguistic code. It has
the following three elements:
a. Nonlinguistic elements- devices used in conveying messages without entirely relying on
speech or language. These non-speech elements fall under seven categories. They are as
follows:
 Kinesics- language of the body
 Proxemics- language of space
 Chronemics- language of time
 Haptics- language of touch
 Olfactics- language of smell
 Artefactual- language of objects, and
 Physical appearance
b. Paralinguistic elements- include the following attributes of voice that accompany the
words we say: vocal quality, pitch, tempo, volume, and juncture. Our voice is capable of
various dimensions making it possible to identify one person from another. These factors
can change the form and meaning of a sentence by acting across elements or segments of
an utterance.
c. Metalinguistic element-takes place in the mind of communicators – their awareness of the
component units of language like sound, words, phrases and sentences. This enables the
language user to think about language independently of his/her comprehension and
production abilities, talk about it, analyze it and judge it as to correctness or
appropriateness. This linguistic intuition makes him/her decide about the grammatical
acceptability of the language he/she produces and receives.
Communication experts attribute general meaning to 93 percent nonverbal and only 7 percent verbal. The exact
breakdown includes 7 percent words, 38 percent tone and inflection, and 55 percent facial expression, body position
and gesture. The human body, for all we know, particularly the face, speaks by every feature, not only by mouth; we
know how something is meant because we see the other’s face. Hence, nonverbally, we convey our thoughts and
feelings more accurately than we do with words. THIS IS BECAUSE OUR REAL LANGUAGE IS BEHAVIOR.
This implies that we have to be careful with our behavior because it considerably speaks louder than words we utter.
Better still, we have to observe consistency in what we say and in what we do or miscommunication will ensue.
TYPES AND LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Intrapersonal- communication with oneself. It involves thinking, remembering and feeling
Interpersonal- communication among a relatively small number of people. Much of our communication
takes place at this level.
 Dyadic- communication between two individuals
 Tryadic- communication is participated in by three individuals
 Small group- more than three people communicate. The committee, panel, symposium,
brainstorming and small business meetings are good examples of small group
communication.
Public communication- this involves communication between one and several other people. This is the
large group type of communication. A public speech is an example. Primarily, it is a monologue one
engages in rather than a dialog.
Mass communication- this covers other forms of public communication. These are printed form, radio,
television, and movies. The tools/materials used are called mass media.
Organizational communication- communication in the organization
It is in these different situations that we usually find ourselves engrossed in to make possible the art of
communication and the transfer of meaning from one person to another.
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
For communication to take place, there must be five factors involved: the sender, the message, the channel, the
receiver and feedback. All five elements must be present in any communication situation. Without any one element,
no communication takes place. Completing the communication process is the understanding that must be in the mind
of both the sender and the receiver.
STAGES OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Stimulus/stimuli- triggering event of the communication process
Ideation- an idea or several ideas are formulated and organized to answer a need to communicate
Encoding- the ideas, which have been organized in the ideation stage, are put into code to make
transmission possible. To represent these ideas, symbols in the form of sounds or words are made use of.
Transmission- the encoded message is sent through a chosen appropriate channel or medium
Reception- the message reaches the receiver
Decoding- the codes or symbols used to transmit messages are converted into ideas or mental images to be
interpreted by the receiver
Understanding- the message, which has been transformed into thought or mental images, having been
interpreted now becomes clear to the receiver. If he/she does not understand, miscommunication sets in.
Action- the receiver responds to the message received by sending feedback
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
Barriers in effective communication can become the hurdle in progress of professional life as well as in the personal
life. According to various psychologists, approximately 50 percent of message loses its meaning while conveying
from sender to receiver. There are various points where the message is misinterpreted in which some are as follows:
1. Material or Physical Barrier: This is the main hurdle or barrier in effective communication at workplace.
Various things can be included in physical barrier like large working place or working in one section which is
physically separate from each other, closed office doors, separate place for people of different rank etc. These points
can be concluded in physical barriers to effective communication:
a) Environmental cause: Too much humidity in atmosphere, light in excess, lofty temperature or bad ventilation
are some of the environmental barriers in effective communication.
b) Challenging Stimulus: If there is loud music or noise in the background and there is distance between sender
and receiver then it becomes very difficult to send the correct message by the sender to the receiver.
c) Subjective strain: Due to bad health, too much mental stress, lack of proper sleep or consumption of medicines,
the receiver can never understand the message appropriately.
d) Media ignorance: Receiver should be well known about the medium by which sender is sending his message.
For example, explaining things to the workers by maps or charts with whom they are not familiar then they will not
be able to understand the meaning of the message properly.
2. Linguistic Barrier: Different language and vocabulary is another barrier in communication. Language is vague
in nature and its words are symbols which hardly represent only one meaning. The meanings of these symbols or
words are understood by the sender and receiver in their own way which can result in misinterpretation. If
communicator uses difficult or inappropriate words or if message is not explained in proper manner then it can result
in misinterpretation. It is the language only that plays vital role in every field so it should be kept in mind that proper
language and words are used. In today’s world if you send your message to another person in his language then it
will be more effective and in this way the communication can be made effectively.
3.
Cultural Barrier: You will find diverse culture barrier to effective communication in this world. This
communication barrier arise when two people of any organization belongs to different culture, place or religion.
There are many other factors of cultural barrier like age, social position, mental difference or thinking behavior,
economic status, political views, values and rules, ethics or standards, motives and priorities. The
communication done without mixing any culture will not miss its meaning, but once a culture is mixed up with
the communication, then it may lose its exact meaning.
4. Emotional barrier: Every person takes the situations and affair in his own way as everyone differs from each
other. Many times thoughts of the person become strong base for communication. There are many emotions which
can be the cause of effective communication barrier. Examples include anger, fear, or hostility. Apart from these
some barriers to effective communication are mentioned below:
a) Sudden reactions: Many times while communicating, a listener makes comment or criticizes the message
sender without waiting for the sentence to be completed. So it’s very necessary to be keep patience and speak once
the communicator completes his speech.
b) Unfair assumptions: Never make wrong assumptions of the message as it creates great confusion. For
example, you incorrectly assumed that your subordinate have understood the thing you have explained regarding
any issue.
c) Terror: This emotion makes the person to think slowly. He becomes narrow minded. This makes the negative
impact on effective communication skill.
d) Person becomes defensive: Man who cannot communicate effectively just tries to justify himself every time
because he thinks that accepting the mistake means degradation. This kind of attitude is a great obstacle in the
effective communication.
e) Being overconfident about self knowledge: There are number of persons existing in this world that are
overconfident about themselves that they have enough knowledge about any subject. But when you talk to such
people, you will discover that they don’t have enough knowledge nor such people accept that they can be wrong.
This is another hurdle in effective communication.
These are some of the points which should be eradicated for making effective communication. It is important to
remove barrier to effective communication in order to streamline and smoothen the whole process.
REFERENCES:
Books:
Diaz, Rafaela H. 2005. Speech and Oral Communication for College Students. Mandaluyong City: National Bookstore, pp. 1-27
Flores, Carmelita, S., and Lopez Evelyn B. 2004. Effective Speech Communication (5 th ed.) Mandaluyong City: National
Bookstore, pp. 5-9
Martinez, Norma D. 2007. Responsible Speech Communication (Revised Edition) Mandaluyong City: National Bookstore, pp. 113
Online:
http://web.njit.edu/~lipuma/352comproc/comproc.htm
http://www.mysticmadness.com/4-main-barriers-to-effective-communication.html
Prepared by:
Jeremias N. Dacillo Jr.
Instructor, Speech Communication