The document discusses the 7 functions of communication: to entertain, persuade, preserve, measure reaction, inform, affect affect, and educate. It provides examples to illustrate each function and notes that effective professional communication can serve multiple functions at once. Communication is most effective when it can both entertain and inform, and when a single message can achieve multiple communication goals.

1. Professional
Communication
LESSON #03
THE 7 FUNCTIONS OF
COMMUNICATION
BY JAIME ALFREDO CABRERA
ALBUKHARY INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

2. 7 Reasons for Communicating
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
To Entertain- To elicit a receiver’s willing suspension of
disbelief; to help the receiver forget reality for a while
To Persuade - To convince a receiver to change a belief
or mind-set; to convince a receiver to act
To Preserve - To record an event, information, or data for
posterity
To Measure Reaction - To elicit and measure a receiver's
reaction or output
To Inform - To effectively transfer information to a receiver
To Affect Affect - To modify or change a receiver’s
attitude, tendency, or feeling about something
To Educate - To cause the acquisition of
information, skills, and attitude
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

3. 1. TO ENTERTAIN
To elicit a receiver’s willing suspension of disbelief; to forget reality for a while
Entertaining
Not Entertaining
 A dramatic movie
 A documentary film
 A soap opera on
 A weather report on
radio
 A romantic novel
 A joke about life on
campus
radio
 A math textbook
 A speech about
campus safety
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

4. 2. TO PERSUADE
To convince a receiver to change a belief or mind-set
Persuasive
Not Persuasive
 Advertisement
 Advertisement
showing white teeth
 Receiver’s
mindset is
different
 Receiver’s belief is
modified or
changed
SLH1013 - Professional English
showing toothpaste
 Receiver’s
mindset is the
same
 Receiver’s belief is
the same
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

5. 3. TO PRESERVE
To record an event, information, or data for posterity
Preservative
Not Preservative
 Taking a picture of
 Giving a lecture
native costumes
 The data is
preserved for
others to access in
the future
SLH1013 - Professional English
about native dress
 The data is
presented for
access at present
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

6. 4. TO MEASURE REACTION
To elicit and measure a receiver's reaction or output
Quantifying
Non-quantifying
 Asking a patient to
 Telling a patient to
open his mouth for
a thermometer
 The receiver must
react
 The output can be
measured
SLH1013 - Professional English
go to stop worrying
 The receiver may
or may not react
 The output cannot
be measured
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

7. 5. TO INFORM
To effectively transfer information to a receiver
Informative function
Non-informative
 Telephone directory
 Fiction novel
 News broadcast
 Joke book
 Menu
 An abstract
 Recipe
painting
 A speech in an
unknown language
 Road signs
 Free samples
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

8. 6. TO AFFECT AFFECT
To modify or change a receiver’s attitude, tendency, or feeling about something
Affective
Non-affective
 A low grade for a
 Making a funny
low quiz score
 Improving the taste
of food
 Endlessly repeating
an advertisement
 Punishing a crime
joke
 Recording an event
on camera
 A series of tests
with the same level
of difficulty
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

9. 7. TO EDUCATE
To transfer information and skills, at the same time creating positive affect.
Educative
Non-educative
 Teaching essay
 Memorizing past
writing and praising
a well-written final
essay
 Increasing the
difficulty of
succeeding lessons
historical events for
a quiz
 A series of tests
with the same level
of difficulty
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

10. FINAL NOTE
A message that
entertains while, at the
same time, delivering
information is more
effective than a message
that delivers only
information.
SLH1013 - Professional English
Communication is
more professional
when one message
can deliver a
greater number of
functions.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

11. Analysis
Explain the differences
between:
Educative
function of
communication
Affective function of
communication
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

12. Analysis
What is the
communicative purpose
of a course in computer
repair?
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

13. Professional
Communication
LESSON #04
THE EIGHT ELEMENTS OF
PROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION
SLH1013 - Professional English
Tuesday, October 29, 2013