Recap

What is Communication?
How do we Communicate?
What is a Skill?
Language Skills
Types of Communication
Styles of Communication
The Communication Cycle
Communication in Workplace
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Week 1

Theories of Communication

Discourse/
Dialogue

Phoneme

Phone=Sound

Morpheme

Word

Combination of two or more

phonemes= prefixes,
suffixes

Phrase, Clause
Sentence
Paragraph
Text

Syntax= Semantics

Definition of Theory

Theory is any attempt to explain or represent a

phenomenon

It helps to answer the how and why questions

about communication

Characteristics of Theory

Theory is an abstraction

Theory is a construction

As Robert Cox said

Theory is always for someone and for

some purpose (Cox, 1981: 128)
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Goals of Theory

Explanation
Understanding
Prediction
Social change

The TWO STEP FLOW theory

The two step flow theory was first introduced by Paul

Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet in the
Peoples Choice,

A 1948 study focused on the process of decisionmaking during Presidential election campaign

The TWO STEP FLOW theory

This theory argued that:

Ideas often flow from the mass media

to the opinion leaders and from them
to the less active sections of the
population

The CONCENTRIC CIRCLE theory

2. The concentriccircle theory:

Theory developed by Elmo Roper

Elmo Roper: (1900-1971) was a pioneer in the fields of

market research and public opinion

The CONCENTRIC CIRCLE theory

The concentriccircle theory stated that ideas evolve gradually to:

The public at large moving in concentric circles

from

great thinkers to
great disciples to
great disseminators to
lesser disseminators to
the active audience to
the inert
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IDEA

Source: www.csus.edu
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The DIFFUSION OF THE

INTERNET
3. The Diffusion of the Internet:

The Internet as a communications tool has exceeded

cultures, boundaries and geographies

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4. CONVERGENCE theory
4. Convergence theory:

This digital convergence theory emphasized the new

reality of convergence of new technologies

This means that these technologies integrate all digital

media types, including video, data, voice in one
medium (the MOBILE)

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5. SPIRAL OF SILENCE theory

5. Spiral of silence theory:

Is an innovative theory of public opinion developed by ElisabethNoelle-Neumann

She argued that people tend to remain silent when they feel that
their views are in the minority

The so-called silent majority fears becoming isolated

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Why mapping communication thoeries?

Why mapping communication thoeries?

Public relations professionals should have an idea

about these theories,

because it represents the conceptual foundation which

helps them understand the foundations of a successful
public relation strategy

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Goals of communication

Goals of communication

In public relations, communication should undergo a

process of planning, management and reflection

In public relations every act of communication has a

goal, an objective or a purpose

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Four Typical Communication Goals

There are four typical communication goals:

Informing

Persuading

Motivating

Building mutual understanding

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Four Typical Communication Goals

Informing:

The communication goal of public relations is to inform

a particular public

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Four Typical Communication Goals

Persuading:

A regular goal of public relations communication is to

persuade people to take actions

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Four Typical Communication Goals

Motivating:

Motivation of employees to pull for the team is a

regular organizational communications goal

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Four Typical Communication Goals

Building mutual understanding:

Public relations communicators often seek to attain

mutual understanding between opponents in a group,
community or society at large

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The Publics of Public

Relations

The Publics of Public Relations

Public relations people must communicate with many
different publics
each having its own special needs and requiring different
types of communication
The lines that divide these publics are thin, and
the overlapping potential is significant

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The Publics of Public Relations

Publics can be classified into several overlapping
categories:
Internal and external:

Internal publics are inside the organization:

clerks
supervisors
managers
stockholders
and the board of directors
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The Publics of Public Relations

External publics are those not directly connected with the
organization:

The press
Government
Educators
Customers
Suppliers
The community

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The Functions of Public

Relations

The Functions of PRs

Writing: a fundamental public relations skill

News releases
Speeches
Brochures

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The Functions of PRs

Researching:

Beliefs
Values
Attitudes

that influence behavior

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The Functions of PRs

Marketing communication:

other marketing-related functions, such as

Creating brochures
Sales literature
Promotions

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The Functions of PRs

Community relations:

positively putting forth the organizations

Messages
Images

within the community

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The Functions of PRs

Consumer relations:

interfacing with consumers through

Written
Verbal

communications

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SUMMARY
Theories of Communication
Two step Flow Theory
Concentric Circle
Convergence theory
Spiral of Silence Theory

The goals of communication

the function of RPSS

15/08/15

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 http://www.powershow.com/view/2044
3-YjhjN/3_Theories_of_Communicatio
n_powerpoint_ppt_presentation
Based on a research and Seitels The
Practice of Public Relations by Dr.
Mohammed Ibahrine

15/08/15

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