Lesson 11 — Activity 3:

Communicating for the Context

The focus of the first two activities for this lesson has been on considering your purpose and your audience when communicating, whether speaking, reading, writing, listening, viewing, or representing. These two elements form part of the "context" or situation for communication.

In this activity, you will look at how knowing your purpose and audience and thinking about the situation you are in affects the way that you communicate.

One important element of communication that changes according to the situation you are in is the tone of the communication. You probably know that saying the same thing in a different tone of voice can change your message completely.

For example, if you say to a friend, "You look great!" you might mean sincerely that your friend looks really good. Say it in a sarcastic tone, and your friend will know you think he or she should change his or her appearance.

Tone is also present in other forms of communication, although it may not always be as easy to detect as it is in speech. A writer's attitude toward a topic influences the tone of the work and affects the message being conveyed.

Courtesy of Getty

Another aspect of communication that may change depending on the situation is the form or format of the communication. Sometimes a message might be most effective if delivered in writing. In another situation, the same message could be delivered in person. For example, if you wanted to support a cause that was important to you, you might decide to show your support in various ways: write a letter to the local newspaper or to your Member of Parliament, give a speech at a public meeting, create a video to play on YouTube, and so on. Various situations require various approaches to communication.

Because you probably communicate most often by talking, click here to see some ideas about how to change your speaking style to suit the situation you are in. There is also interesting information on how people from various cultures speak. The tone and form of communication from people worldwide is an interesting piece of communication to consider.

To learn more about the importance of knowing your audience and purpose for successful communication, click here to view a short video from the Learn Alberta website. Think about how you adapt to your audience and how successful you are at communicating with others.

Digging Deeper!

Click on the Play button below to review the importance of purpose, audience, and context (or tone) in your writing.