Lesson 2 — Activity 2: Context for Communication

When we have made a decision to communicate (send a message), we can make our communication clear and simple to receive if we think of three things:

form

audience

purpose

We communicate in different forms.

Each of these three concepts is important in helping us to communicate our message clearly to the receiver.

Form or format refers to how we present our message. There are many different formats for communication. We can speak, write a note, draw a picture, or use our hands to communicate. Depending on the context (situation), there may be one format that will work better than others to send our message clearly.

Audience refers to the person or people receiving our message. Depending on the context of the communication and the audience, we may choose to present our message in a certain way based on the audience and the specific situation.

Purpose refers to the reason we are communicating. Our purpose affects the way we communicate. For example, if we want to entertain our audience, we may present our message differently than we would if we were showing our audience how to do something or describing something to our audience.

Digging Deeper!

Click on the Play button below to watch a video on audience and purpose in literature and the media.