Why do people communicate with others, whether it is with a friend, a teacher, or a parent? Is it because someone wants something from someone else? Or is it because others are asking for something from them? People also communicate with groups or with an audience—whether in real life, on radio and TV, or via the Internet.
Communication is a complex process, as we have learned previously, with elements, levels, and dimensions. People do not just communicate because they love to talk. Humans communicate for several reasons: regulation and control, social interaction, motivation, information, and emotional expression. Collectively, these reasons are called the Functions of Communication. Each function is based on the speaker’s purpose for communicating.
Regulation and Control
If the speaker’s purpose is to control others by managing their behavior, then the speaker is using the function of Regulation and Control. This can be seen in the example of announcing that the community will start segregating its garbage. This function is also demonstrated by the simple act of telling someone to be quiet or encouraging someone to continue discussing the topic.
Social Interaction
The second function is Social Interaction, the most familiar and primary reason people communicate. This is because people love to talk and enjoy talking with each other. Talking with one another is a way for people to be entertained. Humans talk for the sole purpose of coming together as a society. Social Interaction allows people to connect with one another. A family becomes close not just because they live under the same roof, but because each member interacts with another. Friends get together to interact and enjoy each other’s company. A new acquaintance can become a friend by getting to know that person through more opportunities for interaction.
Motivation
Motivation is the third Function of Communication. This is when the speaker’s purpose is to persuade or try to persuade another person to change their opinion, attitude, or behavior. This is different from Regulation and Control, where the speaker simply directs others and insists on their own agenda. In this function, persuasion is used to move the listener away from their own position toward the speaker’s position or to a place where the speaker wants the listener to move. For example, having the listener agree with the speaker that there is a “Pope Francis effect” is one such agenda. Convincing friends to go to the mall after school to watch a movie is another example.
Information
The fourth function is the most useful: Information. This function is used when the speaker wants to make others aware of certain data, concepts, and processes—knowledge that may be useful to them. This may be something as serious as understanding what the MRSA virus is and how to avoid getting it, or something less serious but just as important, such as when and where the school graduation will be held and other relevant details.
Emotional Expression
Lastly, Emotional Expression is another Function of Communication. More than Regulation and Control or Motivation, Emotional Expression is used by a speaker for the purpose of moving another person to action. The speaker appeals to the listener’s feelings and emotions to encourage them to act in a particular way. Receiving messages that include pictures of devastation brought by a typhoon such as Yolanda, or photos of children dying or crying from hunger, the receiver of the message cannot help but feel moved to do something: donate money, clothes, food, and water, or even volunteer to help build new houses for the victims.
Therefore, a speaker has five major reasons for communicating, also known as the Functions of Communication. It must be remembered that these functions often overlap. To regulate or motivate, it is sometimes necessary to first inform. Social Interaction also involves Emotional Expression, as does Motivation. Moreover, these functions use both verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish a specific purpose of communication that the speaker has in mind.
