Strategies of Human Communication
Unit 1: Introduction to Communication

 

Why Study Communication?

u  Who am I, who are you and what are we doing here together!

–   Increase sense of self

–   Increase understanding of others

–   Learn how to better create effective messages that work for both you and your audience/partner.

 

Levels of Communication

u  Intrapersonal

u  Interpersonal

u  Group

u  Public

u  Mass Communication

 

Benefits of studying public speaking

u   Personal Benefits

–    Helps you succeed in college

–    Increases your knowledge

–    Helps build your confidence.

u   Professional Benefits

–    Oral Communication Rated. 1st

–     Written Communication Rated 2nd

–    Listening Skills Rated 3rd

u   Public Benefits

–    Democracy

–    Transformation!

 

Defining Communication

u  The process of sharing meaning by sending and receiving symbolic cues

u  Key terms

–   Interpreter:  any person using symbols to send or receive messages.

–   Symbol:  anything to which people attach meaning

–   Referent:  the object or idea each interpreter attaches to a symbol.

 

Triangle of Meaning

u  Words and symbols have no inherent meaning.

u  People have meaning; words do not.

 

We Remember. . .

u  10 percent of what we read,

u  20 percent of what we hear,

u  30 percent of what we see, and

u  70 percent of what we speak.

 

Critical Thinking Skill are Critical!

 

Intrapersonal Communication

u  Communication with yourself. 

–   Healthy!

–   Self-awareness (becoming more aware of your self)

–   Self-esteem (how you judge yourself)

–   Built from

t  Identity Scripts

t  Direct Definitions

t  Reflected Appraisal

t  Social Comparison

u  A qualitative form of communication between individuals (dyadic).

u  I-It…………I-You……….I-Thou

–   Beuber’s Communication Continuum

u  Interpersonal Imperative

 

Group Communication

u  Three or more people interacting and influencing one another to pursue a common goal.

–   Cohesion and group identity

–   Informal or formal

–   Rules (explicit or implicit)

–   Roles (emergent)

 

 

Models of Communication

u  Linear

u  Interactive


Key Terms

u   Speaker:  the sender, or encoder, of the message.

u   Listener:  the receiver, or decoder, of the message.

u   Encoding:  the Process of selecting symbols to carry a message.

u   Decoding:  the process of attaching meaning to symbols received.

u   Message:  ideas communicated verbally and nonverbally.

u   Feedback:  verbal and nonverbal responses between communicators about the clarity or acceptability of messages.

u   Environment:  they physical setting and the occasion for communication.

u   Noise:  Anything that disracts from effective communication.

–    Physical Noise (in the environment)

–    Physiological Noise (in bodies of communicators)

–    Psychological Noise (in thoughts of communicators)

 

The Perception Process

 

What do you see?

Perceptual Set

Principles of Ethics

u  All parties have ethical responsibilities.

u  Ethics pervade character and action.

 

Responsibilities of an
Ethical Speaker

u   Speak up about important issues.

u   Promote positive ethical values.

u   Speak to benefit your listeners.

u   Use accurate support and valid reasoning.

u   Reveal your true motives.

u   Consider the consequences.

u   Strive to improve your speaking.

 

Responsibilities of an Ethical Listener

u  Seek exposure to well-informed speakers.

u  Listen openly.

u  Listen critically.

u  Listen carefully.

 

“Fair Use” Guidelines

u  What is the character of the use I plan?

u  What is the nature of the work I plan to use?

u  How much of the work do I plan to use?

u  If the use I plan were widespread, what effect would it have on the market value of the original?

 

Tips to Avoid Plagiarizing

u  Take clear and consistent notes.

u  Make complete source citations.

u  Be clear in source citations.

u  Credit paraphrases.

u  When in doubt, cite the source.

 

 

Packet on Culture Notes:

Adapting to Others: Bridging Culture and Gender Differences

 

Communication Principles Adapting to Others

u   Culture and Communication

u   Gender and Communication

u   Barriers to Bridging Differences and Adapting to Others

u   Adapting to Others Who Are Different From You

 

Culture and Communication

u  Culture is a learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms that is shared by a group of people.

u  Cultures are not static.

u  A Co-culture is a cultural group within a larger culture.

–   Amish

–   gender

 

Culture and Communication

u  Intercultural communication occurs when individuals or groups from different cultures communicate.

u  Culture shock refers to a sense of confusion, anxiety, stress, or loss that occurs when you encounter a culture that has little in common with your own.

u  Our culture and life experiences determine our world view--the general perspective that determines how we perceive what happens to us.

 

Cultural Contexts

u  People from different cultures respond to their surroundings or cultural context cues in different ways.

u  High-Context Cultures

–   nonverbal cues are extremely important

–   communicators rely on the context

u  Low-Context Cultures

–   rely more explicitly on language

–   use fewer contextual cues to interpret information

 

Cultural Values

u  Masculine and Feminine Perspectives

u  Avoidance or Tolerance of Uncertainty

u  Distribution of Power

u  Individualism or Collectivism

Cultural Values: Masculine/Feminine

u  Masculine

–   emphasize getting things done and being assertive

–   tend to value traditional roles for men and women

–   not a reflection of biological sex

u  Feminine

–   emphasize building relationships and seeking peace and harmony with others

 

Cultural Values: Uncertainty and Certainty

u  Avoidance of Uncertainty

–   like to know what will happen next

–   develop and enforce rigid rules for behavior and establish more elaborate codes of conduct

u  Tolerance for Ambiguity

–   tend to be comfortable with uncertainty

–   relaxed, informal expectations from others

 

 

Cultural Values: Approaches to Power

u  Decentralized Approach

–   leadership is not vested in one person, power is decentralized

–   decisions are likely to be made by consensus

u  Centralized Approach

–   militaristic approach to power

–   prefer strongly organized, centrally controlled form of government

 Cultural Values: Individualism and Collectivism

u  Collectivistic Cultures

–   champion what people do together and reward group achievement

–   strive to accomplish goals for the benefit of the group

u  Individualistic Cultures

–   individual recognition

–   self-realization

–   tend to be loosely knit socially

 

 

Gender and Communication

u  Sex-Based Expectations

–   start at birth

–   gender roles are transmitted via communication

u  Why and How Women and Men Communicate

–   instrumental and expressive orientations

–   content and relational dimensions of messages

 

Barriers to Bridging Differences

u  Assuming Superiority

–   ethnocentrism

u  Assuming Similarity

u  Stereotyping and Prejudice

–   stereotyping involves pushing others into inflexible, all-encompassing categories

–   prejudice is a judgment some has made based on the assumption that we already know all of the information we need to know about a person

u  Different Communication Codes

 

Adapting to Others

u    Seek Information

u    Listen and Ask Questions

u    Tolerate Ambiguity

u    Develop Mindfulness

–    engage in self-talk

u    Become Other-Oriented

–    other-oriented communication

–    social decentering

–    empathy and sympathy

u    Adapt To Others