23.02.2015

20% presentation 30% written mid-term exam 50 % final presentation

Whenever you observe or give meaning to behavior, communication is taking place.

Many kinds of Communication

Intrapersonal Communication – when you think or talk to yourself – requires only one communicatorInterpersonal communication – ongoing, ever changing process that occurs when you interact with another

◦ Forms a DYAD – 2 people communicating with one another

It is common to use digital media to get message across: blogging texting tweeting instant messaging emailingposting in social networking site (Facebook)

Without a second person, Interpersonal Communication is impossible:At least two people are needed, but groups of three or more can, also, form dyads.GOAL: treat one another as PEOPLE and respond as unique individuals

◦ Dyad = existing relationship = interpersonal communication

◦ Continuum measures quality of relationship, from impersonal communication to intimate communication

The more personal a relationship, the more interdependent the individuals become

Lives become interconnected Rewards

◦ Intrinsic: emotionally, intellectually, perhaps spiritually rewarding

◦ Extrinsic: impersonal, professional working relationships; help us reach our goals

Can be destructive if we use ineffective communication, causing emotional or physical pain

Dependent upon our professional and personal well being; if relationships are positive, our well being is positive

Effectiveness of relationships depends on our effort in those relationships

◦ Must learn effective interpersonal skills; we are not born with them

◦ Skills will change over time, with different situations

◦ Skills will change depending on Gender Environment Goals Culture

Does not take others for grantedDoes not repeat scenarios or scripts that are doomed to failDoes not follow stereotypes

Instead, the effective communicator is guided by skill and knowledge, working through problems to enhance self-worth

The ability to communicate effectively◦ This increases by observing ourselves and others◦ By assessing what we observe◦ Practicing specific behaviors◦ Predicting and evaluating outcomes

The GOAL is to improve our communication skills

What factors impact HOW you are perceived when you communicate with someone?

◦ The people involved◦ The message(s) that each person sends or

receives◦ The channel (s) used◦ Amount of noise present◦ Communication context◦ Feedback sent in response◦ The act’s effect(s) on individuals involved

Remember the continuum of communication…ranges from impersonal to intimate

Impersonal – limited knowledge of other person and/or situation

Intimate (more personal) – more knowledge of other person and/or situation

Your past experience with people affects how you communicate and interact with others

Interpersonal communication is - the act of SENDING and RECEIVING messages

It is TRANSACTIONAL – sending and receiving occur simultaneously and source and receiver continually influence one another

We are BOTH a sender and receiver …… constantly. This is known as ROLE DUALITY◦ For example, if you do not respond when someone

says hello, you are still ‘sending’ a message, and the person who said hello is still ‘receiving’ a message (from your lack of response)

VERBAL or NONVERBALWho we speak to or what we do as we interact

◦ Words we use◦ Facial expressions◦ Posture◦ Touch◦ Smell

Everything we do as a sender or receiver has potential ‘message value’ . We use our five senses constantly.

Channel: how messages travel…..medium that connects sender and receiver◦ Interpersonal communication uses multi-channeled

interaction (using five senses) to convey verbal and nonverbal messages

◦ Capable communicators use many channels at once: face to face, instant messages, texts

Noise - anything that interferes with or impedes our ability to send or receive a message◦ Internal sources (personal thoughts and feelings,

hunger, shyness, etc)◦ External sources (radio or television playing, color of

room, basketball game outside, etc)

Feedback – information we receive in response to message sent◦ Positive feedback: enhances behavior◦ Negative feedback: stops behavior◦ Internal feedback: you give yourself as you self-

assess◦ External feedback: you receive from other person◦ Low-monitored feedback: total honesty◦ High-monitored feedback: carefully crafted response◦ Immediate or delayed feedback◦ Feedforward: share message to follow

Phatic communication: preface, introduction

Environmental context: physical location of interaction

Situational/Cultural context: life space or cultural background of parties in the dyad

Effect – how one is influenced by interaction; can be emotional, physical, cognitive, or a combination

Linear (unidirectional) – communication only goes in one direction. (example: giving someone instructions to complete a task)

Interaction – back and forth process, presence and effect of both feedback and context

Transactional – idea of a ‘give and take’ communication, where exchanges involves source and receiver responding simultaneously to one another

It fulfills psychological functionsIt fulfills social functions (affection, inclusion, control)It fulfills information functions It fulfills influence functions

Key characteristics:Interpersonal Communication Is a Dynamic ProcessInterpersonal Communication is UnrepeatableInterpersonal Communication is IrreversibleInterpersonal Communication is LearnedInterpersonal Communication is Characterized by Wholeness and NonsummativityPatterns: reasoned sense making retrospective sense making

◦ You cannot not communicate

◦ Every interaction has a content and relationship dimension

◦ Every interaction is defined by how it is punctuated

◦ Messages consist of verbal symbols and nonverbal cues

◦ Interactions are either symmetrical or complementary

Develop cultural awareness◦ Individual and collective orientation◦ High-context and low-context communication

Gender◦ Social creation that imposes a sense of social

order◦ Culture shapes gender, and gender shapes

communication

Interpersonal Communication © 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Communication differs with different forms of media or technology

◦ Face to face interaction, print, cell phone, texting, video, etc.

◦ All convey different messages – which is most effective? Which works for you?

Add to your storehouse of knowledge about interpersonal communication

Recognize how your relationships affect you Analyze your options Interact ethically, respect diversity, and

think critically about person-to-person contacts

Practice and apply skills to improve interpersonal performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhe0KSGoUgc&feature=related

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1852117250001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPmbRRLk~,C5G7jhYNtie3VgHp0hyIHgajHJh_wcv-&bctid=2081796980001

1. Interpersonal communication is inescapable:

We can't not communicate. The very attempt not to communicate communicates something.

Through not only words, but through tone of voice and through gesture, posture, facial expression, etc., we constantly communicate to those around us. Through these channels, we constantly receive communication from others.

Even when you sleep, you communicate. Remember a basic principle of communication in general: people are not mind readers. Another way to put this is: people judge you by your behavior, not your intent.

You can't really take back something once it has been said. The effect must inevitably remain.

Despite the instructions from a judge to a jury to "disregard that last statement the witness made," the lawyer knows that it can't help but make an impression on the jury.

A Russian proverb says, "Once a word goes out of your mouth, you can never swallow it again."

No form of communication is simple. Because of the number of variables involved, even simple requests are extremely complex.

Theorists note that whenever we communicate there are really at least six "people" involved:

1) who you think you are; 2) who you think the other person is; 3) who you think the other person thinks you

are; 4) who the other person thinks /she is; 5) who the other person thinks you are; and 6) who the other person thinks you think s/he

is.

Osmo Wiio gives us some communication maxims similar to Murphy's law:

If communication can fail, it will. If a message can be understood in different

ways, it will be understood in just that way which does the most harm.

There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message.

The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.

http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/wiio.html

In other words, communication does not happen in isolation. There is:

Psychological context, which is who you are and what you bring to the interaction. Your needs, desires, values, personality, etc., all form the psychological context. ("You" here refers to both participants in the interaction.)

Relational context, which concerns your reactions to the other person--the "mix."

Situational context deals with the psycho-social "where" you are communicating. An interaction that takes place in a classroom will be very different from one that takes place in a bar.

Environmental context deals with the physical "where" you are communicating. Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day, all are examples of factors in the environmental context.

Cultural context includes all the learned behaviors and rules that affect the interaction. If you come from a culture (foreign or within your own country) where it is considered rude to make long, direct eye contact, you will out of politeness avoid eye contact. If the other person comes from a culture where long, direct eye contact signals trustworthiness, then we have in the cultural context a basis for misunderstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVSIkEi3mM

Close talk

Visit and observe both a fast-food and a “sit down” restaurant. Consider how is the space used in each setting. For example, how much space there is between tables? How comfortable is the seating? What kind of lighting and sounds are featured? What are the dominant colors in the space?

What generalizations can you draw about how and why the fast-food and “sit down” restaurant are different?