From Another Planet:Krowll has just come to ULM from another galaxy. Krowll asks for help in learning the rules of your culture, especially those rules concerning interpersonal interaction. For example, Krowll isnt quite sure about the following four issues: (1) Is it considered correct to interrupt someone who is speaking, and if so when is it permissible? (2) How do you begin a conversation with someone you have never met before? (3) How long do you maintain eye contact when talking to someone? How long do you maintain eye contact when listening to someone? (4) What do you do with your hands and feet when you are sitting in a chair talking to someone? Would these rules differ depending on whether Krowll is male or female? What interpersonal communication rules can you give Krowll for dealing with these four communication situations.

Select 5 from the questions below and discuss within your group:1. As you look around the classroom in which you are sitting, consider its nonverbal propertieshow does this space facilitate your learning?2. How mindful are you about the way you dress, wear your hair, or do your make-up? What messages are you intentionally sending? To what extent do the people in your group receive your message accurately?3. Think about your dorm room, apartment, or house. How do you decorate it? What messages are you intentionally trying to send? 4. Have you ever received on-the-job training regarding helpful nonverbal behaviors? (For example, servers are often instructed to touch restaurant patrons lightly on the elbow or arm so they will get a bigger tip).5. What do you think about tattoos and body piercings? If you have one or both, why did you get them? Do you regret it? What do you want to communicate with them?6. Have you ever had a conflict with someone because you two had a different view of informal time? What happened?

Select 4 from the questions below and discuss within your group:1. What type of approaches do you use to initiate conversations? Which ones seem to work for you? Which ones dont seem to be effective? 2. Discuss a time you received or sent a chain email. What was it about? How do you feel when you get a lot of chain emails from someone? How can you let this person know, politely, that they are violating the maxim of quantity?3. How do you feel when you get interrupted? How do you feel when someone constantly interrupts the instructor? How can you tactfully address someones tendency to interrupt you?4. What taboos exist in regard to self-disclosure in the United States? How do you react if someone brings up a taboo subject?5. Discuss a time someone disclosed to you in an inappropriate way. What guideline(s) did the person violate? How did it make you feel?

Table 8.3 on page 218 of the text lists several types of conversational partners that could lead to an ineffective and frustrating conversation. Create a 1 minute conversation for three of these 10 types of conversational partners and the rest of the class will guess the type being portrayed in your conversation(s). {Note: that would be three 1 minute conversations you are creating. The types (for those who didnt bring a book) include: The detour taker, the monologist, the complainer, the moralist, the inactive responder, the story teller, the egoist, the thought completer, the self-discloser, and the advisor.

Old Words, New Words:As you brainstorm old words and new words, you can recognize some dynamics of language. In your group discuss each category of the experience, adding to the list as you recall additional words for the categories. Answer the probes for each category. Provide:1. Words that have become well known to the average American during the last ten years: (some I can think of which you cannot use are: offshoring, flextime, DVD, HDTV, and multitasking).Why have the words youve come up with come into common usage? Do we become aware of words that label ideas and things that affect our lives?2. Words that have significantly changed in meaning: (some I can think of that have changed significantly in the last few decades are: queer, shuttle, digital, asylum, and surrogate). How have the words your group generates changed? Have they become more positive? Less positive? Did their meanings bcome broader? Narrower?3. Teen Slang: Slang words that have passed in and out of fashion through the last few decades: (Some I can think of which you cannot use in your examples include: nerd, geek, phat, bad, foxy, got your back, gross, cool, and freak). Why do teenagers invent words? Do other groups have specialized language? Why?4. Ambiguous language. Words with more than one meaning that I can think of are: runner, screen, briefs, back, out, fine, log, fair, and terminal. As you generate your own words, discuss what problems can ambiguous language cause? How can you clarify ambiguous language?

Select 4 of the following questions on emotion to discuss;1. Discuss a time you wanted to express your emotions to someone but you didnt because of one of the obstacles mentioned in the text.2. How can anger be both adaptive and maladaptive? Give examples.3. What does it mean to own your own feelings? How do you react when people use you language instead of I language?4. What do you think about the ventilation hypothesis? Do you agree that venting can make anger worse? 5. Have you ever experienced emotional contagion in a class or small group? With a close friend?