CHAPTER 6Interpersonal

Communication

Assignment

• For this assignment you will be a stalker for 20 minutes, for the sake of your education on interpersonal communication.

• Before you begin, read chapter 7 and make sure you understand major concepts about interpersonal skills.

• Pick your favorite place on campus and sit within listening distance of any two people having a conversation. They should be strangers (shouldn’t be difficult in a campus with more than 25,000 students).

• Listen to the conversation for at least 30 minutes. Pay attention to verbal and nonverbal communication, questions asked, and to the evolution of the conversation.

• When you’re done, answer the following questions:

Strangers’ Conversations

1. Who was involved in the conversation?

2. What was the conversation about?

3. Were any personal matters discussed? For example, attitudes, beliefs, goals? Describe one of them.

4. What questions were asked, and why? Two examples.

5. Two examples of nonverbal communication

6. What three suggestions would you make to the participants to help improve their conversation skills?

Participating in Conversations

• Small Talk: Biographics

• Eventually, finding a common interest is key

• People like to talk about themselves– Importance of names– Be positive– Compliment

Ask me a question

• Purpose: RESTATE, DEFINE and CLARIFY– Encourage people

– Help discover others’ attitudes

– Keep conversation on track

– Keep conversation going

– Help gain information and clarify meaning

– Require more than yes-no responses

Things we communicate about

• Emotions– It’s OK to cry– Messages are made up of

both logic and emotion

• Power– Expert– Referent– Reward– Coercive– Legitimate

Men are from Mars, Women are Awesome

• Nature– Our brains are not

the same

• Nurture– Gender is socially

constructed– Females learn to

be feminine and males learn to be masculine

http://www.entertonement.com/clips/cgnjzhbhpz--Anchorman-The-Legend-of-Ron-Burgundy-Will-Ferrell-Ron-Burgundy-It's-Science

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:How has the web changed our

ability to communicate interpersonally?