Four Values of Communication

Personal Life, Personal Relationships, Professional Life, Civic Life

Communication

A systematic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meaning

Symbols

Rely on as representations of other things. Are our best clues to solving the mysteries of communication

Content Level Meaning

Literal message or information being conveyed

Relationship Level Meaning

Interpret the conversation based off of the individual's relationship. Defines relationships between communicators

How old is communication?

More than 2,500 years old

Rhetoric (Logos, Pathos, Ethos)

The art of effective or persuasive speaking on writing

Communication brings about what?

Progressive thought

INTRApersonal communication

communication with ourselves

INTERpersonal communication

communication with others

Group/Team communication

Focuses on decision-making, conflict management and group performance

Public communication

Includes both public speaking and criticism of public address

Organizational communication

shared codes of contact and organizational identity. "On the job" communication

Mass communication

Focuses on how things like the internet represent and influence cultural values

Intercultural communication

concentrates on how cultures shape an individual's way of communicating

Perception

Active process of selecting, organizing and interpreting things

Three interrelated processes of perception

Selection, organization and interpretation `

Organization

organize our perception through meaningful ways, done so through four cognitive structures

Four cognitive structures of organization

Prototypes, personal constructs, stereotypes, scripts

Prototypes

clearest or ideal example of some category

Personal constructs

think of "either/or" categories, allows us to measure something along a bipolar dimension of judgement

Stereotypes

Predictive generalization

Scripts

spells out how we and others are expected to act in a situation. Social norms

Interpretation

creates explanation for what we observe and experience

in regard to communication humans are...

Verbivores; species that lives on words

Verbal Communication

consist of symbols in the form of written or spoken words

Three characteristics of language/verbal symbols

Arbitrary, Ambiguous, Abstracts (think of triple A batteries)

Arbitrary

Not essentially connected to what they represent

Ambiguous

Doesn't have a clear-cut precise meaning

Abstract

Words stand for phenomena, but they are not the things they represent

Communication rules

shared understandings among members of a particular culture or social group about what communication means and what behaviors are appropriate

Regulative rules

They regulate interaction by specifying when, how, where and with whom to communicate about certain things

Are rules rigidly fixed?

very few are, many don't realize a rule is broken until it is already done

Punctuation

A way to make a flow of activity into meaningful units

Five ways language affects lives

Defines phenomena, evaluates phenomena, organizes experiences, allows for hypothetical thought, allows for self reflection

Totalizing

Responding to a person as if one label totally represents that person

Loaded Language

Words that slant perceptions and thus meaning

I-statements

Identifies the speakers or perceivers thought and feelings. Owns responsibility

You-statements

Attributes intentions and motives to another person. Projects responsibility on to another person

Advantages of I-statements

Less defensiveness of others, more honesty, more empowering

Non-verbal (NV) communication

All aspects of communication other than words

How much does NV communication account for total meaning of communication?

65-93%

Five principles of NV communication

Ambiguous, interacts with verbal communication, regulates interaction, establishes relationship level meaning and reflects cultural values

Regulating interaction using NV communication

tells us when to speak and when to keep silent

"The relationship language"

Responsiveness, liking and power

NV communication reflecting cultural values

Most Nv communication is instinctual but learned in process of socialization. reflects rules of specific cultures

Ten types of NV communication

Kinesics, Haptics, Physical appearance, Olfactics, Artifacts, Proxemics, Environmental Factors, Chronemics, Paralanguage and silence

Kinesics

Body position and body motions including those of the face

Haptics

NV communication involving physical touch

Olfactics

odors and scents

Artifacts

Personal objects we use to announce our identities and personalize our environments

Proxemics

refers to space and how we use it

Personal space

invisible bubble

Environmental factors

elements of setting that affect how we feel, think and act

Chronemics

study of the way we perceive and use the time to define identities and interaction

Paralanguage

Communication that is vocal but not actual words

Digital Media

electronic modes of communication that store and manage information in a digital from

Three key characteristics of digitalization

Manipulation, Convergence and speed

Five prominent ways we use digital media

Create identity, connecting with others, learning, professional communication, organizing

How much of waking time do we spend listening to others?

45-55%

What does it mean to be mindful?

Responding, remembering, physically receiving messages, selecting and organizing information, interpretation communication

Mindfullness

Focusing on what is happening in the moment, involves complete docus and attention

8 hours after receiving a message we remember about how much of our interpretations?

35%

two types of obstacles to effective listening

Situational obstacles and internal obstacles

Situational Obstacles

Incomprehensibility, message overload and complexity, environmental distractions

Internal Obstacles

Preoccupation, Prejudgment, lack of effort, reacting emotionally to loaded language, not recognizing diverse listening styles

Forms of ineffective listening

Psuedolistening, monopolizing, selective listening, defensive listening, ambushing, literal listening