Human Communication: The Basic Course Twelfth Edition PowerPoint™ Presentations prepared by: Naomi Young University of California, San Diego Joseph A. DeVito Hunter College of the City University of New York

Chapter Five: Verbal Messages This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter Goals Learn About: How language works The nature of disconfirmation and confirmations The principles of message effectiveness Learn To: Use language to best achieve your purposes Express confirmation when appropriate Use verbal messages more effectively Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Principles of Verbal Messages Meanings are in people Language is denotative and connotative Messages depend on context Messages vary in politeness Messages vary in assertiveness Messages can deceive Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Meanings Are in People To uncover meaning, you need to look into people and not merely into words Meanings can change over time Meanings are different between cultures Bypassing Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. \

Language Is Denotative and Connotative Denotation refers to the meaning you’d find in the dictionary Connotation refers to the emotional meaning that specific speakers and listeners give to a word Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Meaning Depends on Context Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Cultural Context Culture teaches ways of using verbal messages as acceptable or not acceptable Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Cultural Context cont… The Principle of Cooperation The maximum of quality The maximum of relation The maximum of manner Principle of peaceful relations Principle of face-saving Principle of self-denigration When you violate these principles, you risk being seen as deviant or perhaps as insulting Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Gender Context Women seek agreement in conversations Men appear to be more direct communicators Both men and women use politeness when communicating ‘bad news’ Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Messages Vary in Politeness Politeness and Directness Direct messages Indirect messages Politeness Online Netiquette Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Messages Vary in Assertiveness Describe the problem State how this problem affects you Propose solutions Confirm understanding Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Messages Can Deceive Types of Lies The Behavior of Lies Pro-social deception Self-enhancement deception Selfish deception The Behavior of Lies Truth bias Lie bias Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disconfirmation and Confirmation Communication patterns in which messages are ignored or acknowledged Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Racism Conscious or unconscious Individual racism Institutionalized racism Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Heterosexism Individual heterosexism Institutional heterosexism Heterosexist language Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ageism Avoid talking down to or refreshing an older person’s memory Avoid implying that relationships are no longer important Speak at a normal volume and maintain a normal physical distance Engage older people in conversation as you would wish to be engaged Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexism Prejudicial attitudes and beliefs about men or women based on rigid beliefs about gender rules Sexist language: language that puts down someone because of his or her gender Use gender-free, gender-neutral, or sex-fair language Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Identifiers Race and Nationality Affectional Orientation Age and Sex Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Verbal Messages Effectively Recognizing conceptual distortions or the mental mistakes, misinterpretations, reasoning fallacies Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Language Symbolizes Reality (Partially) Intensional orientation Extensional orientation Allness Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Verbal Messages Effectively cont… Language Expresses Both Facts and Inferences Fact Inference Confusion Inferential statements Factual statements Language is Relatively Static Static evaluation Mental date Language Can Obscure Distinctions Indiscrimination Polarization Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Polarization Tendency to look at the world in terms of opposites Tendency to view only extremes and to categorize people, objects, and events in terms of polar opposites To Correct Polarizing Tendencies Beware of believing that two extreme classes include all possible classes Believe that alternatives exist Look for middle ground Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowledge to Action Give some examples of verbal communication where offensive language can be replaced with confirming language. Copyright ©2012, 2009, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.