Understanding Interpersonal Communication Coach Dobbins

Communicating begins with you!!!! As a child you were often asked what do you want to be when you grow up? What if someone asked you that question today? Would you give the same answer? Knowing what path you want to take in life will pave the path for what communication skills you must establish in order to be productive in your social and professional world.

Intrapersonal communication When you think of communication what do you think of? Talking with a friend, a group? You not only have to be effective communicating to others but communicating to yourself. Knowing who you are and what you think of yourself.

Self Talk Intrapersonal communication is a form of self talk or inner speech How you view things in your mind affects your attitude and ability to reach your goal. Some examples are: Think things through Interpret events Interpret the message of others Respond to your own experiences Respond to your interaction with others

More positive self talk can can increase your focus, concentration, and performance. fects/emotionalsideeffects/attitudes-and-cancer and-positive-thinking_b_ html

Perception process Perception: The process you use to assign meaning to data about yourself or the world around you. Sensory perception Selective perception personal perception

Sensory perception Physical process of taking in data through the senses Sight Sounds Touch Smell Taste

Selective perception The mental process of choosing which data or stimuli to focus on all that are available to you at nay given time. We are constantly overloaded with information You are in class and you see the principle walk in. you can immediately smell his cologne. For that minute you tune out what is going on in your classroom. During that brief time you miss out on what the teacher said.

Perception choices You make hundreds of choices a day about what information you retain. Knowing what influences your choices will help you make better decisions about yourself, the occasion, and the task at hand.

Factors that influence perceptions Intensity: the more intense the situation the more you will remember. Repetition: people also tend to remember things that are repeated. How is this used in advertising? Uniqueness: people notice things that are new, unusual, unexpected, and unique. Could be positive or negative Is often used in marketing

Factors cont. Relevance: we notice things that mirror our own interest, likes, and needs. When you want a new car do you tend to notice the one you like on the road more? The same goes for ignoring the information that doesn't’t interest us. A coach may notice a specific error that the average spectator may not catch…but ignore the storm that is approaching.

Managing selective perception You must learn how to stay focused. What if a surgeon lost his/her focus during a heart operation? Stay alert Ask yourself what you need to focus your attention on Screen out distractions and noise

Personal perception Your own understanding of reality The reality you construct for yourself as you organize and interpret data. Pg 75

Factors that affect personal perception Values- reflect priorities Beliefs- helps filter incoming information, Culture- what shapes you Bias-a constant attitude, view point, perception Prejudice-preconceived judgment Attitudes- positive or negative Expectations-what you think something will be.

Knowledge: someone who plays football will perceive the game different from someone who doesn't’t. Communication skills: do you understand the type of communication being used.

Perceptions

Analyzing Perceptions Our Each persons perceptions are unique Our communication is influenced by our perceptions of ourselves or others. Did everyone perceive the drawings the same? Think about the other students in the class. No two students perceive this class the same way. One person may perceive it as interesting as another person may perceive it as dull.

Using Perception Checks Perception check: is a questions that helps you determine the accuracy and validity of your perceptions. Intrapersonal: sensory perception, selective perception, personal perception. Often times when you do an intrapersonal perception check it only arises more questions and requires you to do an interpersonal check. Interpersonal: ask others about heir perceptions of an event. Analyze others points of view. Taking responsibility for your own communication.

Understanding self as a communicator Self concept: the view you have of yourself. This could be based off of the past or how you think others view you. As your experiences and life factors change so does your perception of yourself. How you perceive yourself influences how you communicate on a daily basis.

Dimensions of self Defined by….. RealYour “core” self PerceivedWho you see yourself to be IdealWho you want to be now or future PublicHow you act around others PrivateThe person you hide from others ProfessionalWho you are in your job or profession SocialWho you are when you interact with others IntellectualWho you are as a student or learner EmotionalThe part of you that uses and processes feelings PhysicalWho you are physically (how you see your body) artisticHe part of you that is creative

Building a positive self concept Most of us are pleased with at least some aspect of ourselves. How you accentuate the positive views about yourself and minimize the negative ones? You must look at your strengths

Time to reflect… 1. In the middle of a sheet of paper write “self” and draw a circle around it. 2. Then draw smaller circles coming off of that for each dimension in the previous slide. 3. Describe how you see yourself in each of those settings. 1. Put a + if you see it as a positive and a – if you see it as a negative.

Time to reflect…. Once you have established your positives and negatives you can then set goals for change. Positive talk can go a long way!!!!! Self fulfilling prophesy: a prediction or expectation of an event that shapes your behavior, making the outcome more likely to occur.