Stewart L. Tubbs McGraw-Hill© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 C H A P T E R 2 Communication Processes

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 2 Communication Processes Communication Language Behavior Self-Disclosure Interaction Roles Review of the Systems Approach

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3 Communication Emotional Intelligence –Daniel Goleman states that leaders must have strengths in “building consensus, being able to see things from the perspectives of others…and promoting cooperation, while avoiding conflicts (Odell, 2003). –A combination of intrapersonal communication (personal competence) and interpersonal communication (social competence). –The process of creating meanings in the minds of others.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 4 Communication Emotional Intelligence (continued) The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) was developed to supplement concepts like the Intelligence Quotient (IQ). To further develop the self-awareness concepts of emotional intelligence and leadership in the business setting, the concept of Business Intelligence (BQ) has evolved

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 5 Communication Communication Defined –O’Hair, Friedrich, and Shaver (1998) identify six key components of effective communication skills: 1.Creative insight 2.Sensitivity 3.Vision 4. Versatility 5. Focus 6. Patience

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 6 Communication Intentional-Unintentional Communication –Intentional messages are communication with a purpose: to get our point across; to persuade another; to prompt action; or simply to have fun –Unintentional messages may be transmitted by action as well as by words. –Like the intended message, feedback also has content and relationship levels.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 7 Communication Intentional-Unintentional Communication –Groups are one context in which we get feedback on behaviors that help us eliminate unintentional cues. The gap between what we intend to communicate and what is actually received is called the arc of distortion. Most experts agree that effective feedback should (1) be clear and understandable, (2) come from a trusted person, and (3) be as immediate as possible.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 8 Communication Verbal-Nonverbal Communication –Visual cues Facial expression Eye contact Body positioning Hand gestures Style of dress Physical appearance Body movements

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9 Communication Verbal-Nonverbal Communication –Vocal Cues Vocal cues include regional dialects, methods of pronunciation, and the five major factors: –Volume –Rate and fluency –Pitch –Quality –Inflection

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 10 Communication Verbal-Nonverbal Communication –All verbal and nonverbal cues are perceived as a whole. –Nonverbal communication takes a different form at the organizational level.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 11 Communication Defensive-Supportive Communication –Gibb (1961) described defensive and supportive communication climates that Whetton and Cameron (2002) have refined: Supportive ClimatesDefensive Climates DescriptionEvaluation Problem orientationControl SpontaneityStrategy EmpathyNeutrality EqualitySuperiority ProvisionalismCertainty

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 12 Communication Content and Process of Communications –One rather difficult distinction to make about group discussion is the difference between the content of the discussion and the process.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 13 Communication Listening –When we can make the other person feel really understood, we are often seen as effective communicators.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 14 Communication Listening –Improving listening skills: 1. Pay attention to differences in thinking styles. 2. Listen for the subtext 3. Suspend judgment when hearing something new. 4. Explain things in the other person’s thinking pattern, not always your own. 5. Remember that ‘truth’ is relative to the individual brain-mind system in which it arises, and to the language system used to construct it. 6. To change the way you’re feeling, change what you’re doing. Source: Adapted from Gregory, 1999.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 15 Language Behavior The study of the interaction between verbal symbols and the thought patterns associated with them is referred to as general semantics. Bypassing –In group discussions, the entire focus of the discussion may be diverted by a difference in interpretation of a given word.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 16 Language Behavior Inference Making –Inferences are used to surmise and suggest causes that relate to the observations themselves and they generally include more investigation to prove or disprove the assumptions (Glencoe.com 2004) –In attempting to analyze behaviors, it is wise to recognize that analyses often involve inferences that go beyond what we have observed and involve some probability for error.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 17 Language Behavior Polarizing  Polarizing is defined as “the process that causes people who had been staying neutral to take sides in a conflict.” (The University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium)

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 18 Language Behavior Polarizing The three distinct characteristics of Polarization: 1.The statements get more intense emotionally. 2.The statements go from being specific to being more general. 3.The statements tend to move away from the topic at hand to other issues.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 19 Language Behavior The Relationship Between an Object and the Symbol for the Object

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 20 Language Behavior The Same Object May Be Represented by More than One Symbol

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 21 Language Behavior Inferences versus Observations

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 22 Language Behavior Surface and Hidden Agendas Compared

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 23 Language Behavior Signal Reactions –Signal Reactions are learned responses to certain stimuli. –A study that directly tested emotional reactions to verbal symbols proved that strong physiological reactions to symbols are typical rather than pathological. –In group discussions, certain phrases—referred to as idea killers or communication stoppers—are likely to produce signal reactions that are counterproductive (Tubbs and Moss, 2003).

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 24 Self-Disclosure Perhaps one of the greatest dilemmas facing a group member is the choice between openly expressing his or her thoughts and feelings and concealing or distorting inner feelings, thoughts, or perceptions.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 25 Self-Disclosure The Johari Window –The Johari window classifies an individual’s relating to others according to four quadrants (or windowpanes). Quadrant 1, the open quadrant Quadrant 2, the blind quadrant Quadrant 3, the hidden area Quadrant 4, the area of the unknown

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 26 Self-Disclosure The Johari Window –Luft advocates changing the shape of the window so that quadrant 1 enlarges while all the others become smaller.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 27 Self-Disclosure The Johari Window Source: Joseph Luft. Group Processes: An Introduction to Group Dynamics, by permission of Mayfield Publishing Company. Copyright © 1963, 1970 by Joseph Luft.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 28 Self-Disclosure When Is Self-Disclosure Appropriate? –Luft (1969) proposes the following guidelines: 1. When it is a function of the ongoing relationship. 2. When it occurs reciprocally. 3. When it is timed to fit what is happening. 4. When it concerns what is going on within and between persons in the present. 5. When it moves by relatively small increments.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 29 Self-Disclosure When Is Self-Disclosure Appropriate? –Luft (1969)... (continued) 6. When it is confirmable by the other person. 7. When account is taken of the effect disclosure has on the other person(s). 8. When it creates a reasonable risk. 9. When it is speeded up in a crisis. 10. When the context is mutually shared.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 30 Interaction Roles Group Task Roles –Initiating-contributing –Information seeking –Opinion seeking –Information giving –Opinion giving –Elaborating

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 31 Interaction Roles Group Task Roles... (continued) –Coordinating –Orienting –Evaluating –Energizing –Assisting on procedure –Recording

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 32 Interaction Roles Group-Building and Maintenance Roles –Encouraging –Harmonizing –Compromising –Gatekeeping and expediting –Setting standards or ideals –Observing –Following

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 33 Interaction Roles Individual Roles –Aggressing –Blocking –Recognition seeking –Self-confessing –Acting the playboy –Dominating –Help seeking –Special-interest pleading

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 34 Interaction Roles Individual Roles –New technologies have emerged that facilitate small group communication across the globe. –With the explosion of virtual meeting environments comes a new type of communication and etiquette.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 35 Review of the Systems Approach Many authors stress that the participants in any communication event are highly dependent on one another. The type of group and the personalities, genders, body shapes, and ability levels all interact to produce the outcome.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 36 The Systems Approach Four problems related to language behavior—bypassing, inference making, polarizing, and signal reactions—are related to both the background factors of the individuals and the eventual consequences of group discussion. Appropriate self-disclosure will vary considerably from group to group. Group task and group maintenance roles contribute the group’s needs.