Lecture_3 Introduction to Communication

Dealing with others Strategies: A strategy is a short piece of communication behaviour or interaction. It involves the deliberate use of verbal and non-verbal signs to achieve a communicative purpose. - Baby - Salesperson - Greeting (habit, ritual) We have strategies for persuading, for approving or disapproving, for making excuses and for avoiding people and problems.

Games A game is an interpersonal strategy used to put someone down. one person exerting power over the other, and trying to make the other person feel bad. Victim, Wooden Leg

Presentation of self We present different personalities to other people according to the situation we are in. - Erving Goffman: We stage a performance through a persona. - The persona is the character that we adopt to play the part. The persona is part of our way of dealing with people. It is the character out of which we communicate. In this sense it defines how we communicate. - a particular persona is also to make a decision about communication style – how we talk to and use non-verbal cues with the other person.

A performance is the act of presenting the self, it is the act of communicating.

Communication skills A communication skill is an ability to use a means of communication effectively, with regard for the needs of those involved

Shaping relationships Interpersonal communication is most important in that it helps define our relationships with other people.

Defining social situations Formal/informal: suggests a difference between calculated and spontaneous use of communication. Public/private: suggests a difference of context, where the communication takes place. Distant/intimate: suggests a difference of relationship between the people communicating. Ritual/open: suggests a difference in the predictability of the communication used. a market researcher asking someone to answer questions for a standard questionnaire and meeting someone on a blind date.

Functional/expressive: suggests a difference in the quality and purpose of the language used. trying to buy a spare part for a car and trying to interpret the results of an experiment carried out in a laboratory.

Feedback This is important because it can be argued that if we are poor at giving off, recognizing or acting upon feedback, then we are that much poorer at communicating with others. Feedback regulates our contact with others. It helps decide how well a conversation will go.

Gender Interpersonal communication both defines and is defined by gender. There are important debates going on now about the social roles of female and male. There are issues surrounding the treatment of women at work, and the equality of their opportunities. Understanding of how males and females see one another and talk to one another can help inform those debates and issues. What do men and women talk about? Any differences?

Culture Interpersonal communication varies according to the culture in which it happens.

Class Class is also part of culture and varies from culture to culture. It describes people’s status and power in a given culture. In some cultures priests may be better regarded – seen as of a better class – than they are in others. Certainly class and status are recognized nonverbally.

Conventions These ‘understood’ rules affect how we deal with people under all circumstances. We have learned not to talk over one another the whole time through using and noticing little bits of non-verbal behaviour, such as people glancing at the person they want to speak next just before they have finished speaking.

Perception & Reality Is communication what a person says (or thought he/she said)? Or is it what the listener hears (or thought he/she heard)?

Perception & Communication The 1 st step to better communication: Develop the awareness that our perceptions can direct how and what we communicate.

Perception Filters Perception is the process of gathering information through our senses, organizing and making sense of it.

What Affects Perceptions? Previous experience and learning

What Affects Perceptions? Attitudes and Interests

What Affects Perceptions? Needs & Feelings

What Affects Perceptions? Current situation

People see things differently All people do not "see" the same thing when looking at a visual image.

Perception differs from individual to individual due to... Personal Differences Socio-Economic Differences Cultural Differences

Examples of Personal Perception Filters Age, Gender Race Past experiences

Examples of Social Economic Filters Occupation Level of education Environmental factors Family upbringing

Examples of Cultural Differences Language Customs Belief Systems Historical Perspective

Influences on Perception Every characteristic of an individual influences what that individual chooses to: see hear taste touch smell

Influences of Individual’s Background How information is interpreted to create meaning for an individual is also influenced by his/her unique make-up and background.

Perception Exercise Pair-Up One person will draw the picture the other person is holding The person with the picture will give directions to the drawer as to how to draw the picture The drawer cannot ask questions, just follow directions

Perception Exercise What did you draw? Why? What types of miscommunication are represented? Are misunderstandings often the result of differences in perception?

Count the F’s in this sentence …

Count the F’s in this sentence Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of many years.

How Many F’s Did you Count?

There were 6 F’s Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of many years.

Discussion Questions Why do we tend to perceive only certain things? How could this tendency influence communication?

Questions … Question 1: The senator was elected to office by an “overwhelming majority.” What percentage of the vote did he/she receive?

Questions … Question 2: My 17-year old is of “average” height. How tall is he?

Questions … Question 3: Jane really isn’t a “brain”, but she is a good student. What is her grade point average?

Questions … Question 4: Uncle Ned is a “moderate smoker”. How many cigarettes a day does he smoke?

Questions … Question 5: Although this friend of mine is not wealthy, he earns a “comfortable living”. How much does he/she make a year?

Discussion Questions Why were the answers to each of the questions different? What are other areas we might have different perceptions about?

We construct views of ourselves and of others, in our heads

Problems with perception Projecting our wishes onto our view of others: - To some extent we see what we want to see in other people. For example, if we think that other people like us and we like them then we are inclined to think that they have the same sort of views and opinions that we have. This isn’t necessarily true. Making assumptions about others: - In this case, it is as if we fill in missing information. We would assume that someone carrying a sports bag and a hockey stick is a hockey player. We assume that someone who ‘looks us in the eye’ is sincere. We have learnt probable meanings of signs and tend to assume that these probabilities will always be true.

Making categories of people and the signs associated with them The worst kind of categorizing is called stereotyping. This is when we (or the media) use a very few familiar signs to place people in jobs or roles in an uncritical and simplistic manner.

Allowing first impressions of others to influence us In particular we tend to pick on one or two characteristics of the other person and let these influence our opinion of that person. This is called the ‘halo effect’. Indeed, usually the halo effect fades away as one gets to know the other person better, gets more information about them. But we still need to beware because it isn’t always possible to get to know that much about someone else. -