1. Dr. Holly Kruse Interpersonal Communication
Verbal Communication
Dr. Holly Kruse
Interpersonal Communication

2. Verbal Communication
Verbal communication is all communication that uses words.
Word meanings are usually arbitrary: no necessary relationship between word itself and what it represents

3. Verbal Communication Words are symbols
Words symbolize concrete or abstract meaning
Words symbolize denotative and connotative meaning

4. Verbal Communication

5. Verbal Communication: Gender
Tendency to differ by gender on whether one is communicating power or supportiveness.
Who speaks more in cross-sex conversations: men or women?

6. Verbal Communication: Utterance vs Sentence
Spoken words occur in utterances, not sentences.
Sentence: Abstract grammatical structure, not a concrete message.
Utterance: Linguistically meaningful message spoken in real interaction.

7. Verbal Communication: Utterance vs Sentence
Example from an interview

8. Meaning Levels Semantic What words themselves mean
Both connotative and denotative
May agree on denotative meaning but not connotative meaning

9. Connotation vs. Denotation

10. Meaning Levels Pragmatic The goal of the utterance
Can miss the point even if one understands all of the words
Context plays a big role

11. Meaning Levels
Social
How what we says conveys attitudes towards person to whom we’re talking.
Formality of language: for instance, convergence vs. divergence.
Power of naming (Miss, Mrs. Ms.)

12. Conversation Turn-taking
Through these sequences, patterns develop in relationships
These tell us a lot about power in relationships
Example from interview

13. Language & Culture We learn words from others in social settings
We learn who can use what words.
Verbal communication denotes social group/identity
Cultural differences & words
Words and cultural/institutional power

14. Language & Culture Language shapes our understanding of reality.
This is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
There are certain thoughts of an individual in one language that can’t be understood by those who live in another language.

15. Language & Culture: Tarahumara vs English-Speakers