1. Chapter 4 The Competent Communicator

2. Chapter 4 The competent communicator
Objectives:
Define competent communication
Describe the five communication acts
Provide examplesof speaking and listening for each of the five communication acts
Explain the four competency steps and describe how a competent communicator uses each of them.
Competent Communication
Five Communication Acts
Speaking and Listening Examples
Four Competency Steps

3. Competent Communication

4. Communicating competently…
Everyone can talk and hear.
Good communication takes effort.
Competent means “well qualified and capable.”
Competent communicators have knowledge and skills in communication.
They develop a number of ways to deal with new communication situations.
They follow certain steps in order to reach their communication goals.
Communicators
Competent communicators always seem to know what to say or do in any situation.
They also know how to improve their knowledge and communication skills.

5. What are the reasons we communicate?
To get information
To tell someone something
To find out how to do something
To learn things I didn’t know before
To persuade someone to do or believe something
To show someone I care about them
To make up my mind on a debatable subject
To enjoy myself by talking with others
To test new ideas
information
reflection
persuasion
emotions
deliberation

6. Five Communication Acts

7. Communication Acts
Sharing Information
Feelings
Persuasion
Social
Imagination
Communication acts describe the major reasons for communicating.
The five acts are:
Sharing information
Discussing feelings
Managing persuasion
Following social rituals
Using imagination
Sharing information serves as the basis for all speaking and listening.

8. Sharing Information Feelings Share Concern Let them express
Listen and understand
Discussing feelings involves personal effort and risk taking by both speaker and listener.
Most people are not comfortable talking about feelings. We have learned to talk about ideas, not feelings. I think… or I feel we should…

9. I feel embarrased when…
I feel happy when…
I feel embarrased when…
I feel angry when…
I feel scared when…
I feel jealous when…
I feel silly when…

10. Sharing Information Persuasion Question/ Arguement Analyze Messages
Reach Agreement
Persuasion is part of our everyday life.

11. Persuasion Examples
Advertising
Inspiration
Motivation

12. Journal Entry
Write about five persuasive situations that you have observed or experienced.
How did you act (or react) in the situations and how, if at all different, might a ‘competent communicator’ act in these situations?
(ref. pg. 77)

13. Sharing Information Social Rituals Verbal Nonverbal
Greetings Small Talk
Keeping Secrets
Formal & Informal

14. Social Rituals Making and acknowledging introductions
Making and receiving telephone calls
Asking Questions
Interrupting, apologizing, greetings, etc.
Making conversation

15. Social Ritual Examples
Introducing a stranger…
Asking a question in class…
Ending a friendly conversation…
Calling a friend on the phone…
Asking the time of day…
Asking someone to dance…
What other examples can you think of?

16. Social Ritual Examples
Brains
Origins of Small Talk
Job Interview

17. Journal Entry
Choose a social ritual and observe someone engaging in it.
Predict what you expect to see.
Afterwards, desribe what happened and note anything you noticed that was surprising or unusual.
(ref. pg. 80)

18. Sharing Information Imagination Telling Stories Acting Drama
Problem Solving

19. Imagination Examples
New mouse

20. Journal Entry
When do you find yourself situations involving dramatic imagination? Make a list of several…
(ref. pg. 84)

21. Sharing Information
Feelings
Persuasion
Social
Imagination

22. Listening and Speaking Examples
What type of communication act or acts
are exhibited in these movie clips?
Pursuit of Happyness
Armegeaddan

23. Four Competency Steps

24. 1. Thinking of Strategies
Communication strategies are the verbal and nonverbal messages created to reach a specific goal.
Experience gives your more strategies to cope with communication difficulties.
The competent communicator thinks up a number of possible ways to deal with a situation.

25. Strategies you’ve used?
To gain a later curfew?
I plead for an extra half hour.
I inform my parent(s) I’m too old for this type of curfew.
I explain that my friends parents do not give them a curfew.
I try to convince my parent(s) that this is a very special occasion.
I volunteer to help around the house tomorrow.
I promise I will never ask for a curfew change again.
I threaten to go live with my best friend’s family.
I remind my parent(s) how responsible I have been in the past.
I stop speaking to my parent(s).
I slam doors and sulk around the house.
Did your strategy leave both you and your parents satisfied?

26. 2. Selecting a Strategy
Once you’ve thought of a few ways to handle the problem or situation, consider the specifics…
Think about the who, what, where, and when.

27. 2. Selecting a Strategy
Who – what do you know about the person. Think about your past and future relationship with the person.
Where – how will the place or other people affect the discussion.
What – think about the importance of the topic to you and the person.
When – think about the best time to discuss the topic, whether its now or at a later time.

28. Journal Entry
Examine the situations on page 89 “Interact” and think of the who, what, when and where that would affect the communication strategies.

29. 3. Acting on the Strategy Now what?
Ever felt like you knew exactly what to say or do but did nothing?
Many of us think of pretty good strategies but are reluctant to finish.
Selecting the strategy doesn’t do much good until you act on it.
It’s one to plan to tell your friend that they hurt your feelings and another to actually say, “You hurt my feelings” or “I want you to stop teasing me.”

30. Being a Competent Communicator
Three-step skill called, “Peer Pressure Reversal” will get you out of tough situations.
Being a Competent Communicator

31. Preparing to be a Competent Communicator
Check out the scene.
First, checking out the scene involves looking and listening for anything unusual or strange in the way your friends are talking or acting. Are they in an ‘off-limits’ place, or are they trying to bribe you into doing something wrong?
Second, ask yourself: “Is this trouble?” If the situation would break a law or get someone in charge mad, you are facing a trouble situation.

32. Preparing to be a Competent Communicator
Make a good decision.
To make a good decision, you need to think about two things.
First, weigh both sides. Your friend(s) will tell you about the positive consequences: you must rely on yourself to consider the negative consequences. The risks involved ar usually not worth it.
Second, you must make a firm decision so that the pressure won’t cause you to act weak. If you take a risk, be prepared to accept the consequences. If you decide against the trouble, you might just comvince your friend(s) not to take the risk either.

33. Preparing to be a Competent Communicator
Act to avoid trouble.
There are many ways to refuse a friend’s suggestion including saying no politely and firmly. leaving, or giving a true excuse.
You can suggest a better idea and walk toward it and your frineds will often follow you!
Some people can say “No” in joking ways, such as “I wish I could, but it’s my night to walk the goldfish.”
And if a friend dares you, learn to return the challenge, “Are you scared to do it by yourself?”
Remember to stay in control, look the person in the eyes when talking to him or her, and get out of the trouble in 30 seconds or less.

34. Competent communicators learn to follow through with their plans.
Journal Entry
How often have you planned to do something but never followed through?
Some examples:
Volunteer in class (answer a question, add to a discussion, etc.)
Ask a salesclerk for more information
Tell your parents how wonderful they are
Compliment your friend
Thank a teacher for help
Apologize for talking badly about someone
Competent communicators learn to follow through with their plans.
Being Bullied

35. 4. Evaluating the Strategy’s Effect
The final step is to make judgment – to decide whether the strategy worked well.
Evaluate on the terms of:
Effects on you
Effects on others
The result
And the conclusion
Pursuing Happyness

36. Failure brings success!
Evaluating
For example, if you had three different strategies for an apology and chose one, did both you and the person you apologized to feel good whe you were done?
Or, if you chose a joke to introduce your speech, did the class laugh?
Look at the results and decide if the strategy would work in a similar situation or would you have to do something different.
Consider your beliefs about right and wrong when choosing, using, and evaluating a strategy.
Failure brings success!

37. Chapter 4 Review Page 95 1-4 Page 95-96 1-3 Page 96
Think about it
Page 95
1-4
Try it out
Page 95-96
1-3
Put it in writing
Page 96
1 (parent or grandparent) & 2