WGU Intro to Communication

Individualism

A culture that values individualism values people who are assertive and speak for themselves, independent, and not reliant on others to any great extent. Individualists tend to remain somewhat emotionally disconnected or distant from others.

Definitional Speeches

A definitional speech argues about the basic identification or classification of a particular thing. In essence, you are arguing that X is or is not Y because of particular evidence, reasons, or rules. Crucially, in a speech like this, you are arguing about technical, scientific, or legal status of particular things/ideas.

demonstration

A demonstration gives how-to advice to an audience relative to a particular topic or activity, and it involves some physical depiction of the subject. Demonstrations are appropriate when watching or listening to relevant information and may heighten audience members' knowledge of the subject.

dialectical tension

A dialectical tension is a tension that exists between two competing and contradictory, but related, forces. Connection/autonomy. People in relationships struggle with the desire to be enmeshed and integrated with one another (connection), and independent (autonomy). Although it is natural to want to be with a person you feel close to and enjoy, relationships become unhealthy if you do not have some time to yourself and maintain your own identity. Needing another person in order to feel "complete" is an underdeveloped and inaccurate belief about what defines and sustains healthy interpersonal relationships. However, too much time apart or emphasis on the self can also contribute to relationship problems. People express connection with a statement like "I love spending time with you" or by moving in together. They communicate autonomy by stating, "I need some time to myself (or with my friends)" or by maintaining separate bank accounts or birth names (rather than taking their spouse's surname). What are some strategies you use to balance the competing needs for separateness and connection in your interpersonal relationships?. Predictability/novelty. This second dialectic focuses on the appreciation that people in relationships have for stability, as well as spontaneity and change. Being able to predict what your partner will do or say, and how the relationship will go in a given situation, gives you a sense of reassurance and confidence in the presence and future of your relationship. However, too much predictability can get boring. For example, Tara loves the home life she has created with Isaac, and Isaac appreciates their home life too. She enjoys cooking dinner each night, and they love to spend their weekends working in the yard or watching Netflix. These routines make Tara and Isaac feel very settled and certain that their relationship will be a long and lasting one. Still, this couple likes to introduce some novelty into their relationship to keep things fun. Isaac, for example, surprised Tara with tickets for a cruise, and sometimes Tara will treat Isaac to dinner at their favorite restaurant for a change. Too much novelty or change can make a relationship feel unstable, but too much predictability can make life seem bland and stale. Openness/privacy. The nature of a close, personal relationship suggests that participants should be transparent and revealing in their interactions with one another. To be sure, sneakiness, damaging secrets, and dishonesty are toxic within interpersonal relationships. However, the assumption that you have to reveal all of your private thoughts and activities can violate your need for privacy. In any relationship, a need for disclosure and expression exists along with a need to keep some information private. This dialectic can become pronounced in teenage and adult children's relationships with their parents. How do you feel about this issue in your closest relationships?

Factual Speeches

A factual speech argues for the truth or falsity of a given assertion. However, persuasive speeches based on claims of fact exist on a spectrum moving from easily supported or verifiable to highly uncertain with little reasoned evidence for support. Claims of fact work differently in a persuasive speech than in an informative one. You should think of yourself as defending your own assertion with more factual support and reasoned argument than your audience, as your goal is to persuade them that you have the most factual position.

Current Internal States

A final factor that affects how people perceive stimuli involves how they are feeling. Being hungry, tired, fearful and anxious, confident, well-rested, cold, or warm can all affect our ability to perceive others and their messages completely or accurately. These internal states cloud our perceptions and result in ineffective communication responses to situations.

message complexity

A message that is detailed or characterized by a number of arguments and related evidence might be difficult to follow and comprehend. This is referred to as message complexity. Good listeners are good at reducing complexity by breaking down messages into understandable components, asking questions, and making clarifying statements. However, highly complex messages challenge our ability to listen effectively no matter how skillfully we attend to them. Additionally, in a study of how viewers react to reality TV, Bradley and Shapiro (2004) found that message complexity can affect the believability of a message, and, by extension, how effectively we listen to it. In your real-life interactions, when someone tells you an outrageous story in great detail, do you find yourself, rather than truly listening to the story, trying to determine whether the storyteller is telling the truth or exaggerating? When messages are highly complex and detailed, listening can become very challenging.

Policy Speeches

A policy speech describes a certain social or political problem and then seeks to lay out the specifics of a solution to that problem. The ease with which we can generate policy claims speaks to how common a policy persuasive speech is. For example: The U.S. should stop its reliance on fossil fuels. Police forces around the world should be demilitarized in their equipment and tactics. Online bullying should be treated as a hate crime. All American citizens should be required to have a background check and undergo training before they can own a firearm. The U.S. should invest less in its presence in foreign populations around the world and more in the well-being of its own impoverished and starving population.

stalking

A third common type of dysfunctional, dark relationship behavior is stalking, which is a course of unwanted, repeated conduct that places another in fear of his or her safety. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 3.4 million people are stalked yearly. Most stalking is interpersonal in nature; three out of four stalking victims are stalked by someone they know, and 30% of stalking victims are stalked by a former intimate partner. Stalkers intimidate their victims through email messages, telephone calls, or unwanted letters, notes, and gifts, and they may trespass on or vandalize their victims' property. Further, a stalker may appear at the victim's place of employment, residence, or other places the victim likely frequents.

Value Speeches

A value speech argues the virtue, accuracy, and soundness of a particular judgment. This judgment will always be based on an underlying principle or value, such as what is right, just, beautiful, peaceful, generous, equitable, etc. When making this kind of speech, you need to be able to communicate the value you begin with by effectively describing the context surrounding your claim.

sensory aids

A variety of media may enhance the informational effectiveness of your presentation. Known as sensory aids, these supporting devices appeal to one or more of the five senses. Traditional visual aids, such as charts, graphs, digital slides (e.g., PowerPoint, Prezi, or Keynote), notes on a flipchart or whiteboard, photographs, and handouts, can make orally communicated information more comprehensible to an audience and can assist listeners in retaining what they have heard. Additionally, a variety of supporting media that appeal to one or more of the other senses can help highlight your content. Some examples include video, interactive online gaming, Flash animation, sound, virtual reality or simulation, and the use of polling and online social networking during a presentation. Hands-on experimentation with a device or product can also engage listeners. For example, Alan's informative speech compared and contrasted the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones. In addition to projecting screenshots of the various features of these two smartphones, Alan invited audience members to try out their different capabilities by using smartphones he brought to class as demonstrators.

Abstract words

Abstract words are those that refer to intangibles, like "honor," "love," and "moral." Those words do not have a tangible referent, but exist only as much as we can create meaning for them.

psychological reactance theory

According to psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966; Brehm & Brehm, 1981), persuasive messages threaten an audience's feeling of freedom to think, believe, and act as they wish. This threat is one of the primary explanations for why people resist influence messages. As a result of the fear that they are being talked into doing something they do not want to do, people will reassert their freedom by putting down the source of the persuasion and/or rebelling against the recommended attitude, belief, or behavior. In other words, psychological reactance is a negative response to persuasion that motivates resistance to the persuasive message.

Ad hominem

Ad hominem: Latin for "about the person," an ad hominem fallacy occurs when someone refutes an argument by attacking the person who presented the argument rather than the argument itself. An example would be dismissing a sales pitch from a car salesperson because you assume they are hiding something from you. They might be making a great argument for a car, but you evaluate the source of the argument rather than the argument.

Affect displays

Affect displays are nonverbal movements that reveal emotion. Have you ever encountered a friend who just got bad news? His or her emotions are not difficult to "read" in most cases—slumped shoulders, minimal eye contact, and a flat facial expression may indicate to you that someone is in a sad or depressed state. What cues communicate joy and excitement? Regulators are movements that help communicators manage conversation. Examples of regulators include waving your hand to tell someone to get to the point, checking the time when you want a speaker to wrap up, or creating distance between yourself and the other communicator (by walking further away) when you want that person to stop talking.

affection needs

Affection is essentially a cognitive and emotional expression of strong caring for something or someone. It's a fond attachment, devotion, or love for another. Affection implies approval, and we all have a need for others to approve of us, which is an external affirmation of our value and identity.

sender-receiver reciprocity

Although receivers play the most prominent role in listening, true understanding as an outcome of communication requires that senders and receivers adapt to one another and share responsibility for listening effectiveness. This is referred to as sender-receiver reciprocity. For example, when a teacher notices that students appear confused, he or she may slow down, restate a concept in different words, or try a different instructional strategy. Feedback informs the sender how the receiver is processing and assigning meaning to the message. When both communicators simultaneously send and receive messages and adapt to one another's feedback, they are illustrating sender-receiver reciprocity. Sometimes, in an effort to learn what great communicators do, it is helpful to examine also the habits of poor or irritating listeners. Take a look at the list of 20 listening habits to avoid in the table below. This list was compiled by the International Listening Association, the scholarly organization dedicated to the study of listening in communication.

abbreviated outline

An abbreviated outline allows you to glance at key words and phrases, rather than complete sentences, and deliver your presentation in a dynamic, conversational manner. For delivery purposes, you should transfer your abbreviated outline onto a series of notecards, as you do not want to deliver your presentation holding a stack of 8½" × 11" papers.

informative speech

An informative speech builds on what an audience already knows about a topic or teaches listeners something new. Support for informative presentations comes from accurate and clear factual details from credible sources. Examples of informative presentations include lectures, demonstrations, briefings and status reports, and training or instructional sessions

Transactional model part 3

Analysis of other communicators involved and feedback are essential to communication. Because we decode messages and encode our responses simultaneously, communicators act as senders and receivers simultaneously. In other words, we are constantly analyzing and assessing our interaction partner(s) (the other communicator or communicators) during communication. When giving a presentation, you may be aware of the people in the audience who seem interested and alert through their nonverbal cues such as eye contact, nodding, or note-taking; you are also aware of the people who are bored, confused, disinterested, or even hostile. Based on your reading of this feedback, you may modify your message by speeding it up, slowing it down, or asking whether anyone has any questions. This cycle of analyzing or reading your audience, whether it is a roomful of people or a single individual, helps the transaction to proceed. As you collect information from your audience in the form of verbal and nonverbal feedback cues, you are better able to provide them with what they want or need to more accurately understand your intended meaning and respond appropriately to your communication.

Appeal to misplaced authority

Appeal to misplaced authority: An appeal to misplaced authority relies on the reputation of an expert in an unrelated field. Advertisements featuring celebrity endorsements commit this fallacy when the spokesperson's expertise has nothing to do with the product. Although LeBron James would be a valid authority on basketball shoes, an advertisement in which he touts the benefits of a particular brand of headphones would be a fallacious appeal.

brief report

As suggested by its name, a brief report is shorter than an instructional presentation (and other types of informative speeches). A brief report represents a highly structured overview of very specific information for the intended audience. An effective briefing is to the point and features only necessary facts that a particular audience needs at that point in time. Brief reports are very common in the workplace. They are often prepared to give people who are not directly involved with your daily tasks, but who have some understanding of or interest in what you do, some useful information in a short period of time. Because brief reports are often updates on technical or complex facts and figures, they are well complemented by one or more sensory aids, such as a graph or chart.

We Live in a Diverse World Where Intercultural Understanding Can Be Difficult

As technology connects us with people that we may not have known previously, or people whom we had once spoken with just a few times a year because of the cost of long-distance phoning and the inconvenience of letter-writing, we perceive that the world is becoming a true global village. Although digital media make it convenient to communicate with people across the country and around the globe, these media do not always make our communication easy or effective. Interaction becomes challenging when we discover that the individuals we are connecting with are very different than we are. To communicate effectively with a diverse group of people, you need to know about the values, languages, and subtle communication nuances of their regions, countries, or social groups. When communicating globally in the business context, you need to understand the economic and social conditions of the other communicators. From how we manage time to what native language we speak, communication is challenging when we do not share the same values and traditions.

Not Everyone You Encounter Will Appreciate the Value of Communication

At work, at school, and within your families and social circles, you will interact with people who may not be as "communication-minded" as you are (or at least as you will be after you complete this course). Individuals vary in their willingness to communicate, in their degree of apprehension or anxiety about communicating, and in their level of communication competence (McCroskey & Richmond, 1990). A person's orientation to communicating, and communicating well, influences one's ability to collaborate effectively, solve problems, and generally get along with others.

Errors in Perception: attribution error

Attribution errors occur when, in interpreting our own or others' behavior, we rely on faulty explanations, reasons, or information. Communicators make two primary types of attribution errors: the fundamental attribution error and the self-serving bias.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming refers to the generation of as many ideas as possible in a short period of time. When it is used to its fullest potential, brainstorming can increase the number and creativity of suggestions, possibilities, and options as teams make decisions and solve problems. However, in reality, research suggests that teams tend to generate fewer ideas than they would if individuals came up with ideas independently and then submitted them to the team for consideration later (Kohn & Smith, 2011). Groupthink (and other perceived pressures to conform) and social loafing may contribute to the failure of brainstorming within many teams.

Chronemics

Chronemics refers to the ways in which communicators use time and the messages they communicate as a result of how they manage their time. Time may be a cultural element, such as in Japan and China where punctuality is expected in the workplace, and arriving late to a scheduled meeting may be perceived as deeply disrespectful. Similarly in U.S. organizations, people are more satisfied with their jobs when people are punctual and activities tend to flow without delay (Ballard & Seibold, 2006). In an earlier module, you learned about polychronic and monochronic approaches to time, which are also often cultural. Think about your own approach to time. Are you someone who tends to think of "on time" as being 10 minutes early, 10 minutes late, or on the dot? Do you tend to work on one thing at a time, or do you have multiple simultaneous activities going on?

electronic aggression

Closely related to stalking and cyberstalking is the interpersonal crime known as electronic aggression, which is fueled by the widespread use of social media and involves the use of technology to harass, threaten, target, or embarrass another person. Although very little research has been conducted on cyber-harassment, experts indicate that it is often a precursor to violent behavior, especially among young people. For instance, a former Rutgers University student was convicted of bias intimidation against his gay roommate, who committed suicide days after he discovered that this student, his roommate, was using digital equipment to record his sexual activities (Glaberson, 2012).

Co-cultures

Co-cultures reflect the unique beliefs, ways of thinking, communication patterns and styles, and customs of members of particular groups that exist within the umbrella culture. Examples of co-cultures in the United States include Southerners, college students, fraternity members, engineers, Easterners, gamers, the Amish, vegetarians, Los Angeles Lakers fans, Latter-day Saints, artists, feminists, Democrats, Marines, Republicans, CrossFitters, stay-at-home moms, evangelical Christians, Navy SEALs, pet owners, Hispanic Americans, Pittsburgh Steelers fans, and so forth. The co-cultures with which we identify influence how we think and act, spend our money and time, and deal with conflict. Our co-cultural memberships influence the relationships we initiate and, generally, how we maintain our relationships with others. Our co-cultural memberships affect the way we approach communication activities such as dating, marriage, friendship, relationships with people at work, nonverbal communication such as eye contact or touch, and the way we organize messages (Kearney & Plax, 2011). Because American society is so diverse and complex, most of us identify with the customs and styles of numerous co-cultures.

Coercive power

Coercive power refers to team members' perceptions that a particular member has the ability to punish them for not cooperating or complying as participants with his or her requests. Team members exercise coercive power when they express disapproval of, discipline, demote, embarrass/call out, or even fire other team members.

Transactional model part 1

Communicators are simultaneously encoding and decoding messages at all times during an interaction. Using our previous experiences, knowledge, expectations, and biases, we often begin to decode a message before a sender is through encoding and transmitting it. For example, Rich's father has lectured him for years about the importance of a budget. So, Rich was understandably nervous about asking his father for a loan and annoyed, too, as he anticipated the lecture he was about to receive from his dad.

Concrete language

Concrete language, on the other hand, can make an example very vivid in the minds of the audience. Descriptive phrases like "the salty spray of the ocean" or "the noisy bustle of downtown" appeal to the senses and can help put audience members in a specific frame of mind. The audience can recreate those sensations or think of the specific objects to which the words refer.

communication overload

Consider the constant connections and perpetual linkages (Brown & Cantor, 2000) you have to people and information via your smartphone, tablet, and computer. On any given website, you are bombarded with text, imagery, audio, and video related to both the website content and advertising. Business presentations are also sophisticated multimedia events. Sometimes, it all becomes too much to manage. You must be able to filter through email, voicemail, written messages, oral messages, music, video, other audio, and more, and select from them the stimuli that require the most focused listening.

Context

Context refers to the environment and situation in which communication occurs. Examples of communication contexts include the family, the classroom, the workplace, and intimate contexts such as marriage, close friendships, or significant, committed relationships. Can you think of any others? Context matters because inherent in any setting are prescribed, or normative, roles and rules.

Control needs

Control needs are concerned with the extent to which relationships help us feel competent and confident as individuals, and, by extension, influential over others. When our control needs are met, we are comfortable both giving and receiving direction without insecurity about power and dominance. Schutz argues that unmet control needs result in two different responses. Some people will become submissive and passive as a result of lacking confidence and feeling incompetent. Other people, however, will attempt to over-control, dominate, and even bully individuals out of their feelings of inadequacy and a lack of control.

asynchronous communication

Conversely, asynchronous communication occurs outside of the constraints of time and place. Email is often asynchronous because we use it to send messages and wait for responses when receivers are not at their communication devices or are simply not available.

Collectivism

Conversely, members of a culture that values collectivism value their membership in their particular in-group to such an extent that they place a greater importance on their role within the group than their role as an individual. They emphasize their relationships with others in the in-group (whether that in-group is their family, employer organization, an ethnicity, church congregation, or other group), and they view people who are not part of that culture or co-culture as outsiders. Members of collectivistic cultures take care of one another, avoid competition with other group members, and collaborate with respect and deference.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking involves (a) assessing the other communicator, the context, and the message, and (b) producing a reasoned conclusion about the ideas being shared (Zhang & Zhang, 2013). Critical listening, then, is required in order to engage in critical thinking. We listen critically by assessing the accuracy, relevance, viability, meaningfulness, and usefulness of a message. If we do not listen critically, or if the message is just not impactful enough for us, we will resort to less active listening and avoid interpreting the message using critical thinking. Some research indicates that, in addition to message relevance, certain sender characteristics may help determine whether we listen and think critically. For example, we often accept, without much critical thought, messages that are delivered by attractive or humorous sources (O'Keefe, 2009; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). When we perceive a message to be highly relevant to us, and we are interested and curious in that message, we often will assess more carefully the meaning and merits of that message, if we have the time and motivation to do so.

Deductive reasoning

Deductive reasoning begins with general claims and moves to a specific instance. The classic form of deductive reasoning is the syllogism, and the classic syllogism is: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. The first line is the major premise, or general claim, the second line is the minor premise, and the final line is the conclusion, which describes a specific instance. Another deductive argument could start from the general claim that parking spaces on campus are always in short supply and conclude that parking for an event on campus tomorrow will be difficult.

Digital media

Digital media operate on digital codes. When information, such as photographs, video, or written words, is digitized, a tremendous amount of it is stored in a very small amount of space. If you were to print and store all of the photos housed on your smartphone's SD card, they would probably take up a lot of physical space—especially when compared to the tiny size of the SD card or the phone itself. Translated, this means that new media are very useful to our efforts to create, store, organize, and manage information. Additionally, the digital nature of new media has resulted in an increase in how much and how often we communicate. Digital communication is fast and efficient. Think for a moment about how easy it is to fire off an email or a text message about a single thought at any point during the day. Now imagine that you had to write a letter, pick up the telephone, or wait until you saw the receiver of your message in person. You would probably be engaging in far less communication than you do now in the post-digital world.

Emblems

Emblems refer to nonverbal movements that substitute for words and verbalizations. Holding your hand up in front of someone else to say "stop," giving the "thumbs up" symbol to suggest that all is well or in order, or using your index finger to say "one minute" are all examples of emblems. Like language, emblems are heavily informed by culture and may mean something different, depending on the group you are in. For instance, head nods play a key role in Japanese interactions. Their subtle meanings often substitute for interactions that, in Western cultures, we may verbalize. Oshima (2014) analyzed the subtle and complex meanings of head nods as emblems in customer service interactions and concluded that nodding practices can effectively bring business transactions to a satisfactory close. Consider how many words we use to facilitate a customer service transaction in most American, European, and Latin countries, and then imagine substituting a large portion of them with emblems. Emblems must be well understood within the context they are used in order for communicators to achieve mutual understanding.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism refers to the belief that one's own culture and lifestyle are superior to all others. Hopefully, your own experiences, and the knowledge you have gained so far in reading this module, have illustrated for you that ethnocentric beliefs can limit our ability to communicate competently in most, if not all, circumstances. In the last section of this module, we will discuss the skills of competent intercultural communication.

Ethos

Ethos refers to characteristics of the speaker. Influence through speech is achieved, in part, when listeners believe that the speaker is credible. What is ethos as it relates to public speaking? First, credible speakers—those in possession of a strong ethos—have a sense of practical, useful intelligence about which they speak. Second, ethos refers to a speaker's trustworthiness. Audiences must trust that speakers are reliable and accurate in what they communicate. A trustworthy speaker reveals any particular bias that he or she might bring to the presentation. Aristotle discussed the importance of good character in all aspects of one's life for establishing trustworthiness. This explains why political candidates who have had extramarital affairs, employed undocumented immigrants, made racial slurs, or treated employees poorly in the past are often judged as untrustworthy for the position they seek. Even though one could argue that a person's marriage and sexual behavior is irrelevant to their suitability for public office, ethos suggests that a speaker must have a strong character across the board in order to invoke it in a particular situation. Third, Aristotle wrote that ethos refers to the audience's perceptions of the speaker's level of concern for their best interests. Competent, credible speakers are not only reliable and honest—they demonstrate a degree of caring about their audiences. A reliable expert who lacks a sense of caring for the audience is lacking in ethos as well but might not be viewed as unfavorably as one who lacks all three components of ethos which are commonly identified as: competence, trustworthiness, and dynamism. A speaker who appeals to his or her audience through ethos is one who is credible and knowledgeable, one who can be trusted to deliver unbiased information that is supported with credible evidence and one who is dynamic—engaged, attentive, interactive, and personable.

Expert power

Expert power is a team member's ability to influence others' thoughts or behaviors because other members perceive him or her as competent, credible, and knowledgeable in the subject area. When a team member perceives another team member as having expert power, he or she typically should require little rationale for complying with what that person asks or recommends.

Stages of perception: selection

First, the principle of selective exposure states that we will attend to information that reinforces existing beliefs and disregard information that is at odds with our current position. Next, the principle of selective attention illustrates how, once we are engaged in a particular interaction, we focus on certain information and ignore other information. As an ongoing way of selecting and filtering messages further, we begin to apply our own unique experiences to the message in an element of selection known as selective perception—our inclination to see, hear, and believe what we want to see, hear, and believe. Finally, we engage in selective recall of information; that is, we remember things that we agree with rather than things that are contrary to our beliefs.

Forced dichotomy

Forced dichotomy: A forced dichotomy occurs when a speaker presents only two solutions to a problem, ignoring other solutions either purposefully or out of ignorance. Often, the undesirability of one of the solutions supports the speaker's argument in favor of the other solution. For example, a city council member who favors cutting education funding might present the following argument, "Either we cut funding for education and social programs, or the city will go bankrupt." The council member has excluded other options, such as increasing taxes or reducing spending in other areas, in order to persuade the audience that education funding must be cut to prevent bankruptcy.

Full-content outlines

Full-content outlines consist of the entire introduction and conclusion, written out word for word; additionally, they include all of your main points, transitions, examples, and evidence, written out in complete sentences. Speakers often rely on complete-sentence outlines in the early stages of preparing a presentation but, as they become more fluent with their content, shorten these full sentences to key words or phrases. As you become more familiar with your content, it is a good idea to move away from full-content outlines so that you are not tempted to read from this very thorough outline during your speech. Remember, extemporaneous delivery, rather than reading from a manuscript, is best.

Groupthink

Groupthink refers to a team's overwhelming motivation to agree and reach consensus—and failure to critically evaluate the task or alternative plans and solutions. Groupthink is a complex phenomenon that plagues many teams, and it has been correlated with negative outcomes, such as flawed decisions, failed policies, and even crisis (Hart, 1990; Janis, 1972). If indications cause concern, in advance of a project's initiation, that a particular team will exhibit signs of groupthink, then teamwork is probably not the right way to design and develop the project unless resources are available to train and build the team so that it avoids groupthink.

Haptics

Haptics describes the use of touch in communication. Touch involves a highly intimate form of communication, and it may be welcome or unwelcome. In close relationships, touch communicates the existence of the relationship and affiliation, intimacy, and affection (Afifi & Johnson, 1999). However, unwelcome touch can be highly problematic—and may result in allegations of sexual harassment in a work setting, particularly when initiated by men (Lee & Guerrero, 2001). Touch, when welcome and appropriate, can result in a number of positive relational outcomes, which include strengthening intimacy; creating social bonds; and influencing others to accept new ideas, products, or services (Gallace & Spence, 2010). Further, touch, when perceived as appropriate, is a way of communicating emotion and can be a "gateway" to understanding another's feelings of affection, compassion, and empathy. Some therapeutic health modalities, such as massage, chiropractic, and movement techniques, rely on touch. Still, touch remains "touchy" and can be easily misinterpreted (Floyd, 2014).

Hasty generalization

Hasty generalization: A fallacy of inductive reasoning that comes to a general conclusion based on too few or unrepresentative examples. If I drove to campus one day and found that parking was plentiful, I might conclude that parking is always easy to find. Basing that conclusion on a single day, however, would probably be premature. If it happened that the day was a Saturday when few classes were meeting, then the reasoning would also be faulty because Saturdays are not like other days on campus.

Hate speech

Hate speech is communication that vilifies a person or a group based on discrimination against that person or group. The law may protect certain groups against this type of communication. In everyday interaction, sexist (that which excludes people based on their gender, i.e., referring to "the salesmen of the company" when numerous women perform that job function), racist (that which puts down a group or individual because of ethnicity or skin color), and heterosexist language (that which implies that all people are heterosexual) are examples of language that communicate prejudice, negativity, and bias.

Biological factors

How well you see or hear, your height, and even how well you smell can affect how you perceive the stimuli around you. Others in the environment with different sensory perceptions may have very different responses to stimuli or may not even recognize the stimuli as you would.

primacy effect

However, some research suggests that leading with your strongest argument is effective because it is attention-grabbing; this approach is known as the primacy effect

Illustrators

Illustrators are movements that either accompany or reinforce the meaning of a verbal code. For example, we sometimes shake our head when we tell someone "no" or nod our head when saying "yes." Illustrators tend to be fairly universal in that most people understand what they mean; that is, communicators have the benefit of both a verbal and a nonverbal message to help them interpret a sender's communication.

femininity

In feminine cultures, relationships, compassion, and nurturing are highly valued. Cooperation, listening, and showing empathy are important communication skills. Nonverbally, members of feminine cultures will touch others, smile, and stand closer to others more often than masculine communicators. Feminine speakers will build rapport with others, and they will use nonverbal cues that diminish the distance between themselves and other communicators. Some countries, such as the United States, value a position in the middle of the masculine/feminine continuum. Such countries tend to embrace a feminine culture in personal matters and a masculine culture in the workplace and more formal or public settings.

low power distance

In low power distance cultures, such as those indicative of Israel, Denmark, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, and the United States (Samovar et al., 2009), people tend to communicate in ways that promote equality and diminish the barriers between people that status and rank create.

ruminating

Incessantly talking about a problem or an issue that is bothering you, which is known as ruminating, also contributes to anxiety and diminished satisfaction in social friendships (Afifi, Afifi, Merrill, Denes, & Davis, 2013) and intimate relationships (Holmstrom, Burleson, & Jones, 2005). The message here is that social support and comfort are important communicative activities in a relationship. However, in order to derive their benefits, at some point, "You need to stop talking about this!"

Inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning begins with specific instances or examples and reasons to either a universal claim or another specific instance. If heavy thunderstorms lead to flooding in a particular part of a city three times in a row (specific instances), then we could confidently argue that heavy thunderstorms lead to flooding in that part of the city (universal claim). We could just as easily reason that a heavy thunderstorm currently taking place will lead to flooding in that part of the city (another specific instance).

Informational power

Informational power is reflected in an individual's ability to acquire and share valuable information. For example, one team member might have unique insight and understanding about a new policy that the rest of the team is frustrated by and resentful of. If this person can explain the rationale for the policy change and motivate the rest of the team to accept it, then he or she has been an agent of motivation and change for the team. Information is a very powerful resource in groups, teams, and organizations; therefore, people who have valuable information and can use it to influence others are typically viewed as powerful.

Instructional presentations

Instructional presentations are specifically designed to provide listeners with in-depth knowledge on a particular topic. Some public speaking textbooks refer to these as lectures, but that term brings to mind exactly what we do not want in a contemporary presentation: a stiff, boring speaker standing at the front of the room, doing all of the talking, with little connection to his or her audience. Instructional presentations in business and civic settings typically last 30 to 60 minutes and allow time for interaction and other audience engagement. These presentations typically include sensory aids such as digital slides, video, or images. Your instructor may ask you to prepare an instructional presentation that lasts three to 10 minutes as a way of getting started.

interdependence

Interdependence refers to two people being mutually dependent on one another. That is, in interpersonal relationships, the behaviors of one person affect the other. In a marriage, for example, a spouse's alcoholism and tendency to become verbally aggressive when under the influence have a significant, negative impact on the other partner.

Intimate partner violence (IPV)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as actual or threatened violent crimes against people by their current or former spouses, cohabiting partners, boyfriends, or girlfriends. Women tend to be victimized more often than men by both same- and opposite-sex partners; 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men in the United States have been raped, physically injured, or stalked by a partner (Black et al., 2011). IPV results in close to 3,000 deaths annually in the United States; 70% of those victims are women (Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011). Although most IPV research focuses on heterosexual couples, the problem is evident among same-sex partners as well. According to the Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey from 2000, same-sex cohabiting female and male couples actually experience more violence than opposite-sex couples, but as in opposite-sex relationships, males remain the most likely perpetrators of violence among same-sex partnerships (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Risk factors associated with IPV strongly suggest a cycle of violence. Women and men who were physically assaulted as children are not only more likely to perpetrate abuse on others, they are also more likely to report being victimized by physical abuse (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). In other words, people who were mistreated as children are more likely to accept this form of treatment and be tolerant of violence and abuse in their later-life interpersonal relationships. Unmarried women are at greater risk for IPV than married women, but the same does not seem to be true for men. Controlling behavior, coupled with verbal and/or emotional abuse by the perpetrator, is the strongest predictor of violence toward women in intimate partnerships. Status disparities also contribute to the risk of IPV in opposite-sex couples. For example, women with higher levels of education than their male partners are more likely to be abused than women in relationships with men of the same or higher educational attainment. Finally, a growing social concern is the high incidence of intimate partner aggression, which often leads to violence, among Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (Teten et al., 2010).

Jealousy

Jealousy is an interpersonal event involving two people, who are in a relationship, and a potentially threatening rival. Jealousy is a problem within dating relationships, friendships (particularly cross-sex friendships), families (especially siblings), and working relationships. Although Bevan (2011) noted that jealousy is not a common occurrence in interpersonal relationships, its implications are "grave and far-reaching" (p. 523). These implications may include harassment, stalking, violence, and even homicide.

Language

Language is a collection of words that are symbolic because they have arbitrary meanings governed by a system of rules. Language serves numerous functions in human relationships. Language allows us to describe our emotions, reactions, and behaviors and to create and sustain relationships through small talk and beyond, and it also helps us to differentiate people, objects, and ideas. Understanding the nature of language and how humans use language is fundamental to realizing the power of verbal communication, and knowing how to use it more effectively.

Legitimate power

Legitimate power is assigned to people because of their job, position, or assignment. People are likely to cooperate and comply with others who hold certain positions, such as manager, chairperson, supervisor, elected official, teacher, and so forth. For example, when your supervisor at work asks you to do something, you probably recognize that he or she holds the right to make requests of you because that is what supervisors do, and you comply because that is what subordinates do. Or, when a team member is elected chair, most people believe that it is appropriate for that person to make decisions, assign tasks, call meetings, and evaluate members as an extension of his or her legitimate power.

Logos

Logos refers to discourse that is supported by logical reasoning. Although we sometimes are influenced by emotion, we often want some type of proof that a message makes sense for us and is accurate, or that some recommended course of action will work. Thus, Aristotle taught the importance of demonstrating, through logical appeals, that what you are speaking about is actually the case. For example, if a speaker claimed that her recipe for lemon cake was superior to others, she might want to provide some type of survey data indicating that people preferred her cake. As another example, a physician recommending a particular therapy, such as a prescription drug, might be more influential in persuading certain patients if he or she has statistical evidence of the drug's effectiveness and safety.

masculinity

Masculine cultures value competitiveness and achievement, even at the expense of interpersonal relationships. Direct, forceful communication is valued and appreciated. In public speaking situations, culturally masculine communicators will emphasize their expertise, speak assertively, and use nonverbal cues such as standing behind a podium or wearing clothing that communicates success and achievement.

high power distance

Members of these cultures are unlikely to question the actions and statements of people with a lot of power or of high rank in society, at work, or within the family. Lower-ranking members of groups in high power distance cultures will not seek out interaction with high-ranking members and would not be likely to debate or argue with a professor, a physician, an older individual, or a manager at work. People from high power distance groups ask few questions in the classroom; avoid interrupting, interjecting, or questioning people in higher authority; and typically refrain from referring to higher-status people by their first name.

Inductive vs. deductive

Neither form of argument is inherently better or worse. Deciding which type of argument will be best depends on what information a speaker has available at the start of the argument and the sort of conclusion the speaker wants to reach. Inductive reasoning is appropriate if the speaker has specific examples and is trying to prove the existence of a larger trend. On the other hand, if the speaker has a general principle that the audience is likely to agree with, then deductive argument forms would be more appropriate.

Networking

Networking refers to the connections among devices and the people who use them. Networking is sometimes facilitated by hardware. The Internet may be the easiest way to understand the concept of networking. Being connected to the Internet allows us to access websites, exchange instant messages and emails with others, and even access computers and communication devices remotely. Additionally, technological infrastructures in the workplace allow employees to share data on one another's computers. Cloud-based applications such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud also enable networking but do not require users to maintain the hardware of traditional computer networks—just their own devices. The next time you collaborate with a group, think of how much longer your project would take to complete if you had to meet with them in person to discuss every issue related to your project. Consider the convenience of using apps such as Google Hangouts, FaceTime, or Skype for holding virtual meetings. This is the power of networked media.

New media

New media are "digital or networked information and communication technologies that have emerged since the latter part of the twentieth century" (Waldeck, Kearney, & Plax, 2013, p. 121). Examples of media that meet these criteria include the Internet, online gaming, email, instant messaging, and mobile phones.

Self-Esteem Is Your Evaluation of Who You Are

Once you have a sense of who you are as an individual, you make evaluations about yourself. Self-esteem is the degree to which you approve of, value, and like the concept that you have of yourself. The combination of self-concept and self-esteem serves as the foundation for the manner in which you present yourself and relate to others. In what ways do you approve of yourself and who you are? What aspects of yourself would you like to change? How does your evaluation of yourself—who you are—affect the way you relate to others?

cyberstalking

One relatively new form of stalking is cyberstalking, which involves using the Internet to threaten or communicate in unwanted ways with others. Cyberstalkers may target their victims through email, chat rooms, message boards, and social media sites. For example, in 2011, two Florida teens were arrested and charged with cyberstalking and aggravated stalking of a schoolmate after they created a Facebook profile with lewd photos and crude comments in the individual's name (Discovery, 2011).

Stages of perception: organization

One way is by distinguishing between figure and ground. Figure refers to the foreground or point of emphasis for your attention. Ground represents the background of the particular stimuli that capture your focused attention. Another mental tool for organizing stimuli is closure. Closure is our ability to fill in missing information to complete a perception. Another way to organize information is based on its proximity, or physical closeness, in relation to other information. A final tool for organizing stimuli is similarity, or the degree to which something shares attributes with other stimuli.

Transactional model part 2

Our previous interactions with one another influence our present communication. Have you ever heard the saying, "What has been said cannot be unsaid"? What people say during an interaction is highly dependent on any communication history they may have. For example, if you have experienced a recurring conflict in a relationship, then you know the power that disagreement has on future communication, even when the problem has seemingly been resolved. We may become tense and anxious when the topic comes up, because we expect that the discussion may turn into an argument, as it has in the past. We then become defensive or shut down the interaction. Previous communication experiences with a specific person, or in a specific situation, may also reveal effective or useful approaches that can be used again. What has happened in the past, positively or negatively, significantly affects how we make sense of present interactions.

impression formation and management

People form impressions of one another in just a few seconds. Impression formation may be an "automatic" mechanism that helps us reduce uncertainty and quickly adjust to new people and situations. Based on quickly emerging salient (or influential) characteristics, we decide whether a person is attractive, friendly, or intelligent. Similarly, in online communication, an email's subject line may determine whether the receiver will open the message and read it or trash it (Milway, 2013). People form first impressions based on a small amount of easily ascertained information. Recall the process of selection: People tend to select and pay further attention to things that are already consistent with what they like, prefer, or believe. Therefore, once we determine that an individual has characteristics that we do not like or prefer, we may quickly dismiss him or her. Communicators typically do not work very hard to find positive information that may offset negative information. The information we use to form first impressions comes from what we see and hear (quickly) and what we hear from others. What we learn first about people influences and biases how we perceive what we learn subsequently. This is another way of saying that first impressions are very difficult to change. Communicators tend to generalize their first impressions. If people perceive you as a compassionate listener, they are likely to generalize that impression and assign other positive qualities to you, such as generosity and reliability. In this way, small cues that indicate your true nature can help you in building others' accurate perceptions of you. Some attributes emerge as more salient, or important, during the perception process than others, and these attributes are dependent on the individual doing the perceiving. We hold biases that, when applied to others, can dramatically affect how we perceive them and the interpretations we make of their behavior.

monochronic

People of monochronic cultures tend to like doing one thing at a time, being punctual, and concentrating fully to meet their commitments. Monochronic people rarely cancel plans, tend to be very structured in their use of time and time lines, and can be highly irritated by interruptions or delays.

Personal distance

Personal distance is the space that begins 18 inches away from you and extends up to 4 feet. It is the amount of space used by most Americans (and other Western cultures) for conversation with friends and acquaintances.

Personal space

Personal space is the sort of "bubble" that we create around ourselves and claim as our own. For example, some people take their seat on an airplane and arrange their elbows, blanket, and belongings to create a "zone" around them that is theirs and that they do not want their row-mates to infiltrate.

The Linear Model of Communication

Phase 1: Deciding on the message. A sender selects a message to send to a receiver (or receivers) in order to achieve a desired outcome. The sender is also referred to as the source of the message. Phase 2: Encoding the message. Encoding refers to a psychological process in which the sender of a message assigns symbols, such as words, sounds, or gestures, to his or her thoughts and feelings. Competent communicators are able to translate their ideas into communication symbols appropriate for the message and the receiver. Phase 3: Transmitting the message. A message is "sent" from sender to receiver, using a particular channel that is selected by the sender. The channel is the medium that carries the message, such as email, telephone, face-to-face communication, or a written document. (We will discuss how to select the most appropriate channels for communication at various points in this course.) Phase 4: Perceiving the message. When a receiver detects that a message has been sent, he or she attends to it and perceives it in some fashion. Phase 5: Decoding and assigning meaning to the message. When a receiver assigns meaning to the message that has been communicated, he or she is engaging in a psychological process known as decoding. Decoding is the opposite of encoding (the activity that the sender engaged in at the beginning of the exchange). The receiver translates the symbols (words, sounds, and gestures) perceived into thoughts and feelings.

Polychronic

Polychronic people tend to like working on multiple things at one time. Their style may seem chaotic and unfocused to a monochronic individual. Polychronic people are flexible in terms of starting times for appointments and deadlines. They change plans and priorities easily, and the border between work or professional time and family or personal time is fluid for them (Clark, 2000). Thus, they are inclined to see no problem in leaving work early to attend a family function, or working on weekends or on what is typically thought of as personal time when they feel it is necessary.

Relationship Maintenance Strategies

Positivity. Satisfied partners maintain their relationships by creating enjoyable interactions, being courteous with one another, handling disagreements in positive ways, communicating in cheerful and optimistic ways, avoiding harsh criticism of one another, and being patient and forgiving. Openness. This maintenance strategy encompasses telling each other how you feel, freely and comfortably discussing the quality of the relationship with one another, and expressing your needs within the relationship and encouraging the other to do the same. Dialectics can be addressed with this strategy when relational participants are able to clearly articulate their needs in the three areas of openness/privacy, predictability/novelty, and connection/autonomy. Assurances. This strategy involves explicitly and implicitly stressing commitment, implying that the relationship has a future, and showing affection to one another in various appropriate ways. Again, dialectical tension can be diffused when people are able to assert their needs but communicate reassurances to the partner that they are committed to the relationship. Shared connections. Relationships characterized by high levels of satisfaction do not exist in isolation. In order to maintain high-quality, enduring relationships, you must spend time with a shared circle of friends, be willing to socialize with one another's networks and families, and include others in your "couple" activities from time to time. Tasks. Another way to maintain a satisfying relationship is to ensure that the responsibilities and work associated with the relationship are equitably distributed. How "work" is defined is dependent on the type of relationship you are involved in. For example, satisfied married and cohabiting couples report a fair division of household labor or parenting tasks. Satisfied friends report that they both contribute to the health of the relationship by initiating contact or planning get-togethers. When one friend always does the calling and inviting, the work associated with the friendship is not being fairly distributed. Understanding. Competent communicators use this as an important relational maintenance strategy. They nourish their relationships by communicating in understanding, empathic ways. They are sensitive to the constraints and challenges their partners may be facing at any given time, such as stress at work, anxiety about an aging parent, financial insecurity, or health problems. They apologize easily and do not judge one another.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Post hoc ergo propter hoc: Latin for "after, therefore because of," this fallacy occurs when one event that precedes a second event is assumed to have caused the second event. This fallacy resembles superstition. For example, when a group of basketball fans believe that they caused their team to win by sitting in a specific arrangement while watching the game, their reasoning employs a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. They sat in a particular arrangement and then the team won, so clearly their seating arrangement was responsible for the win.

linear framework

Presentations that reflect a linear framework follow a clear, straightforward, direct, fact-based approach to organizing a presentation. Speakers who use a linear structure introduce their points in step-by-step, sequential fashion. They address each point one by one, and when they leave a point, they move on to the next and do not revisit a point until the summary of the speech. Speakers who rely on linear logic are responsible for structuring the content of their speech for their listeners and leave little up to the audience's interpretation or imagination (Lustig & Koester, 1993). They use clear and precise language, signposts to indicate where they are in their sequence of ideas, and transitions between ideas (e.g., "Now that we have discussed the process of applying for a home loan, let us move on to how to find a real-estate agent"). Many students appreciate the use of linear logic in the classroom because it helps them recognize exactly what they need to know, such as exactly how many formulae they need to understand or the exact order of steps for performing an experiment.

Referent power

Referent power involves a person's ability to motivate and influence others because he or she is well liked, respected, and admired. Perceptions of referent power are stimulated when team members identify with the person who has it, and desire to please him or her in the interest of creating or sustaining a positive relationship. Certain team members, regardless of their assigned role, will demonstrate that they are likable and trustworthy people, competent communicators, good listeners, organized workers, and great problem solvers. As a result, other team members feel a sense of connection and commitment to that individual and trust them to give good direction and advice.

Maintaining Long-Distance Relationships

Rely on the maintenance strategies already discussed in this module. Positivity, assurances, and openness are particularly important. Although it can be difficult to help your long-distance partner repair a leaky pipe, it is important to find other ways to share tasks and support practical problem solving through communication. Use a variety of communication media to foster intimacy. Communication technologies that mimic face-to-face communication, like Skype or FaceTime, are particularly helpful. Face-to-face interaction is not necessarily a requirement for a healthy long-distance relationship. Frequency of communication is not necessarily the answer to maintaining long-distance relationships, however. Psychologist Suzanne Phillips points out that when "I miss you" and "Wish you were here" texts become obsessive, and we demand constant reassurance, our partners may retreat rather than provide what we are looking for. Commit to commitment. For some people, betrayal is an easy option when they are separated from their significant other. However, secrecy, betrayal, and transgressions such as infidelity and lying undermine the viability and stability of relationships. Long-distance relationships require a commitment to commitment. If that is not possible for one or both partners, the relationship should be reevaluated. Recognize that coming together after periods of separation will require patience and adjustment. Living independently, people develop preferences, habits, and routines. For example, Sherrie never wears her shoes in the house and requires that anyone entering her home remove theirs. Her partner Lisa is not used to doing this and is uncomfortable without shoes. Yes, something as simple as wearing shoes can cause tension when long-distance couples come together. Further, understand that long-distance couples tend to overidealize their romances and partners (Jiang & Hancock, 2013). Be prepared for somewhat of a letdown when the magic and allure dissipates once you come together, and try lowering your expectations somewhat for heightened satisfaction.

bad apple effect

Researchers have documented the poisonous impact of having just one ineffective team member, labeling it the bad apple effect (Felps, Mitchell, & Byington, 2006). If you know that one or more members of the prospective team might be a social loafer or toxic in any way (because they are bullies, hold negative attitudes toward people or teamwork in general, are uncooperative, and so forth) to the team's ability to function, and alternative members cannot be appointed, then teamwork should not be considered a viable option as it will be frustrating, unproductive, and potentially dangerous.

Reward power

Reward power is perceived when team members believe that an individual member (whether that person is the formal, designated leader of the team or not) has the potential for either providing a positive reward (positive reinforcement) or removing something negative (negative reinforcement) in exchange for their participation and cooperation. For instance, in a classroom, the group may be influenced by the teacher because members know he or she has the power to extend deadlines, give extra credit, or even reduce the number of assignments members are required to complete.

Rich media

Rich media are capable of facilitating understanding Rich media come close to simulating face-to-face communication, the richest form of communication. Rich media allow for the exchange of nonverbal information, emotion, and quick feedback.

Role-taking

Role-taking is the skill that allows communicators to figuratively stand in one another's shoes and assume one another's social roles and perspective. Role-taking is critical to accurate perception of others, as well as contextual features that impact an interaction. As a result of role-taking, we can make predictions about how others will react to and respond to our messages, and we can make explanations and attributions about others' behaviors. We engage in role-taking when we refrain from bragging about the spring wardrobe we just purchased when chatting with a friend who has been out of work. Role-taking is critical to effective relationships, but it can be difficult to engage in when we communicate via new media. The importance of role-taking in human communication is one reason why the absence of nonverbal cues and the use of subtle communication forms like sarcasm can result in frustrating misunderstandings for new media users. These media often do not allow us to assume others' roles and construct appropriate messages effectively.

Self-Concept Is the Summation of Who You Are

Self-concept refers to the way you define yourself. In developing a self-concept, we look to the groups we are a part of, the roles we play, the relationships and experiences we have (and have had), and our interpretation of how others evaluate us. Communication begins with the self and you have been presented with a number of factors that should help you formulate an answer. So, who are you? What is your self-concept? How do the dimensions of your unique self affect the kinds of relationships you seek, the ways you relate to others, how you handle conflict, and so on?

Impression Management: Self-presentation

Self-presentation is the strategic development and use of verbal and nonverbal messages that result in others making conclusions about the kind of individual you are (Waldeck, Kearney, & Plax, 2013). Your words, your tone, your clothing, and even your use of punctuation and capital letters communicate information about your character, professionalism, and goals. Others work through the perception process as you express yourself by selecting, organizing, and interpreting the verbal and nonverbal messages you transmit. One element of the definition of self-presentation that we have not yet discussed is that it can be strategic. In other words, as communicators, we can assume some control in shaping how others perceive us by selecting the impressions we want to make and communicating in ways that will help us accomplish that.

A Plan for Effective Self-Presentation

Set a goal: Ask yourself what impression you want to create. Your answer should go beyond, "I want to create a positive impression." Your goal should be clear and specific. How do you want this individual to see you, and what attributions do you want him or her to make about your behavior? Create a strategy: Your strategy should consist of the verbal and nonverbal messages that will help you accomplish your goal of being perceived in a particular, specific way. Verbal messages include the content of your message, the style with which you communicate it, and the language that you use. Nonverbal messages include your choice of clothing, mannerisms, posture, eye contact, and facial expression. Your strategic choices should be based on a careful analysis of your audience (whether it is an individual or a group of 100), self-awareness (do not communicate in ways that are not genuine or comfortable for you; if people perceive you as fake or insincere, your efforts to create a positive first impression will be wasted), and the physical setting for the communication (for example, consider whether your message requires privacy, an informal setting, or a formal setting). Execute the strategy and evaluate the results: Once you know your goal and the verbal and nonverbal strategies that will support you in accomplishing your goal, it is time to put the plan into action. Do not be hesitant about the interaction; instead, proceed with confidence, knowing who you are and what you want to accomplish. Your self-awareness and understanding of the perceptual process will help you to achieve understanding. As you interact, look closely for feedback. Listen and watch for how others respond to you. Rely on feedback to alter your strategy to better ensure that your interaction is successful. Feeling that you have successfully created an initial impression does not give you a free pass to be less mindful in your future interactions—but if you have succeeded in creating the initial impression you sought to create, then you will have a greater likelihood of effective communication, going forward, with this person or persons. Modify negative perceptions: When the plan does not work or you find yourself in a situation that does not allow for much strategic preparation, others may make perceptual errors, misunderstand you, or otherwise leave the interaction unsatisfied. Although it is very difficult to reverse a negative first impression, it is not impossible to do so. Sometimes, it might not be worth the energy and discomfort required. However, if the person's assessment of you is important, then you can work through this four-step process again, reformulating your goals and strategy. Be mindful, though, that modifying negative first impressions is like riding your bicycle uphill: It can be a slow process that requires a lot of stamina and focus.

Social distance

Social distance ranges from 4 to 12 feet away from you. Most professional, workplace communication takes place at a social distance. Social distance implies formality and may be increased when one communicator has more power or status than the other.

Social loafing

Social loafing refers to situations in which one or more members exert little or no effort to the team's work.

We May Over-Rely on Digitally Mediated Communication

Some people disagree that communication technology really connects us in substantive ways. Sherry Turkle (2012), Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT and the founder and current director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, has observed that "We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection" (p. SR1). She argues that as we confine our communication to what we can comfortably text or tweet, we may be dispensing with conversation and even meaningful relationships. In other words, we argue by text, we break up by text, and we use technology to transmit critical work-related information that may require more personal and timely feedback and clarification. Additionally, the pervasiveness of communication technology may be stressing us out. Digital communication through media such as text messaging, online social networking, email, microblogs, Skype®, FaceTime, and more, is creating a greater incidence of stress and burnout among technology users (Rutkowski & Saunders, 2010). Constant connection to others through smartphones, the Internet, and social media can easily result in a state of communication overload, where we are simply unable to process and competently respond to all of the messages we are exposed to. Some authors refer to this condition as "technostress" and note that it negatively affects our productivity, efficiency, and even our mental and physical health (Sutton, 2013).

behavioral intention

Sometimes when our persuasive goal is behavioral change, the best we can hope for is that audience members will commit to taking action or behaving in a particular way. This commitment is known as behavioral intention, or an individual's expectation or plan that he or she will behave in some particular way. For example, after a campaign speech in 2012 by incumbent presidential candidate Barack Obama, a Gallup poll sampled registered voters and asked them, "If the election were held today, would you vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden or Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan?" The pattern of responses provided the candidates with evidence of the persuasive effectiveness of the president's speech. However, because the election was still in the future, there was no way to immediately determine whether the speech had an influence on actual voting behavior. Similarly, when a presenter or media campaign makes health-related recommendations to an audience about breast or testicular self-examinations, specific exercise or diet regimens, or smoking cessation, researchers can only immediately know the effects of these influence messages on behavioral intention—not actual behavior (Paek, Oh, & Hove, 2012). In many cases, you will need to ask for behavioral intention and be satisfied with commitments to behavioral change rather than evidence of actual behavioral change as a result of your persuasive presentation.

preoccupation or psychological noise

Sometimes, in contrast to the phenomenon of multitasking, we become so focused on a single task, thought, or message that we do not listen effectively to anything else. This is referred to as preoccupation or psychological noise. For example, while studying for an important final exam, preparing a briefing for your boss, or listening carefully out of respect to an older relative, you might tune out all other messages. We also can become preoccupied with our thoughts. An example of preoccupation occurs when a listener is excessively self-involved or focused on his or her needs and interests. Self-involved people are poor listeners because they often redirect the conversation to themselves and see themselves as the center of attention in most situations. In her essay about the importance of teachers listening well in the classroom, Heshusius (1995) reflected that, often, when we think we are listening well, we are really preoccupied with ourselves: how the message relates to us, other things we would rather be doing, what we should be saying, and how we might shift the topic. This poor listening behavior might not be deliberate, but it has a toxic effect on interactions.

Monroe's Motivated Sequence steps

Step 1: Capture the Audience's Attention Step 2: Identify Problems or Unfulfilled Needs Step 3: Propose a Solution (or plan) That Satisfies the Problem(s) (or need) Step 4: Help the Audience Visualize What Satisfaction Will Mean for Them Step 5: Give Your Audience an Action Plan

Errors in Perception: stereotype

Stereotyping involves assuming a standard, generalized profile of an individual, because he or she belongs to a group. According to communication researchers Patricia Kearney and Timothy Plax, "grouping people together on the basis of some set of characteristics can help us recognize, classify, and understand people who are different than us... however... when used inappropriately or negatively, or when applied too rigidly, they can constrain or restrict how we feel about and communicate with members of that group" (Kearney & Plax, 2012, p. 42). In other words, some stereotypes of individuals are unavoidable and can be helpful, while others are unproductive and hurt communication.

Straw person

Straw person: When refuting an argument that has been made, it is far easier to defeat a weaker form of that argument than it is to engage with the real reasoning present in the argument. When someone presents a weak version of an argument in order to refute it and claim victory, it is as though they knock down a straw person rather than a real person. Consider a partner who argues that his or her significant other should help fold a load of laundry. A response like, "What, you'd have me spend my whole day folding laundry? I'd have to miss work and I'd get fired!" would exemplify a straw person fallacy. Although it would be easy to argue against a whole day of doing laundry, that is not what the original argument proposes. Refuting a weaker form of an argument is a straw person fallacy.

Synchronous communication

Synchronous communication involves instant replies and back-and-forth, real-time interaction. For example, texting and instant messaging allow for synchronous communication. As long as two people are available to read and respond to messages immediately, the communication remains synchronous. Communicators can ask questions, get instant feedback, and immediately confirm that messages are being received and understood

Team building

Team building refers to formal activities that encourage team members to closely examine their process of working together in an effort to maximize quality and effectiveness.

Transactional model part 4

The channel we use affects the process and outcome of communication. People communicate differently based on the channel being used. For example, you may be much more formal in your written communication than in your verbal interactions. You may feel more comfortable expressing opinions in mediated contexts, such as email, microblogs, or social network sites, than you would otherwise, using face-to-face communication. Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan wrote extensively about the intimate relationship between the medium and the way messages are perceived, and he declared that they are virtually inextricable. He argued persuasively that the medium selected for communication shapes the very nature of human association (McLuhan, 1964).

Communication

The exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages with the intent of stimulating particular meanings in the minds of others

Errors in Perception: fundamental attribution error

The fundamental attribution error is the mistake we make when we attribute other people's positive characteristics and successes to external, situational factors, and their negative characteristics and failures to aspects of who they are. For example, we may attribute a friend's successes to luck, easy instructors, and the fact that they have more money or resources than we do (all external, situational factors). However, what if your friend is successful because she works hard and is highly motivated? Similarly, we may determine that the group member who does not show up to a meeting and is hard to contact may be lazy and disinterested or even a poor student (all personal, internal characteristics reflective of who the individual really is). What if the student is, in fact, typically, highly dependable and motivated but is having a difficult time concentrating on academics right now, because a close relative is terminally ill (an external, situational factor)?

Errors in Perception: locus of causation

The locus of causation refers to whether the communicator's behavior was motivated by an internal state (such as intelligence, compassion, or honesty) or an external factor (such as resources, luck, favoritism, or the situation). Similarly, keep in mind that others evaluate your motives as well. In perceiving your behavior, they will examine whether it appears to them that your behavior reflects your inner nature or is a mere response to the situation. Remember, when people make the fundamental attribution error, they do not give us the benefit of the doubt. They assume that our more negative characteristics are a result of our personality and that our positive characteristics are simply our response to external factors.

Transactional model part 5

The nature of the relationship between communicators should and does influence our communication behavior. The type of relationship that you share with your communication partner(s) matters. Whether you are strangers, acquaintances, or intimates will influence how you package and deliver the content of your message, and how it is received and transmitted.

Cause and effect

The presentation is structured around the causal relationship between events or things. You may either discuss causes or effects first. In Antonio's speech on voter apathy, he defines low voter turnout as a social problem caused by three major categories of voter attitudes: disenchantment, indifference, or contentment. Antonio chooses to discuss the problem (effect) first and then the causes.

Topical

The speech is organized according to natural divisions of a topic. For example, Shane, a Congressional staffer, has three primary job duties. His presentation to the Young Republicans Club of Peoria will be organized in such a way that he describes, one by one, those three major task functions to his audience.

kinesics

The study of body movements, including posture, gestures, and facial expressions, is referred to as kinesics.

Stages of perception: interpretation

The third stage in the perception process is interpretation, during which we assign meaning to stimuli. Our interpretation relies on both our internal states and the characteristics of the stimuli themselves. Let us look at an example to better understand that statement and the idea of interpretation. Suppose you share an apartment or a house with two other people—one of whom is compulsive about cleaning, emptying the dishwasher, and generally keeping things tidy. The other leaves towels on the bathroom floor and dishes in the sink, and has not run the vacuum cleaner even once. If you are more like the neat housemate, then you probably appreciate his or her vigilance about making sure that things are clean and orderly, and you believe that the second housemate is lazy and disrespectful to the home you share and to you and your fellow tidy housemate. You believe that your home is an extension of who you are, and you would much rather keep the house orderly and clean. However, if you tend to be more like the sloppy housemate, you may interpret the tidy housemate's actions as overly rigid and controlling. You believe that your environment is an extension of who you are, and that a little clutter simply reflects your laid-back approach to life. Do you now see how our interpretations are subject to both our internal states (our own preferences, in this case) and external stimuli (in our example, the condition of the shared space and the behavior of the housemates)? Our internal states and the stimuli themselves act as a sort of lens through which we view experiences. Like your cell phone's camera lens, which is sometimes dirty, resulting in cloudy photos, and sometimes clean and clear, our interpretations of our experiences can vary.

Linear model vs. transactional model

The transactional model of communication offers a more complete and realistic portrait of the complexities of human communication than the linear model does. The transactional model of communication highlights the factors that influence the human communication process and make this process both rewarding and challenging. Knowing how situations, relationships, and contexts both enable and interfere with effective communication equips us with an intellectual understanding of the human communication process. Of course, relating to other people in a variety of situations requires more than knowledge. The communication needs of relationships require skill and competence to put our knowledge into practice.

denotative meanings

The universal or dictionary definitions of words that groups agree on are known as their denotative meanings

connotative meanings

These are contextual meanings that we associate with words, meanings that often express some kind of value beyond the commonly agreed upon definition. For example, the word "young" is fairly easy to define. Merriam Webster says it means "in an early stage of life, growth, or development." Imagine a new employee offers an idea during a business meeting, to which one of the more experienced managers says "He's just so young!" In context, young is used to mean inexperienced and easily dismissed. The poor approach to evaluating new ideas aside, the manager has at least given us a good example of connotation. The denotative definition of "young" does not have any judgment attached to it; "young" is not an insult. In context though, the manager's use of "young" implies a judgment and reflects the higher value placed on age and experience. That usage has a negative connotation.

paralanguage

This category of nonverbal behavior refers to uses of the voice other than to express words and phrases. The quality of one's voice can signal seriousness, humor, sarcasm, attraction, and a range of other meanings. In these ways, the voice is very powerful. For instance, when we perceive that a physically attractive stranger has a pleasant voice, our interest in and feelings of potential connection to that individual tend to become even stronger (Farley, 2014). Specifically, paralanguage includes vocal cues such as the following: Pitch, or the highness or lowness of a person's voice Rate, or how fast or slow a person speaks Tone, or the variety of a person's voice (i.e., whether it is animated or monotone) Disfluencies, such as the use of pauses and nonwords (e.g., "ahhh" and "ummm"), and pronunciation (whether a speaker says a word correctly) Enunciation, or the clarity with which a speaker pronounces and says a word so that it results in understanding Silence

Monroe's Motivated Sequence

This method of structuring and presenting ideas uses time-tested and research-validated logic for persuading audiences in educational, business, and sales situations

Transactional model

This more detailed, realistic model of communication illustrates how the sender and the receiver develop, share, shape, and reshape ideas at the same time. In other words, communication is more than talking or telling. We rarely create meanings and ideas independently of others, and we are more than passive, robotic recipients and processors of others' messages. Communication is a simultaneous, interactive process. And, during interactions, communicators mutually influence one another—making the process a transaction in which all communicators are affected in some way. Let us look at the characteristics of the transactional model more closely:

Problem-solution

This presentation format opens with a discussion of a problem or need, followed by a description of several specific, viable solutions for your audience to evaluate-remember, if you argue only for one solution, you are advocating rather than informing. The problem-solution format's effectiveness relies heavily on how well you establish the problem as a pressing one in the minds of your listeners. You should describe the problem first. If your audience members do not perceive the problem as one they can relate to, they will stop listening before you get to your solutions. In her speech on healthy weight loss, Angel defines obesity as a serious health problem, using multiple forms of evidence. In a linear fashion, he then discusses weightlifting, cardiovascular training, and diet as potential solutions to the problem.

self-disclosure

Through self-disclosure, communicators exchange and acquire information that supports a deepening relationship (Berger & Bradac, 1982). They begin to experiment (Knapp et al., 2013) with riskier personal topics, and as they deepen the nature of their interactions, they also talk about a broader range of issues. As our relationships deepen, we explore one another's attitudes toward more sensitive topics than the audition period allowed for; perhaps politics, religion, or our values with regard to education and drug use are now discussed. People typically remain somewhat guarded at this time, and although the relationship has advanced beyond that of an acquaintanceship, it is still casual.

Training

Training is designed to instruct participants, typically in a work-related setting, how to complete a task accurately (Kearney & Plax, 2012). Training is usually highly interactive for participants, and training sessions are typically much lengthier than the other types of informative presentations we have discussed here. The focus of a training session may be technical (e.g., how to operate point-of-sale software to complete a business transaction) or nontechnical (e.g., etiquette training for intercultural business transactions). Whereas instruction and briefings are focused on building knowledge, training is focused on building skills (Waldeck, Kearney, & Plax, 2013). How does training differ from demonstrating? Although a training session may involve demonstration of the particular skills being trained, it provides more detail than a simple demonstration. Learners are expected to be able to competently perform the skills taught in the training session by the conclusion of the session. Conversely, in the above Learn By Doing scenario, when preparing her five-minute demonstration speech, Sarah did not intend for people to actually be able to perform complex and risky self-defense moves. Instead, she hoped that her demonstration would motivate people to want to learn more about, and perhaps even enroll in, self-defense training.

Culture

Values and beliefs that they share (e.g., hard work and devotion to God and family) Lifestyles they lead (e.g., members of the Seventh-day Adventist® Church are predominantly vegetarian) Products that they buy (e.g., active members of the Facebook group "Buy American" make purchase decisions based on where products are made), the holidays they observe (e.g., members of the Jewish faith tradition celebrate Hanukkah; Christians typically celebrate Christmas) Rules that they follow (e.g., those living on a Native American reservation follow the rules of their tribal authority rather than state laws), how literally and closely they follow those rules (e.g., members of the military place a great cultural emphasis on following rules and policies to the letter), and the patterns of behavior in which they engage

Verbal communication

Verbal communication involves the sharing of information, among communicators, using language.

Virtual teams

Virtual teams collaborate across time, space, and organizational boundaries, primarily through electronic communication, and spend varying degrees of time working face-to-face.

Johari Window

We develop trust, openness, accurate perceptions, and understanding with others by disclosing information about ourselves. Based on that information, others provide us with feedback, which we can use to learn more about how they perceive us and so adjust our behavior to promote more accurate perceptions and understanding.

Effective Communication Requires Significant Intellectual and Psychological Resources

We must determine how to best package and deliver a message by developing the ability to understand and predict the needs and potential responses of others. During communication, we must be aware of and responsive to the feedback we receive from others to assess whether our approach is creating the meanings we intend in the minds of other communicators. After an interaction, it is also important to pause, reflect, and evaluate both the process and outcome of communication in order to determine the next steps.

high-context communication

When communicators rely heavily on environmental cues, and, as a result, implicitly understand what is being communicated, we refer to this as high-context communication.

low-context communication

When communicators require explicit or clear verbal messages to understand a message, we refer to this as a low-context orientation to communication. In contrast, high-context communicators will rely more on nonverbal communication than straightforward verbal messages. They understand the power of silence in making a point, and they will rely on the physical setting more often than words to communicate meaning. High-context communicators, being less interested in telling people what to do and think or how to do something, are more likely to let others make up their own mind based on the interaction.

Chronological

When the content of your speech relies on time-based sequencing, this is the format you want to follow. For example, no one would begin a speech on how to bake a cake by saying, "Cover it evenly with a layer of icing." When the order of steps is important to your audience's ability to learn from your informative speech, use chronological sequence. Be sure to emphasize the chronological nature of your content by integrating signposts, such as first, second, next, and finally, so that your audience comprehends and retains the proper order of steps. In her speech on party planning, Marla talks her audience through a sequential checklist of activities that hosts need to perform, such as creating a theme, generating a guest list, sending invitations, planning a menu, and so forth. Although planning a party may have more flexibility in its chronology of preparation steps taken than baking a cake, an inexperienced party planner will want to know the basic sequence of tasks involved in order to be a successful host.

Johari Window in-depth

When we are open, we are not deceptive, and we are engaging in the kinds of disclosures that help support healthy relationships. By being open, we welcome the opportunity for others to offer us feedback from which we can learn how we are viewed by them, and so develop improved ways of interacting. Can too much openness, however, be problematic at times? A person's blind area might include insecurities, incompetence, or feelings of unworthiness and rejection. Why might a lack of self-awareness, such as in the example of a problematic co-worker, be a problem in terms of sustaining high-quality, satisfying communication with others? Why is it important to understand one's self so that we have fewer "blind areas"? Our hidden area holds the things that we know about ourselves but keep hidden from others. Even in well-developed friendships, research indicates that people maintain boundaries when dealing with risky information such as substance abuse, being HIV positive, or anything else that we fear may result in rejection or loss of the relationship (Afifi & Guerrero, 1998). The unknown area often needs communication to become known. Like great mentor and protégé pairs, we engage in self-reflection and discovery and interact with others to discover and share unknown aspects of ourselves. In his concept known as "the looking-glass self," sociologist Charles Cooley argued that our very sense of self grows out of our interactions with others and that we learn about ourselves by relating to others and then reflecting on the outcomes of those interactions. Simultaneously, our interaction partner has come to know us as well (Cooley, 1962).

Errors in Perception: self-serving bias

When we are successful, we attribute our successes to some internal positive qualities—intelligence, charm, knowledge of current events or popular culture, persuasiveness, or competent communication. However, when we fail, we blame the situation: "My boss did not give me enough notice"; "The project was too expensive to carry out"; or "I could not get along with her, because she is too argumentative."

Understanding

When we communicate successfully, that is to stimulate the meanings we intend in the minds of others, we achieve understanding

persuasive speech

When your goal is to change someone's opinions, attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors, the most appropriate presentation is a persuasive speech. Persuasive speeches are among the most challenging to develop and deliver because people tend to resist attempts to get them to feel, think, or behave differently. Effective persuasive presentations are designed to overcome such resistance to change. Sales presentations, motivational speeches, religious talks or sermons, commercial advertising, political speeches, and presentations advocating social change are all examples of persuasive speeches

general purpose statement

Your general purpose statement reveals whether your talk is informative or persuasive and states your presentation topic. For example, "The purpose of my presentation is to inform my audience about the growing popularity of e-cigarettes," or "The purpose of my presentation is to persuade my audience that e-cigarettes are bad for their health." Keep your general purpose statement simple, and confine it to a single sentence.

Identity

Your identity, or the ways in which you express your cultural and group affiliations, has a strong impact on how you perceive the world. The ethnic culture(s) you identify with most closely, your gender identification, sexuality, religion, and the groups with which you associate are all dimensions of your identity. Culture refers to an individual's dominant, umbrella culture as well as the various specialized co-cultures with which he or she identifies. Culture does not refer to the group itself, but rather to the norms, language, lifestyles, beliefs, and habits of the group, which are typically developed through the group's interaction. What is the dominant culture with which you identify most closely?

Past Experiences: Family, Education, Relationships

Your past experiences, relationships, and the roles that you were assigned and played within those experiences have a tremendous impact on your perceptions of others. For example, the memorable messages that your parents gave you about the importance of being successful in college have an impact on the way you view your education and the choices that you make (Kranstuber, Carr, & Hosek, 2012).

euphemism

a euphemism is a polite and pleasant expression designed to substitute for a term that the sender believes lacks social acceptability. Some euphemisms are primarily about politeness or gentleness, such as saying someone who died has "passed on." Other euphemisms can obscure meanings. For example, your grandmother might refer to your brother's male partner as his "friend" rather than his partner or husband. As you can see, the euphemism distorts reality and makes the nature of your brother's relationship unclear. Similarly, saying that someone "is not well" as opposed to being clear that the person has cancer is an illustration of a euphemism that stimulates unclear, incomplete meaning in the minds of receivers. Referring to layoffs as "downsizing" or a used car as "preowned" are further examples of potentially confusing, empty, content-free verbal communication. Some contexts call for social appropriateness and more vague terminology (e.g., perhaps the person with cancer has asked his family not to reveal the diagnosis).

medium

a medium refers to a device that moves messages over distance or through time so that people who are not face-to-face can communicate. The plural form of medium is media. Some traditional examples of media include television, radio, telephone, letters, film, or newspapers.

transformational leadership

a model that illustrates how some leaders inspire, energize, engage, and motivate teammates to excel within the team context in committed, passionate ways.

team

a particular type of group that is characterized by its cohesiveness, carefully selected membership, goal-orientation, high performance, and synergy. A group can be any number of people getting gathered together for any reason, or no reason at all. For instance, some friends who get together occasionally are characterized as a group in this context, but not as a team.

intensification

a purposive period of communication intended to escalate the relationship into greater intimacy and commitment. The five most common intensification strategies reported in dating relationships are as follows: Increasing the amount of time spent together. Providing social and emotional support to the other. Helping the individual by doing favors for him or her. Giving gifts and tokens of affection to the other. Having "relationship talks" about where the relationship is and where the participants see it going.

interpersonal communication (IPC)

a verbal and nonverbal transaction that takes place between two interdependent individuals within a relationship, which varies in its degree of personal-ness and can be conducted in a variety of contexts or using a variety of media. IPC is important not only in romantic relationships—numerous other types of relationships are characterized by IPC and are therefore considered interpersonal relationships too. Consider the interpersonal relationships among families, friends, roommates, cohabitating unmarried partners, neighbors, coworkers, and more. As you look at the definition of IPC in greater depth, consider the different types of interpersonal relationships that you are involved in.

adaptors

adaptors refer to movements that communicators engage in, sometimes unconsciously, to relieve stress and anxiety. For example, people who are nervous about public speaking might tap their fingers on the podium or hold a pen and click it open and closed. Similarly, we may rub our noses, scratch our head, or bite our nails in response to some anxiety-producing situation.

technophobic

anxious or avoidant of using new media

Intercultural communication

communication between and among people and groups across national, ethnic, and other cultural boundaries.

power language

conveys your own belief in, and attachment to, what you say.

intimate distance

extends up to 18 inches away from you

lean media

lean media are the media least capable of facilitating understanding. Lean media, on the other hand, are reliant mostly on text and permit little or no exchange of affect, instant feedback, or important nonverbal cues.

recency effect

leaves your audience thinking about the most recently discussed issue.

flaming

online verbal abuse on social media sites or through instant messaging and email

inclusion needs

our need to feel accepted by and involved with others

public distance

public distance is greater than 12 feet away from you, and it is used for public speaking and lecturing. Priests tend to maintain public distance during Mass, as do professors in lecture halls.

Noise

refers to any auditory, visual, or psychological distraction that interferes with the sending and receiving of messages.

Relationship maintenance

refers to the behaviors that partners in interpersonal relationships use to keep their relationships stable, satisfying, and in good repair

system

represents the larger environment in which a group operates, and its rules, history, norms, and communication climate. For example, a workplace team operates within the larger company system; a team of citizens designed to raise funds for beautifying town parks operates within the system of town government, culture, and norms.

spamming

sending large volumes of junk mail to intended victims

groupware

software that facilitates collaboration among users working on related tasks

territoriality

territoriality refers to how we establish and manage space as belonging uniquely to us. For example, Tamara and Joe have a rule that their children do not enter their private home offices without being invited first. This household rule is a way of defining Tamara's and Joe's personal space and establishing their territory.

synergy

the "extra energy" created by a high-performing team when it interacts and functions well, distinguishes teams from groups in an important way. One research team explains the synergy of teams this way: "With a group, the whole is often equal to or less than the sum of its parts; with a team, the whole is always greater" (Oakley, Felder, Brent, & Elhajj, 2004, p. 13).

pathos

the ability to arouse emotion within the audience. He argued that emotions affect our judgments and that we have to be in the right emotional frame of mind to understand a message in the way the speaker intends. For example, we might feel more generous (and thus be more willing to buy as a result of a sales presentation) when we are in a happy, relaxed state of mind than when we are anxious or angry. Thus, a competent speaker will highlight characteristics of his or her subject and use appeals designed to provoke the emotion he or she feels is most appropriate for generating the desired decision or action from the audience.

Impression Management

the deliberate use of verbal and nonverbal messages to create a particular impression among others

self-talk

the internal dialogue we have throughout our lives

artifacts

the ornaments and adornments they display on or around their physical person. These include jewelry, hairstyle and hair color, makeup, tattoos and piercings, clothing, cars, glasses, logos, watches, smartphones, and so forth. Artifacts communicate messages about our age, socioeconomic status (or desired status), gender, group memberships, and personal style. Artifacts have a powerful influence on how others perceive us before we even open our mouths to communicate verbally. For instance, shoppers perceive information given by retail employees wearing red as more accurate than that given by employees wearing white or blue (Bashir & Rule, 2014). The next time you are in a public setting, notice your reactions to the artifacts people wear. What attributions do you make based on how people look?

Globalization

the process of our world becoming ever more connected in economic, political, organizational, and personal terms as transportation and telecommunication systems improve

information overload

the state of being exposed to more messages than we can cognitively process at any given time.

Feedback

the verbal or nonverbal message that a receiver provides to the sender as he or she perceives and assigns meaning to the sender's message

proxemics

the ways in which humans use and manage the space around them as a way of shaping meaning.

dyadic relationships

those that involve two people

bias-free language

use bias-free language to communicate your respect for others. Bias-free language is sensitive to others' sex, race, age, physical condition, and other characteristics. To be bias free, use the labels that people prefer, and when you are unsure, rely on the most widely accepted labels for particular individuals or groups. For example, the widely used term for persons impaired in terms of physical functioning is disabled rather than handicapped or crippled. Avoid mentioning an individual's group membership(s) unless it is absolutely necessary or significant. For example, Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman Supreme Court justice—a significant fact that is typically appropriate to mention when discussing her place in history. However, a local news reporter who said "the town's female judge will be assigned the murder case" would be making a linguistic mistake by referring to the judge's gender for no significant reason other than to distinguish her from someone else. Use of her name would accomplish the same result, less offensively. If group membership is unimportant to the message, leave it out.

keylogging

using devices and software to detect the keystrokes that an individual types on his or her personal computer