Chapter 1: Human Communication

• Myths about Human Communication

- Popular but erroneous beliefs: • The more you communicate, the better your communication will be • Needs and wants do not need to be communicated explicitly in a close relationship • Conflict is a sign the relationship or group is in trouble • Leaders are born, not made • Fear of speaking in public is detrimental

• Benefits of Studying Human Communication

- Skills you will learn include: • Critical and creative thinking skills • Interaction skills • Relationship skills • Leadership skills • Presentation skills

Principles of Communication (1 of 6)

1.3 Paraphrase the major principles of human communication

Culture and Human Communication (1 of 5)

1.4 Explain the role of culture in human communication, the seven ways in which cultures differ from one another, the aim of a cultural perspective; and define ethnic identity and ethnocentrism

Communication Competence (1 of 6)

1.5 Define communication competence and explain the qualities identified as part of competence

• Forms of Human Communication

Intrapersonal communication - Interpersonal communication - Interviewing - Small-group communication - Public communication - Computer-mediated communication - Mass communication

Culture and Human Communication (3 of 5)

The Importance of Culture - Important for several reasons: • Demographic changes • Sensitivity to cultural differences • Economic interdependence • Communication technology • Culture-specific nature of communication

Communication Models and Concepts (4 of 5)

• Communication Context - Context determines the meaning of any message - Contexts have at least four aspects: • Physical context • Cultural context • Social-psychological context • Temporal context • Channel - Vehicle(s) through which messages pass

Principles of Communication (5 of 6)

• Communication Is Ambiguous - Ambiguity: the condition in which something can be interpreted in more than one way • Language ambiguity • Relationship ambiguity • Communication Involves Content and Relationship Dimensions - Communication exists on at least two levels

Principles of Communication (6 of 6)

• Communication Is Punctuated - Segmenting of the continuous stream of communication - Some are causes and others effects • Communication Is Inevitable, Irreversible, and Unrepeatable - Inevitability • Interactional situations are always taking place - Irreversibility • You cannot "uncommunicate" a message - Unrepeatability • A communication act can never be duplicated

Principles of Communication (3 of 6)

• Communication Is Purposeful - Accomplishes a goal - Different cultures emphasize different purposes - Five general purposes seem relatively common: • to learn • to relate • to help • to influence • to play

Principles of Communication (4 of 6)

• Communication Takes Place in Varied Forms - In this text, face-to-face communication and online/social media communication are integrated because: • It's the way we communicate • Contemporary communication can only be understood as a combination of online and offline interaction • It's part of the skill set that employers expect potential employees to have • Both forms are vital to developing, maintaining, and even dissolving relationships • Both forms are important to your achieving your goals

Summary of Concepts and Skills (3 of 4)

• Communication is purposeful • Communication involves choices, which will determine effectiveness or ineffectiveness • Communication and relationships are always—in part—ambiguous • Communication involves both content and relationship dimensions • Communication and relationships invariably involve issues of power • Communication sequences are punctuated for processing

Culture and Human Communication (2 of 5)

• Culture consists of the beliefs, ways of behaving, and artifacts of a group • By definition, culture is transmitted through communication and learning rather than through genes

Culture and Human Communication (4 of 5)

• Dimensions of Culture - Seven major dimensions of culture: • Uncertainty avoidance • Masculinity-femininity • Power distance • Individualism-collectivism • High and low context • Indulgence and restraint • Long- and short-term orientation

Forms, Benefits, and Myths of Human Communication (2 of 5)

• Human communication - The sending and receiving of verbal and nonverbal messages - Occurs between two or more people • The study of human communication begins with the following: - forms - benefits - myths

Summary of Concepts and Skills (1 of 4)

• Human communication exists in varied forms • Among the benefits you'll derive from this course are improvements and enhancements to your self-presentation skills, relationship skills, interviewing skills, group and leadership skills, and presentation or public speaking skills • Among the myths of human communication are that the more you communicate, the more effective you'll become and that fear of public speaking is detrimental and must be eliminated before you can be successful

Summary of Concepts and Skills (2 of 4)

• Human communication is the act of sending and receiving messages that are distorted by noise, occur within a context, have some effect (and some ethical dimension), and provide some opportunity for feedback • Communication is transactional • The essentials of communication are sources- receivers; messages (feedforward, feedback, and metamessages); context (physical, cultural, socialpsychological, and temporal); channel; noise (physical, physiological, psychological, and semantic); and effects

Summary of Concepts and Skills (4 of 4)

• In any interactional situation, communication is inevitable • Culture permeates all forms of communication • Significant dimensions along which cultures may differ are uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, power distance, individualism-collectivism, high and low context, indulgence and restraint, and long- and short-term orientation • Ethnocentrism is the tendency to evaluate the beliefs, attitudes, and values of our own culture positively and those of other cultures negatively • Communication competence refers to your knowledge of how communication works and your ability to use communication effectively

Communication Models and Concepts

• In early models, communication process was thought to be linear • Newer view: - Sees communication as a transactional process - Each person is both speaker and listener

Communication Models and Concepts (5 of 5)

• Noise - Anything that interferes with receiving a message - Types of noise: • Physical • Physiological • Psychological • Semantic • Effects - Communication always has some effect on those involved in the communication act

Principles of Communication (2 of 6)

• Several principles are essential to an understanding of human communication • These principles have practical implications to help increase communication effectiveness

Communication Models and Concepts (3 of 5)

• Sources-Receivers - Each person is both a source (speaker) and a receiver (listener) • Messages - Take many forms - Transmitted or received through one or more sensory organs - Three specific types: • Feedforward » Phatic communication: small talk • Feedback • Metamessages

Culture and Human Communication (5 of 5)

• The Aim of a Cultural Perspective - Messages that are effective in one culture may prove totally ineffective in another culture • Ethnic Identity and Ethnocentrism - Each culture develops an ethnic identity that is unique: the attitudes and beliefs of the group

Communication Competence (6 of 6)

• The Competent Communicator Is Ethical - Ethics: the study of good and bad, of right and wrong, of moral and immoral - Ethics is concerned with actions, with behaviors • Objective view: Some argue the rightness or wrongness of an act is absolute. • Subjective view: Ethics of a message depends on the culture's values and beliefs as well as the circumstances.

Communication Competence (5 of 6)

• The Competent Communicator Is an Effective Code Switcher - Code switching: using more than one language in a conversation, and using different language styles depending on the situation • The Competent Communicator Is Culturally Aware and Sensitive

Communication Competence (4 of 6)

• The Competent Communicator Makes Reasoned Choices - Competence in communication choice making is a series of four interrelated characteristics - The competent communication choice maker: • realizes that each communication situation can be approached in different ways • has a large arsenal of available choices • can make reasonable predictions as to what choices will work and what choices won't • has the interpersonal, small-group, and public speaking skills for executing these choices effectively

Communication Competence (3 of 6)

• The Competent Communicator Thinks Critically and Mindfully - Need critical thinking • Mindfulness • Mindlessness - To increase mindfulness, try the following suggestions: » Create and re-create categories » Be open to new information and points of view » Beware of relying too heavily on first impressions » Think before you act

Communication Competence (2 of 6)

• Your ability to communicate effectively is your communication competence • There are five major traits of a competent communicator