Comm ch. 5-8
Poor listening habits
- 5 ineffective listening behaviors - Wandering (not focusing on speaker) - Rejecting (tuning out speaker) - Judging (making hasty evaluations) - Predicting (getting ahead of speaker) - Rehearsing (thinking about what to say next) - Most important way to avoid is to become more aware of our own listening behavior and focus on speaker rather than our own thoughts
Long-term/Short-term orientation
- A society's attitude toward virtue or truth - Tend to be polytheistic - Virtue is important, as is perseverance, willingness to give up power for a higher purpose. (EX Buddhism, Confucianism.) - Tend to be monotheistic - Having one fundamental truth, also tend to emphasize individual achievement, quick results, personal security and safety. (Christianity, Judaism, Islam)
History/past-present/future
- Acknowledgement that what's going on right now is just as important as what has happened in the past
Understanding
- After you sense that sound is occurring, listener needs to interpret the message associated with the sound - Must take into consideration both thoughts expressed and emotional tone - urgency or joy or sorrow expressed in message - Meaning you assign affects how you will respond - physiologically and communicatively
Nonverbal behavior
- All the nonverbal actions people perform
How can you communicate more ethically across cultures?
- Avoid the "zoo approach" - seeing people as exotic takes away from their humanity - Be open to alternative views of the world - (EX bizarre foods)
Differences-similarities
- Being able to identify what you have in common while still acknowledging differences
How do the following cultural values impact intercultural communication?
- Beliefs of cultural group so much part of a culture, never questioned. Influence behavior and communication in major way. Typically tied to nationality, can be applied to groups based on class, gender, and race
Why is nonverbal communication important?
- Cues are important in conveying and interpreting verbal messages - Important to be able to "read" other people in everyday life - Influences how individuals interpret messages, especially those related to feelings, moods, and attitudes - We engage in nonverbal behaviors all the time we are conscious - Can be difficult to interpret because they are multi-channel (there is no glossary)
What are nonverbal codes?
- Distinct, organized means of expression - Consisting of symbols and rules for their use - Occur in sets - Can't isolate the aspects
Power distance
- Distribution of power - HIGH power distance cultures - accept and expect unequal distribution. People without it cannot get it. - LOW power distance - strive for equality, people with varying degrees of power can interact and treat others as equals. People's power can change
What are soundscapes and how do they function?
- Everyday sounds in our environment - Can help establish a community identity - Can change over time
Individualism and collectivism
- Focus is on independence, personal achievement - Focus is on group harmony, cooperation, personal relationships
Why is verbal communication important?
- Foundation on which meaning is created. Plays a key role in identity and relationship development. Language people speak is tied to their identities.
Explain how each of these characteristics affect listening: Gender, Age, Nationality
- Gender based listening stereotypes suggest women are better listeners than men (women are non interrupting, attentive, empathetic, other-centered, responsive, patient) (men are logical, judgmental, interrupting, inattentive, self-centered, impatient) - Age - communication capacities and skill level change during life stages - Culture can influence listening - Most western cultures, good listening demonstrated by eye contact, head nods, some back-channeling vocalizations - Some cultures, good listening involves avoiding eye-contact
Physical and Physiological Barriers
- Include noisy environment or physical discomforts that make it difficult to concentrate - Fatigue another barrier - Good listening strongly associated with physical ability to hear (1 in 8 Americans aged 12+ some hearing loss in both ears) (Hearing loss increases with age) (15% Americans high frequency hearing loss due to noise at work or leisure activities
Artifacts
- Includes any physical objects that communicate messages and/or guide social behaviors - Types: personal adornment, environmental adornment (Steve's degrees on wall, Action figures, Favorite quotes/photos)
Appearance
- Includes body shape and size, clothing, make-up, height, hair - Attraction (physical, how they look; task, what they do; social, how they interact) - Homophily (perceived similarity between individuals increases levels of attraction)
What are some ways you can improve your intercultural communication skills?
- Increase your motivation - desire to learn is necessary - Increase knowledge of self and others - cyclical process. The more you communicate with people of different cultures, more you learn about yourself, better you become at interacting with people from different colleges. (EX college) - Avoid stereotypes - really rigid generalizations can lead to stereotyping and prejudice. Often times when you stereotype someone, you treat them in such a way that they end up reinforcing your stereotype.
Can you identify different contexts that call for different listening styles or behaviors?
- Interpersonal context "friendly listening" - Professional context "task vs. relational listening" - Societal forces "Some individuals and/or groups are marginalized"
Privilege-disadvantage
- It's possible to have both at the same time. It's about our perception and ability to recognize it
Static-dynamic
- Keeping in mind that while all cultures have deep histories, they can also change to embrace new ideas or beliefs
What is the definition of culture, and what is the definition of intercultural communication?
- Learned patterns of perceptions, values, and behaviors shared by a group of people - Communication that occurs in interactions between people who are culturally different - Occurs on continuum, people who are very similar at one end, people who are very different at the other - What occurs in middle could be based on differences in age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, language, ability, etc.
EXTRA about listening
- Listening is greatest skill - Two types of listening are passive and active - To be active: give feedback, paraphrase, reflect feelings, summarize
Preferred personality
- More important "to do" or "to be?" - To do - working hard for material gain no matter the costs (living to work) - To be - spending time with friends and family, experiencing life (living in the moment)
How do the following dialectical approaches function in intercultural communication?
- Moving from an either/or approach to a both/and approach - Use this to move away from attributing a person's behavior to one thing or another - See behavior and intercultural communication as fluid - Helps to resist quick, stereotypical judgments
Language and perception
- Nominalists - any idea can be expressed through language - Relativists - language is not just a way to express ideas, but it is the shaper of ideas and the guide for mental activity
Can you explain how society influences nonverbal communication in terms of power or prejudice and discrimination?
- Not looking at people when we talk to them - Watching people more closely than others - Crossing the street to create more distance
Responding
- Occurs in two phases - Phase one: responses you make while speaker is talking - Phase two: response you make after speaker has stopped talking - Responses made while speaker is talking sometimes referred as bachkchanneling cues ("I see" "uh-huh") - Responses made after speaker has stopped talking are more elaborate
People oriented listening style
- Often associated with friendly, open communication and interest in establishing ties with others rather than controlling them - Involves supportive listening skills, focusing not only on understanding info but listening to others feelings
Evaluating
- Once meaning is understood, listener "(answer)" the message - Process often occurs without much conscious thought - In some situations requires critical analysis EX: preparing to respond to a question from your boss, professor, or significant other
Human-nature value
- One view: humans take precedent and control nature - Another view: humans are at nature's mercy (it was God's will...) - Another view: humans and nature in harmony
Can you identify and explain the different types of border dwellers?
- People living between cultures, could mean encountering conflicting religions, values, and obviously language. - Through TRAVEL whether voluntarily or involuntarily (flee war-torn country, places like Houston or Puerto Rico due to hurricanes) - Culture shock - disorientation and discomfort - Reverse culture shock/reentry shock -Through SOCIALIZATION - Grow up between cultures (Asian-American, someone who is multi-racial, bi-sexual) - People who are cultural minorities learn the rules and norms of both dominant culture as well as their own - Could feel pressure to assimilate but not necessarily well received when they do Through RELATIONSHIPS: - Partners - can be challenging to navigate cultural differences regarding religion, class, nationality, race - Can be hard when social support systems don't approve
What are some common barriers to listening and how do they get in the way?
- Physical and physiological - Psychological - Conflicting objectives - Poor Listening habits
Time oriented listening style
- Prefers brief, concise speech because time is consequential - Goal is the aural equivalent of bullet points - No specific set of skills - Generally illustrates ineffective listening behavior - According to book, best to avoid this style
Action oriented listening style
- Reflects a preference for error-free and well-organized speaking, with emphasis on active responding - This style requires informational listening skills
Content oriented listening style
- Reflects an interest in detailed and complex info - Requires informational listening along with additional critical listening skills
Can you explain the similarities between nonverbal communication and verbal communication?
- Rule Guided - Culturally bound (rules are socially constructed and restricted to a specific culture) - Contextually restricted (must consider situation, environment, and setting to determine appropriateness)
View of human nature
- Seeing humans as mostly good or mostly evil. - Can be influenced by religion, but our justice system is currently set up with view that people are mostly good - innocent until proven guilty
What is the influence of the social hierarchy on listening in terms of social status, physical appearance, and vocal cues?
- Social hierarchy means society dictates who is worth listening to - Social status - high status takes attention precedent - Physical appearance - influenced by perceived attractiveness - Vocal cues - a filter that influences listening (high pitch, accent)
Hearing
- Sometimes referred to as sensing - Listener detects sound waves - Hearings or sensing information is not the same as understanding or evaluating the information - Different from listening (listening begins, but does not end, with receiving messages)
Proxemics
- Study of physical space - Refers to "invisible bubble" we place around our bodies - Referred to as our "comfort zone" - Territoriality: public vs private territory; markers and labels
Personal-contextual
- Taking into account both who person is and where an interaction is happening (nationality, personality, and location)
Psychological Barriers
- Two common: boredom and preoccupation - Causes of preoccupations: personal agendas, strong emotions - Can act as "filters that allow only selected words and ideas into our consciousness" (also screen out uncomfortable messages so only pieces of messages are received (the comfortable pieces)
Conflicting objectives
- Understand and react to other's communicative attempts based in part on our own objectives - EX: Information about the upcoming midterm exam "This material will be on the midterm" "This material will NOT be on the midterm" - Multiple objectives within same conversation are possible
Cultural-individual
- Understanding that some behaviors can be attributed to culture, but sometimes is just a person's personal style
Turn maintaining
Allows the speaker to communicate their wish to remain in the role of the speaker Common cues: - Audibly inhaling breath (to show you have more to say) - Continuing a gesture or series of gestures - Avoiding eye contact with the listener - Sustaining the intonation pattern - Vocalizing pauses ("er", "um") to prevent the listener from speaking
Exigency (issue):
An imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be. (something that must be addressed) Santa Fe, Texas high school shooting
Power
Co-cultural theory - the process by which co-cultural group members strategically select different communication styles, and how favoring certain styles of communication expresses the role of power in daily interactions - every society has hierarchy in which certain groups are privileged - groups set the rules of appropriateness - language can function to maintain power of these groups - generalizations turn into stereotypes - there are consequences
What are the five functions of nonverbal messages and can you define each?
Communicate information - clarify verbal messages, reveal attitudes and motivation Regulate interaction - manage conversational interaction Express and manage intimacy - convey attraction and closeness Social control - exercise influence over others Service-task functions - signal close involvement between people in impersonal relationships
Nonverbal communication
Communications researchers (Burgoon, Bueller, Woodall) argue that it only occurs when the behavior has symbolic meaning and is intentional. (scratching one's arm isn't an intended message, even though it can be read and understood by another person)
Audience:
Consists only of those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change. (who is the statement addressing) 1 those involved in the incident, and 2 the American public
List + example of four influences on nonverbal communication? (culture, relationships, how well you know someone, gender)
Culture - ok, thumbs up Relationships - holding someone's arm while crossing the street Familiarity - how well you know the other person Gender presentation - hair flip
What kinds of influences can power have on verbal communication?
Dialect - language within language (lexical choice) - Gender - norms, patterns, expectations - Age - cohort effect, contemporary slang - Regionality - pronunciation, lexical choice (pop/soda) - Ethnicity and race - code switching - Education and occupation - jargon
Imaginative
Express your creativity or artistic ability (poetry, story telling)
Personal Language
Express yourself, personality (more in private than public; humor or sarcasm)
Pragmatics
Field of study that emphasizes how language is used in specific situations to accomplish goals Speech acts - actionable words - indirect - do you think you could drive me to the store? - direct - drive me to the store. Conversational rules - organization of communication Contextual rules - situation based
Heuristic
Gain knowledge and understanding.
Instrumental
Gets you what you need or what you want.
Regulatory
Helps you control the behavior of others.
Interactional
Helps you start and maintain relationships
Chronemics
How we use and perceive time - Use of time - Value of time - Timing and sequencing (scheduling) - Culture specific, an event starts at 8:00pm, when do you get there? Monochronic - one task at a time Polychronic - tech is moving us toward using time polychronically, multiple activities simultaneously
Constraints:
Made up of persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence. (what restrictions or expectations are put on the statement) Shocked and saddened, concerts should be a safe place (time for change), taking specific steps.
"You" statements
Make people defensive and are disconfirming: - "You are always late"
Disconfirming
Makes us feel devalued, and can hurt our self-concept (insults, demeaning speech, condescension)
Confirming
Makes us feel valued, can help our self-concept (supportive, advice, empathy, sympathy)
What are some ethical choices we make related to listening?
Old ethics of listening - Choosing to listen or not is ethical decision (EX a racist, sexist, or homophobic joke) - Offering feedback is ethical decision (EX disconfirming communication) - Listening together is ethical decision (EX attending a sporting event, concert, or political rally) New ethics of internet age - Comm has expanded beyond face-to-face interaction to include computer-mediated contexts - Decision to listen or not is still ethical choice - Social media has raised concerns about sharing personal and/or confidential information
Syntax
Rules the govern word order How we combine nouns, verbs, adjectives into clauses to relay our message in an understandable format.
Semantics
Study of meaning -Shared meaning -Denotive meaning (dictionary or literal) -Connotative meaning - affective and interpretive understanding
Phonology
Study of sounds that compose individual languages and how those sounds communicate meaning. sounds>words>meaning
Informative
Teach or share knowledge.
Turn yielding
Tells the listener that the speaker is finished and wishes to exchange the role of the speaker and the role of the listener Common cues: - Formal methods: selecting the next speaker by name or raising a hand - Adjacency pairs: a question that requires an answer - Intonation: a drop in pitch or in loudness - Gesture: change in sitting position or an expression of inquiry - Change in gaze direction (speaker looks down, listeners look up... most common)
What are the three parts of the rhetorical situation as defined by Bitzer?
The rhetorical situation is the context of a rhetorical event that consists of an issue, an audience, and a set of constraints
"I" statements
Three part message that: - Explain the other person's behavior - Explain how you feel about that behavior - Explain how the person's behavior affects you
How do conversational rules function in terms of turn taking, turn maintaining, and turn yielding?
Turn-taking is most basic rule. Two guiding principles: - only one person should talk at a time - there can be no silence Turn-taking transcends culture Turn-taking extends beyond face-to-face conversation.
Kinesics
Use of body and face Body - Illustrators - accompany/reinforce words - Emblems - substitute words and phrases - Adaptors - release physical or emotional tension, tapping - Regulators - control flow of communication - Posture - immediacy, relaxation, tension - Movement - purposeful/intentional vs natural Face - Eye behavior - eye contact and gaze is used to convey attraction and attention, can be used for aggression - Face functions: to Supplement (add to verbal communication to Complement (complete verbal communication)
Haptics
Use of touch - Professional or functional touch - Social-polite touch - part of daily interaction - Friendship touch - warmth, closeness, caring - Love-intimate touch - romantic partners and family - Demand touch - establish dominance or power
Paralinguistics
Vocal behavior - All aspects of spoken language except for the words themselves (rate, pitch/tone, rhythm, vocal range, articulation) - Voice qualities - rate, pitch, vocal range, rhythm, and articulation create patterns or the "music" of the voice" - Vocalizations - sounds that don't conform to structure of language, vocal fillers (uh, um, er)
Power: (What kinds of influences can power have on verbal communication?)
Word choice - using gender neutral language Accents - why do English accents make people sound smart and southern drawls make people sound stupid Labels - the powerful get to name and label. Labels also identify "abnormalities"
