Spc1017 Chapter 1

• 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

Communication Is Ambiguous

- Ambiguity: the condition in which something can be interpreted in more than one way • Language ambiguity • Relationship ambiguity

• Ethnic Identity and Ethnocentrism

- Each culture develops an ethnic identity that is unique: the attitudes and beliefs of the group

Sources-Receivers

- Each person is both a source (speaker) and a receiver (listener)

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 circumstance

- 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 circumstance

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

Forms of Human Communication

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

• The Aim of a Cultural Perspective

- Messages that are effective in one culture may prove totally ineffective in another culture

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

Newer view of communication

- Sees communication as a transactional process - Each person is both speaker and listener

• 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

Messages

- Take many forms - Transmitted or received through one or more sensory organs - Three specific types: • Feedforward » Phatic communication: small talk • Feedback • Metamessages

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

• 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

In early models, communication process was thought to be

Linear

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

• 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

Communication Involves Content and Relationship Dimensions - Communication exists on at least two levels

• Communication Is Punctuated - Segmenting of the continuous stream of communication - Some are causes and others effects

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

• 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

• The Importance of Culture

• Demographic changes • Sensitivity to cultural differences • Economic interdependence • Communication technology • Culture-specific nature of communication

• 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

• 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

• Your ability to communicate effectively

• 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