1 1: Inter-Act, 13 th Edition Orientation Orientation

2 Interpersonal Communication The complex process through which people express, interpret, and coordinate messages in order to create shared meaning, meet social goals, manage personal identity, and carry out relationships

3 Purposes of Interpersonal Communication Share meaning Meet social goals Manage our personal identity Conduct our relationships

Interpersonal Communication Process Process:Process: systematic series of actions that leads to an outcome Message production:Message production: actions you perform to send a message Message interpretation:Message interpretation: activities performed to understand intended meaning Interaction coordination:Interaction coordination: activities performed to adjust behavior to partner 4

5 Message Message – a performance that uses words, sentences, and/or nonverbal behaviors to convey the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the speaker Canned Plan Canned Plan – mental library of scripts Script Script – text that instructs you what to say in a specific situation

6 The Communication Setting Physical Context – where communication takes place, the environment, the distance between participants, seating, time of day Social Context – the nature of the relationship Historical Context – the background of previous communication Psychological Context – moods & feelings Cultural Context – beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, social hierarchies, religion, notion of time, and roles of the participants

7 External noise – the sights, sounds, and other stimuli that draw people’s attention away from intended meaning Internal noise – the thoughts and feelings that interfere with meaning Semantic noise – distractions caused by the speaker’s words that interfere with meaning Noise

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9 Social Media Context Social Media: technologies that facilitate communication and interaction Digital communication: electronic transmission of digitally encoded information

Social Network Groups of individuals connected by Friendship Careers Institutions Family ties Common interests, beliefs, knowledge 10

Traits of Social Media Technology Facilitates social interactivity Takes time to send and receive messages (temporal structure) Lacks social cues Can be stored and replicated Potentially reaches a large audience Allows mobility 11

12 Principles of Interpersonal Communication Is continuous Is transactional Is irreversible Is situated Is indexical

13 Communication Is Continuous Interpersonal communication can be verbal or nonverbal. Therefore, we are always sending messages to others— whether we are aware of it or not!

14 Communication Is Transactional Each person gives and receives messages, feedback. Each person gets needs met and helps others satisfy needs. Each person is changed with each interaction.

15 Communication Is Irreversible Once an exchange has taken place, we can never ignore it, take it back, or pretend it did not occur.

16 Communication Is Situated All communication occurs within a communication setting. Setting affects how messages are produced, interpreted, and coordinated. Meaning is dependent upon the situation.

17 Communication Is Indexical Index (or measure) of the emotional temperature of a relationship Trust: the extent to which partners rely on, depend on, and have faith that their partner will not intentionally harm them Control: the extent to which each person has power or is “in charge” of the relationship Intimacy: degree of emotional closeness, acceptance, and disclosure

18 Ethics of Interpersonal Communication “A set of moral principles held by a society, a group, or individual” 1.Truthfulness and honesty 2.Integrity 3.Fairness 4.Respect 5.Responsibility 6.Empathy

The Dark Side 19 Bright Side Ethical Appropriate Hard Dark Side Ethical Inappropriate Evil Dark Side Unethical Inappropriate Easy Dark Side Unethical Appropriate

20 Diversity – Diversity – variations between and among people Culture Sex Age Class Physical characteristics Sexual orientation

21 Culture Culture – systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people Culture is a critical concept to communication because “every communicator is a product of his or her culture.” -Anderson 2000

22 Communication Competence Increasing communication knowledge Increasing communication skills Increasing communication motivation Competence is the impression that communicative behavior is both effective and appropriate. Competence can be enhanced by:

23 Developing Competence Knowledge 1.Acquire interpersonal communication knowledge Effective messages Appropriate messages 2.Emotional Intelligence: ability to monitor your own and others’ emotions

24 Developing Competence Skills Micro communication skills: message templates, “lines” Communication skill scripts: mental texts that include micro communication skills

25 Developing Competence Motivation Unlearn old ineffective scripts. Learn new scripts.

26 Behavioral Flexibility 1.Make a prediction about appropriate communication. 2.Enact that type of communication. 3.Pay attention to reactions. 4.Either change communication or not.

27 Writing Communication Improvement Plans State the problem. State the specific goal. Outline procedure for reaching the goal. Devise a method of determining when the goal has been reached.