Communicating Effectively Human Adjustment John W. Santrock Chapter 7: Communicating Effectively McGraw-Hill © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter Outline Exploring Interpersonal Communication Verbal Interpersonal Communication Nonverbal Interpersonal Communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Goals 1. Describe the basic aspects of interpersonal communication. 2. Explain the keys to effective verbal interpersonal communication. 3. Describe the elements of nonverbal interpersonal communication. McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EXPLORING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Messages The Transactional Aspect of Communication Context Defining Interpersonal Communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Messages Message = information being delivered from sender to receiver Encoding - act of producing messages Decoding - act of understanding messages Noise - environmental, physiological, and psychological factors that decrease likelihood a message will accurately be encoded or decoded Message = information being delivered from sender to receiver McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Transactional Aspect of Communication Communication includes both context and relationship dimension Communication is transactional - ongoing process between sender and receiver McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Context Context - environment in which messages are sent and received context influences form and content of social communication context especially important in cross-cultural communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Defining Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal communication - ongoing transactional process that involves at least two individuals, each of whom acts as both sender and receiver McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 7.1 Some Important Components of Interpersonal Communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Review - Learning Goal 1 What are key aspects of messages? Why is interpersonal communication described as transactional? How does context influence communication? How can interpersonal communication be defined? McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

VERBAL INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Speaking Skills Listening Skills Self-Disclosure Conflict and Assertiveness Gender and Verbal Communication Barriers to Effective Verbal Communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Speaking Skills To communicate effectively, speakers need to consider background, needs, and abilities of listeners Denotation - objective meaning of words Connotation - subjective meaning of words Speakers must consider connotative meanings of words for listeners McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Speaking Skills Messages conveyed more effectively when spoken in simple, concrete, and specific way Good speakers make verbal and nonverbal messages consistent McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening Skills Hearing - physiological sensory process in which auditory sensations are received by the ears and transmitted to the brain Listening - psychological process of interpreting and understanding what someone says McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 7.2 Percentage of Time Spent by College Students in Different Communication Activities McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adjustment Strategies for Becoming a Better Listener 1. Don’t hog the conversation 2. Pay careful attention to person talking 3. Use reflective listening and paraphrasing 4. Actively synthesize themes and patterns you hear 5. Give feedback in competent manner McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-Disclosure Self-disclosure = communication of intimate details about ourselves McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Johari Window Johari Window divided into four areas: open self (known to you and others) hidden self (known to you but not to others) blind self (known to others but not to you) unknown self (not known to you or others) Johari Window = model of self-disclosure that helps us understand proportion of information about ourselves that we and others are aware of McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-Disclosure in Relationships Self-disclosure can deepen relationships Deep relationships require risky self-disclosures which leave you vulnerable Disclosing psychologically painful information requires that we trust the listener McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 7.4 Some Self-Disclosure Risks McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adjustment Strategies for Increasing Self-Disclosure 1. Proceed gradually 2. Recognize that people have different levels of intimacy needs 3. Begin with facts 4. When comfortable, include thoughts, feelings and needs 5. Try here-and-now communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflict and Assertiveness People deal with conflict in one of four ways: aggressive (often angry, being insensitive to others’ feelings) manipulative (make others feel sorry or guilty) passive (submissive, nonassertive; don’t express themselves) assertive (act in own best interest by standing up for legitimate rights and expressing views) McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adjustment Strategies for Becoming More Assertive 1. Evaluate your rights 2. Designate a time for discussing what you want 3. State problem in terms of how it might affect you 4. Describe the problem objectively 5. Express your feelings about the situation 6. Ask for what you want McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender and Verbal Communication Women - less assertive in communication Men - more aggressive in communication Women - more rapport talk (conversation aimed at establishing connections and negotiating relationships) Men - more report talk (talk designed to provide information) Women - rely on self-disclosure more than men Men - interrupt conversations more than women McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Barriers to Effective Verbal Communication Judging may take the form of: criticizing name-calling and labeling McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Barriers to Effective Verbal Communication Proposing solutions may take the form of: advice questioning order threat moralizing McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Barriers to Effective Verbal Communication Avoiding the others’ concerns may take the form of: diverting one-upping logical argument McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adjustment Strategies for Effective Verbal Expression 1. Make your message direct 2. Deliver your message immediately 3. Make your message clear 4. Deliver a straight message 5. Make your message supportive McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Review - Learning Goal 2 What are some important aspects of speaking skills? What are some important aspects of listening skills? What role does self-disclosure play in interpersonal communication? What are four ways of dealing with conflict in communication? Do men and women communicate differently? What are some barriers to effective verbal communication? McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

NONVERBAL INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Dimensions of Nonverbal Communication Body Communication Spatial Communication Silence and Paralanguage McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication includes: body communication (gestures, facial expression, touch) spatial communication paralanguage (voice) Nonverbal communication = messages that are transmitted from one person to another by other than linguistic means McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal leakage - communication of true emotions through nonverbal channels even when person tries to conceal the truth verbally McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Detecting Deception Liars tend to: Blink more and have dilated pupils Show more self-manipulating gestures Give shorter, negative, generalized responses Speak in distancing way Speak in higher pitch Take more time to plan what to say People are not very good at detecting deception McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender and Nonverbal Communication Women tend to be better at reading people’s emotional cues McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Body Communication Gestures - a motion of the limbs or body made to convey a message to someone else Gestures are not universal McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Body Communication Facial expressions can communicate important messages Some facial expressions appear to be universal, but they can also vary among cultures McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Eye Communication In the United States, eye contact serves four functions: monitor feedback signal a turn in the conversation signal the nature of a relationship compensate for physical distance McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Touch Communication Touch plays important role in nonverbal communication Touch expresses: Sexuality Consolation Dominance McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial Communication Hall (1969) identified four zones in which we interact: intimate distance personal distance social distance public distance Proxemics = study of communicative function of space McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Silence and Paralanguage By being silent, a good listener can: attend to the other person through body posture observe the other by watching speaker’s eyes, posture, gestures think about what other person is communicating McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paralanguage Paralanguage includes aspects such as: rapidity of speech volume of speech pitch of speech Paralanguage = the nonlinguistic aspects of verbal communication McGraw-Hill ©2006 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.