Fundamentals of Communication

 Process of Using Messages to Exchange Meaning Define Communication

 Self Image  Relationships  Life Skills  Civil Obligation  Professional Success Why Study Communication?

 Intrapersonal  Communication process individually  Depends on perceptions  Interpersonal  Exchange of information between 2 or more people  Message being sent and message being received  Public  Communication between equals  Receive and send messages, ideas, and opinions  Mass  Broadcast of information through an unanswerable voice to a large audience  Computer Mediated (CMC)  Human communication that occurs through use of 2 or more electronic devices 5 Types

 communication-definition-types-advantages.html communication-definition-types-advantages.html Oral Communication

 Similarities-  Symbolic  Rule guided  Be intentional or unintentional  Culture-bound (i.e. restricted in character/outlook by belonging/referring to particular culture)  Differences  Nonverbal is perceived as more believable  Nonverbal can be multi-channeled (i.e. through multiple channels both direct and indirect)  Nonverbal is continuous Nonverbal vs. Verbal

 (P)ostures & Gestures  How do you use hand gestures? Stance?  (E)ye Contact  How’s your “Lighthouse?”  (O)rientation  How do you position yourself?  (P)resentation  How do you deliver your message?  (L)ooks  Are your looks, appearance, dress important?  (E)xpressions of Emotion  Are you using facial expressions to express emotion? P.E.O.P.L.E

 Hearing  Definition  Listening  53% of communication is devoted to listening  Have to compete with 32% of listening to mass media vs. 21% face-to-face listening  Barriers  Noise  Perception of Others  Yourself Listening

 Active  Empathetic  paying attention to another person with empathy [emotional identification, compassion, feeling, insight]. One basic principle is to "seek to understand, before being understood  Critical  Goal is to evaluate or scrutinize what is being said  Involves problem solving/decision making  Enjoyment  Simply for fun/entertainment Types of Listening

 Noise-  Physical  External or environmental sounds that distract from receiving or delivering message  Examples: Others talking in background, background music, etc.  Mental  Inner conversation/monologue  Factual  Objective retelling of information/event by someone not personally involved  Semantic  Several different meanings  One can be someone speaking in different language that you do not understand. Different dialect  Use of words that mean one thing normally, but have different meaning based on context.  Example use of ‘bad’ for cool Breaking Down the Barriers

 Status  Stereotypes  Sights and Sounds Breaking Down Perceptions

 Egocentrism  the natural restriction on our perception caused by the simple fact that we can only see the world from our perspective  “Put yourself in his/her shoes”  Defensiveness  Fight – yelling, arguing and aggressive behavior  Flight – running away physically or emotionally  Freeze – looks like a deer in the headlights  Faint – person actually falls asleep or starts to  Experiential superiority  “I know more than you due to experience”  Personal Bias  Obstacle in making decisions  Introducing external facts/concepts that do not have to do with the decision  Pseudolistening  To pretend to be listening Yourself

 Listen and think critically  Use verbal communication effectively  Use nonverbal communication effectively  Based on what you have learned so far, how would you use verbal and nonverbal effectively? How to Be a Better Listener

 Workplace  Be Self-Aware  Monitor your nonverbal behaviors (example: have arms crossed across body=cutting off)  Minimize interruptions  Ask nonaggressive questions (Not saying “You’re wrong”  Summarize what the other says to assure you understand Listening in Workplace Vs. Classroom

 Use lecture Listening  Find areas of interest  Remain open  Work at listening  Avoid distractions  Listen for and note main ideas  Take Effective notes  Listen for lecture cues Classroom Listening

 Culture  Perceptions  Barriers Influences on Communication

 Become a critical consumer of media information  Develop information literacy  Recognize when you need information  Know where to find the information you need  Check your perceptions of electronic messages Media

 Recognize the sources of your own conversational style habits  Monitor your communication  Apply general ethical principles to your responses  Adapt to others Ethical Listener