1. Intro to Communication
Week I: Foundations

2. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Good communicators are born, not made.

3. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Good communicators are born, not made.
The more frequently you communicate, the better at it you will be.

4. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Good communicators are born, not made.
The more frequently you communicate, the better at it you will be.
In your interpersonal communications, a good guide to follow is to be as open, empathetic, and supportive as you can be.

5. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Good communicators are born, not made.
The more frequently you communicate, the better at it you will be.
In your interpersonal communications, a good guide to follow is to be as open, empathetic, and supportive as you can be.
The best guide to follow when communicating with people from other cultures is to ignore the differences and treat the other person just as you’d treat members of your own culture.

6. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Good communicators are born, not made.
The more frequently you communicate, the better at it you will be.
In your interpersonal communications, a good guide to follow is to be as open, empathetic, and supportive as you can be.
The best guide to follow when communicating with people from other cultures is to ignore the differences and treat the other person just as you’d treat members of your own culture.
Fear of meeting new people is detrimental and must be eliminated.

7. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Good communicators are born, not made.
The more frequently you communicate, the better at it you will be.
In your interpersonal communications, a good guide to follow is to be as open, empathetic, and supportive as you can be.
The best guide to follow when communicating with people from other cultures is to ignore the differences and treat the other person just as you’d treat members of your own culture.
Fear of meeting new people is detrimental and must be eliminated.
When there is conflict, your relationship is in trouble.

8. TRUE OR FALSE? Good communicators are born, not made.
False! Effective communication is a learned skill and can be improved, no matter the personality.

9. TRUE OR FALSE? Good communicators are born, not made.
False! Effective communication is a learned skill and can be improved, no matter the personality.
The more you communicate, the better at it you will be.
False! It’s not the amount of communication people engage in, but the quality that matters. Practice bad habits = grow less effective.

10. TRUE OR FALSE? Good communicators are born, not made.
False! Effective communication is a learned skill and can be improved, no matter the personality.
The more you communicate, the better at it you will be.
False! It’s not the amount of communication people engage in, but the quality that matters. Practice bad habits = grow less effective.
In your interpersonal communications, a good guide to follow is to be as open, empathetic, and supportive as you can be.
False! Each interpersonal situation is unique, therefore the type of comm. appropriate in one situation may not be in another.

11. TRUE OR FALSE?
The best guide to follow when communicating with people from other cultures is to ignore the differences and treat the other person just as you’d treat members of your own culture.
False! People from different cultures often attribute different meanings to a message, and also follow different rules for what is and is not appropriate in interpersonal comm.

12. TRUE OR FALSE?
The best guide to follow when communicating with people from other cultures is to ignore the differences and treat the other person just as you’d treat members of your own culture.
False! People from different cultures often attribute different meanings to a message, and also follow different rules for what is and is not appropriate in interpersonal comm.
Fear of meeting new people is detrimental and must be eliminated.
False. Many people are nervous meeting new people. It may not be possible to eliminate fear; but it is possible to manage it.

13. TRUE OR FALSE?
The best guide to follow when communicating with people from other cultures is to ignore the differences and treat the other person just as you’d treat members of your own culture.
False! People from different cultures often attribute different meanings to a message, and also follow different rules for what is and is not appropriate in interpersonal comm.
Fear of meeting new people is detrimental and must be eliminated.
False. Many people are nervous meeting new people. It may not be possible to eliminate fear; but it is possible to manage it.
When there is conflict, your relationship is in trouble.
False. All meaningful relationships experience conflict; relationships are not in trouble when there is conflict, though dealing with conflict ineffectively can often damage the relationship.

14. Impersonal v.s. Personal
Impersonal Communication
Personal Communication
Example:
A server and a customer
Examples:
A father and his son
Two long-time lovers

15. Impersonal v.s. Personal
Impersonal Communication
Personal Communication
Example:
A server and a customer
Examples:
A father and his son
Two long-time lovers
Based on social roles:
Interact according to the social roles you are currently playing– not as unique individuals.
Based on personal information:
React to each other as unique individuals.

16. Impersonal v.s. Personal
Impersonal Communication
Personal Communication
Example:
A server and a customer
Examples:
A father and his son
Two long-time lovers
Based on social roles:
Interact according to the social roles you are currently playing– not as unique individuals.
Based on personal information:
React to each other as unique individuals.
Governed by social rules:
For example, a server and customer abide by the rules & expectations of society.
Governed by personally established rules:
The way they address each other, their touching behavior, degree of closeness are unique to them and established by them, not society.

17. Impersonal v.s. Personal
Impersonal Communication
Personal Communication
Example:
A server and a customer
Examples:
A father and his son
Two long-time lovers
Impersonal messages:
Little personal information exchanged
Little emotional content in the messages exchanged
Personal messages:
Lots of personal information exchanged
Broad range of topics (i.e. food, parents’ divorce, etc.)

18. Communication model ( Claude Shannon (Bell Telephone Co., 1948)

19. An Interactive Two-way Process of Interpersonal Communication

20. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Encoding: the act of producing messages

21. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Encoding: the act of producing messages
Decoding: the act of understanding messages

22. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Encoding: the act of producing messages
Decoding: the act of understanding messages
Messages: signals that serve as stimuli for a receiver and are received by one of our senses: auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, or any combination of these senses.
*What messages am I sending right now?

23. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Encoding: the act of producing messages
Decoding: the act of understanding messages
Messages: signals that serve as stimuli for a receiver and are received by one of our senses: auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, or any combination of these senses.
*What messages am I sending right now?
Feedback Messages: messages sent back to the speaker concerning reactions to what is said

24. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Encoding: the act of producing messages
Decoding: the act of understanding messages
Messages: signals that serve as stimuli for a receiver and are received by one of our senses: auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, or any combination of these senses.
*What messages am I sending right now?
Feedback Messages: messages sent back to the speaker concerning reactions to what is said
Channel: the medium through which messages pass
*Often, multiple channels are used simultaneously. What channels am I communicating with right now?

25. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Noise: anything that distorts a message.
Ex.

26. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Noise: anything that distorts a message.
Ex. A) Physical noise (Such as?)
B) Physiological noise (Such as?)
C)Psychological noise (Such as?)
D) Semantic noise (Such as?)

27. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Noise: anything that distorts a message.
Ex. A) Physical noise (Such as?)
B) Physiological noise (Such as?)
C)Psychological noise (Such as?)
D) Semantic noise (Such as?)
Context: environment where communication always takes place in, that influences the form and content of your message

28. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Noise: anything that distorts a message.
Ex. A) Physical noise (Such as?)
B) Physiological noise (Such as?)
C)Psychological noise (Such as?)
D) Semantic noise (Such as?)
Context: environment where communication always takes place in, that influences the form and content of your message
For example, compare the differences among communicating in a funeral home, football stadium, formal restaurant, and a rock concert.

29. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Noise: anything that distorts a message.
Ex. A) Physical noise (Such as?)
B) Physiological noise (Such as?)
C)Psychological noise (Such as?)
D) Semantic noise (Such as?)
Context: environment where communication always takes place in, that influences the form and content of your message
For example, compare the differences among communicating in a funeral home, football stadium, formal restaurant, and a rock concert.
How does context relate to noise?

30. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
Noise: anything that distorts a message.
Ex. A) Physical noise (Such as?)
B) Physiological noise (Such as?)
C)Psychological noise (Such as?)
D) Semantic noise (Such as?)
Context: environment where communication always takes place in, that influences the form and content of your message
For example, compare the differences among communicating in a funeral home, football stadium, formal restaurant, and a rock concert.
How does context relate to noise?
Context can be:
Physical dimension
Temporal dimension (time)
Social-Psychological dimension
Cultural dimension
Ethical dimension (telling the truth; respecting the other person, etc.)

31. Create (draw) your own model
Discussion:
Could your model also serve as a model of intrapersonal communication? A model of small group, public, or mass communication?
What elements or concepts other than those noted here might be added to the model?

32. Create (draw) your own model
Your model should describe what elements are involved and what processes operate in the specific situation chosen. You may find it useful to define the situation in more specific terms before you begin constructing your model:
Sitting silently on the bus while trying to avoid talking with the person seated next to you.
Asking for a date on the phone to someone you’ve only communicated with on the Internet.
Meeting a new student in class.
Talking with someone who speaks a different language (which you don’t know and who does not know your language) and comes from a culture very different from your own.

33. Create (draw) your own model
How adequately does your model explain the process of interpersonal communication? Would it help someone new to the field a clear picture of what interpersonal communication is and how it operates?

34. How might you add to/change this model to make it more accurate/comprehensive?

35. Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process (2 of 4)
Models of the Communication Process
Communication as action: message transfer
Figure 1.1 A Simple Model of Human Communication as Action

36. Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process (3 of 4)
Models of the Communication Process
Communication as interaction
Figure 1.2 A Model of Communication as Interaction

38. Communication Model

39. Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process (4 of 4)
Models of the Communication Process
Communication as transaction
Figure 1.3 A Model of Communication as Transaction

40. Group discussion 1
What specific actions could you take to communicate effectively in the following scenarios?
You are a person without visual impairment and are talking with a visually impaired person
You are a person with visual impairment and are talking with a person without visual impairment

41. Group discussion 1
What specific actions could you take to communicate effectively in the following scenarios?
You are a person without visual impairment and are talking with a visually impaired person
(for example, “Identify yourself.”)
You are a person with visual impairment and are talking with a person without visual impairment
(For example, “If you want your surroundings described, ask.”)

42. Ethics in Interpersonal Communication
Group discussion 2
Ethics in Interpersonal Communication
What obligations do you have to keep a secret?
What are your ethical obligations as a listener?
Are ethical principles objective or subjective? (for example, is lying always unethical?)
What are your ethical obligations to reveal personal information to a relationship partner?
Are there ethical and unethical ways to engage in conflict and conflict resolution?

43. Interpersonal Communication is Ambiguous
Often ambiguous due to noise & context
For example, lets say a guy and a girl have had dinner together, just the two of them, six times in the past month, when she asks him: “Hey, what kind of relationship do we have?”
“Do you like me?”
“Are we dating?”
“Do you want me to be your girlfriend?”
“Do you want to go steady?”
However, each of these answers are still ambiguous.
How would you give a clear answer in this situation?

44. Interpersonal Communication is Ambiguous
Sentences can also be ambiguous due to the phrasing
For example, what do these sentences mean?
“Visiting neighbors can be boring.”
“They are frying chickens.”
“What has the cat in its paws?”
While these are obvious examples, all interpersonal communication is ambiguous to a degree.

45. Interpersonal Comm. Refers to Content and Relationship
-In any two communications, the content dimension may be the same, but the relationship dimension may be different (or vice versa).
Ex. The judge may say to the lawyer:
“You better see me immediately.”
“May I please see you as soon as possible?”
= Same content, different relationship.

46. Interpersonal Comm. Refers to Content and Relationship
Another example:
A daughter might say to her parents:
“May I go away this weekend?”
“May I use the car tonight?”
= Different content, same relationship.

47. Interpersonal Comm. Refers to Content and Relationship
He: I’m going bowling tomorrow. The guys at the plant are starting a team
She: Why can’t we ever do anything together?
He: We can do something together anytime; tomorrow’s the day they’re organizing the team.

48. Interpersonal Comm. Refers to Content and Relationship
*Research has found that men generally focus more on the content while women focus more on the relationship dimensions of communication.
How would you adjust their responses to include added sensitivity to each other?

49. Interpersonal Comm. Refers to Content and Relationship
He: The guys at the plant are organizing a bowling team. I’d sure like to be on the team. Would it be a problem if I went to the organizational meeting tomorrow?
She: That sounds great, but I was hoping we could do something together.
He: How about you meet me at Joe’s Pizza, and we can have dinner after the meeting?
She: That sounds great. I’m dying for pizza.

50. Interpersonal Comm. Refers to Content and Relationship
He: The guys at the plant are organizing a bowling team. I’d sure like to be on the team. Would it be a problem if I went to the organizational meeting tomorrow?
She: That sounds great, but I was hoping we could do something together.
He: How about you meet me at Joe’s Pizza, and we can have dinner after the meeting?
She: That sounds great. I’m dying for pizza.
-Although focused on content, he is aware of the relationship dimensions and include both in his comments– by acknowledging their partnership, asking her feelings, and expressing his desire rather than his decision.
-She focuses on the relationship dimension but also acknowledges his content.
-He responds to the relationship aspect– without abandoning his desire to join the team– and incorporates it.
-She responds to both messages, approving of his joining the team and their dinner date.

51. Ethics in Interpersonal Communication
Here are a few communication situations that raise ethical issues. Consider each of these five situations– how do you respond?
Question [A friend asks your opinion]: How do I look?
Thought: You look terrible but I don't want to hurt your feelings.
Question [A romantic partner asks]: Do you love me?
Thought: You don't want to commit yourself but you don't want to end the relationship either. You want to allow the relationship to progress further before making any commitment.

52. Ethics in Interpersonal Communication
Question [An interviewer asks]: You seem a bit old for this type of job. How old are you?
Thought: I am old for this job but I need it anyway. I don't want to turn the interviewer off because I really need this job. Yet, I don't want to reveal my age either.
Question [A parent asks]: Did my son (15 years old) tell you he was contemplating suicide? OR
Is my daughter (22 years old) taking drugs?
Thought: Yes, but I promised I wouldn't tell anyone.

53. Ethics in Interpersonal Communication
What ethical principles did you use in making your decisions?
Assume that you asked the question, what response would you prefer?
Would your questions and the expected answers differ if you were communicating by computer, say with or on Whatsapp?
Are your preferred responses, the same responses you would give? If there are discrepancies, how do you account for them?

54. HOW WOULD YOU GIVE FEEDBACK?
A friend—who you like but don’t have romantic feelings for—asks you on a date.
Your instructor asks you to evaluate the course.
A homeless person smiles at you on the street.

55. HOW WOULD YOU GIVE FEEDBACK?
Make a list of the most effective and the least effective communicators you know. For each name, identify at least five characteristics you believe to be important to the communicator’s success or lack of success as a communicator. Be specific.

56. HOW WOULD YOU GIVE FEEDBACK?
Make a list of the most effective and the least effective communicators you know. For each name, identify at least five characteristics you believe to be important to the communicator’s success or lack of success as a communicator. Be specific.
List five physical characteristics that you feel influences your perceptions of people when you first meet them. Write a couple sentences for each characteristic:
How did these characteristics affect your view of that person? In what way have your past experiences affected your perception of people with these characteristics?

57. SOCIAL MEDIA
1. How is social media different from face-to-face communication?
What effect does social media have on the irreversibility of communication?
Have you ever experienced problems decoding online messages such as on Facebook or over ? What can you do to reduce the ambiguity of online messages?