1. ©2007 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2/e PPTPPT

2. ©2007 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Creating and Using Meaning McGraw-Hill/Irwin

3. 3 What Meaning Means Assuming You Know What I Mean Conveyor-belt fallacy ◦assumption that because a message is sent and received, the receiver therefore understands what the message means The Meaning in Messages Intended meaning ◦meaning the sender has in mind when designing his or her message Interpreted meaning ◦meaning the receiver interprets from the message

4. 4 What Meaning Means When we send messages, as if on a conveyor belt, we assume people understand what we mean. FIGURE 5.1The Conveyor Belt Fallacy

5. 5 How We Create Meaning Perception Organization Interpretation Signs and Symbols Sign ◦something that people agree represents something else and is usually linked with what it represents Symbol ◦type of sign that has an indirect association to what it represents

6. 6 How We Create Meaning FIGURE 5.2How We Create Meaning © Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

7. 7 How We Create Meaning FIGURE 5.3Storm Sign Dark, gray clouds are a sign that a storm is approaching © Royalty- Free/ORBIS

8. 8 The Contexts of Meaning Context ◦physical, social, and psychological situation in which a communication event occurs Intrapersonal Context Intrapersonal decoding ◦process of receiving data that originate either inside or outside ourselves and then interpreting and assigning meaning to those data Intrapersonal encoding ◦process of organizing data and translating thoughts into a managed internal response

9. 9 The Contexts of Meaning FIGURE 5.4The Contexts of Meaning

10. 10 The Contexts of Meaning The meaning of words or nonverbal behaviors can be confusing without knowledge of the cultural and interpersonal contexts. © Royalty-Free/CORBIS

11. 11 The Contexts of Meaning Personal History Context Cultural Context Interpersonal Context Business Context © Ryan McVay/Getty Images

12. 12 The Meanings of Words Semantics ◦relationship between words and the meanings we attach to them Concrete Words ◦associated with objects or events that we have experienced through our senses

13. 13 The Meanings of Words Abstract Words ◦ideas or concepts that we cannot directly experience through our senses Practice Designing and Interpreting Meaning  Designing meaning  Interpreting meaning

14. 14 Specific and Vague Message Meanings Specific Meaning in Business Messages Specific business messages ◦straightforward, explicit, and clear, with nothing hidden Vague Meaning in Business Messages Vague business messages ◦couch our intentions in ambiguous language or behavior

15. 15 Specific and Vague Message Meanings Blaming the Receiver Will My Audience “Get” What I Mean? Both the message sender and the receiver have responsibility for effective communication and meaning clarity. © Comstock/PunchStock

16. 16 Questions