1. Communication THE AVERAGE PERSON SPENDS ABOUT 70% OF THEIR WAKING HOURS IN SOME FORM OF COMMUNICATION.

2. What is communication?  The process of conveying information in such a way that the message is received and understood.  Effective Communication occurs when the receiver interprets the sender’s message in the same way the speaker intended it.  You can share…  Ideas  Opinions  Facts  Problems  Feelings What happens when you DON’T communicate?

3. How do you communicate?  Constantly. Even without words, or without people in our proximity.  Verbally  Nonverbally

4. Verbal  Involves the use of  Words  Sounds  Language  Requires speaking AND listening  Face to face interaction Most effective type of communication.

5. How does it work?  Requires a conversation or presentation  At least two people  Requires effort from both sides  Someone must receive your message for it to be understood.  How can someone receive your message if no one is around?  Why might it not be understood even when another is listening?

6. Two sides of Verbal Communication  The speaker  Must make the message relevant to the listener.  The listener  Must open their mind to the message being something they might not want to hear.  Which position is more difficult to be in? Listen or Speak?

7. Improving Verbal Communication  Be specific  Think before speaking  Positive attitude  Consider the person  Speak clearly and at an appropriate volume  Making sure listener understands  Be aware of give-and-take  Ask questions

8. Speaking  The action of conveying information or expressing one’s thoughts and feelings through audible language.  How does it affect your life?  Relationships with family and friends.  Interactions with teachers, classmates, co-workers, employers.  Expressing yourself- thoughts, ideas, wants and needs to others.  What things might affect speaking abilities?

9. Listening  Listening: Something you consciously choose to do and requires concentration so that your brain can process meaning from words and sentences.  Hearing: The act of perceiving a sound by the ear.  A spoken message is useless unless someone hears it as well as listens.  Reflective Listening: listening for the feelings of the speaker. It involves empathy which is the ability to recognize and identify another’s feelings by putting oneself  Critical listening: The listener evaluate or challenges what is heard.

10. Active Listening  Show understanding nonverbally  Think in the other’s place to understand facts and feelings.  Do not tell about your feelings and problems.  Try not to interrupt and give suggestions or advice.  Make eye contact.  Face the speaker.  Remain impartial  Ask questions to understand  Restate the most important facts and feelings

11. Nonverbal  Does not involve words, but…  The way you look  Dress  Behave  React to situations  Your actions speak much louder than words!

12. Appearance  People make a first impression based on what you are wearing and how you present yourself.  Judgments are made within the first few seconds.  Your message is sent before you even speak.  The way you look could change the opportunities that you may have or may be given!  Symbols: Wedding Rings

13. The way you dress and your actions  Dress  Clues to your lifestyle and personality  Are you dressed appropriately for the occasion?  Tells us what you plan to do, where you plan to go, and how you feel about yourself.  Your actions  Good manners  Making others feel comfortable  Kindness  Use common sense  Show that you care  When someone is rude to you, what type of impression do you get?

14. Body Language  Using body movements, facial expressions, gestures, and posture to send messages.  The message is usually quite clear  Your face speaks for you  Varies in each culture  Can you think of any cultural differences?  Not all cultures respond the same way we do to different gestures.

15. Forms of body language  Posture  Arm position  Hands  Handshake – what does this ‘say’ about a person?  Facial expressions  Physical proximity  Eye contact  Stance  The way you walk, talk, look and respond says more about you than you may think.

16. Barriers in Communication  Barrier: something that stands in the way of open communication. It prevents the message from being received.  Types of barriers  Stereotypes  Prejudice  Coded messages  Teasing  Physical  Technology

17. Stereotypes  Exaggerated beliefs that all members of a group will behave the same way.  Puts labels on a group of people based on age, sex, race, religion etc.  Can you think of any others?  Causes misinterpretation of messages.  Prevents you from having an open mind.  You form assumptions about them before you know the facts.

18. Prejudices  Opinions or feelings that people form without complete knowledge.  Based on lack of facts and understanding.  Do not accept others’ beliefs  Negative attitudes about: religions, races, cultures & nationalities, socio- economic status, geographic regions, food….  Can you think of any others?  Can lead to bullying and avoidance/segregation  You are assuming things about them before you even hear them speak. You are creating a wall that prevents you from listening to them.

19. Coded messages  Communicating without saying what they really mean.  Where do we have experience with this?  Listener is forced to make an assumption and/or decode the message depending on the situation.  Our emotions get in the way of saying what we really want to.  Any experiences with this one?

20. Teasing  A means of getting a person’s attention.  “The just means he likes you”  Decoded as a type of compliment but can lead to confusion and hurt feelings and other problems.  How could this impact ideals as Children grow? Miscommunication between genders?

21. Physical Barriers  Environment  Weather conditions, noise level, population, discomfort  Distance  Being physically too far away from someone to hear or speak to them. You will likely have to result to technology.  Disabilities  Speech and hearing problems.

22. Technology  Cellphones  Texting, calling, Snapchat  Computers  E-mail, social networking cites, Instant messaging (maybe?) As wonderful as technology can be, is doesn’t come close to the effectiveness of verbal communication. Why not? What can go wrong? … #being13

23. Technological Downsides  Autocorrect is DESTROYING the lost art of correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  Sometimes messages are miscommunicated and come across the wrong way.  Expressing emotions is difficult, it is much less personal.  Not always secure- be very careful about what you post or send.  Technical difficulties – what if something very important was never received?  Generation gap.

24. Other Communication Blockers Solving “let me tell you what you should do…” “If I were you, I’d..” Analyzing “Let me tell you why you say that…” “You don’t really mean that…” Avoiding “I’d rather not talk about it.” “Forget about it…” Judging “That will never work.” “It really sounds like your fault” Moralizing “You should…” “Isn’t it your responsibility to …” Questioning “Why did you do that?” “Who told you that?” Reassuring “Don’t worry about it…” “It can happen to the best of us…” Ignoring/redirecting “I’ve got a better one that that…” “That reminds me of the time…” Threatening “You’d better listen to me..” “If you don’t do this then…”

25. Effective communication = successful life management.  Effective communication is:  Clear  Concise *get to the point.  Consistent  Creative  Sensitive to the audience  Persuasive *explains rather than demands or threatens  Open to differing opinions * Keep an open mind!!

26. I-messages & You-messages  I-messages are statements of fact about how a person feels or thinks.  ”I feel unimportant when you don’t return my calls.”  You-messages are statements that often ascribe blame or judge others and can lead to arguments.  “You never call me back.”  I-messages encourage more positive communication in couples, families and friendships.