1. Unit 2 - Perception

2. The Perceptual Process Sensory stimuli – sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and feelings you experience on a regular basis Perception helps us sort through external stimuli for relevance Past experiences help us to interpret what we sense in our daily lives

3. The Perceptual Process: 3 Steps 1. Selection – your mind decides which of the numerous distractions are worth recognizing Determined by your personality, background, what is unique in a particular object and sound, and what seems important to you at the time. Selective attention – the process of focusing on specific stimuli and ignoring others

4. The Perceptual Process: 3 Steps 2. Organization – your brain organizes the stimuli you receive by grouping them in meaningful ways Organization occurs by comparing messages with the information we have from our past experiences. We expect future events to be similar to previous experiences. Potentially limits our ability to perceive things properly, don’t just rely solely on past experiences

5. The Perceptual Process: 3 Steps 3. Interpretation – interpret what you sense; you assign meaning to it

6. Perception Management How do you want others to perceive you? We can’t control how others perceive us, we can do certain things that promote a personal brand for ourselves. Be true to yourself; don’t try to create a “fake brand” Consistently choose communication behaviors that embody it

7. Discuss Lydia Ramsey (2011) advises: “When you meet someone face-to-face, 93% of how you are judged is based on nonverbal data – your appearance and your body language…Whoever said that you can’t judge a book by its cover failed to note that people do.”

8. Discuss What do you do on the first day of class to help manage the perception the teacher has of you? Why do or why don’t you think this is important?

9. Varying Perceptions Why do perceptions vary? How can two individuals assign meaning differently?

10. Varying Perceptions Everyone has different backgrounds/experiences  add to the perceptual process Organization: comparing current sensory stimuli to our past exp. Interpretation: Assign different meanings for same event Varying Perceptions Activity!

11. Stereotyping Pro – allows us to organize information Con – limits our ability to look at people and situations objectively Stereotyping – the act of treating everyone with similar characteristics as though they were the same Part of the organizational step of the perceptual process Ignores possibility of individual differences Many of us do it without thinking; quick and easy way to group and analyze information

12. Fact vs. Inference Facts – observable phenomena Ex. There are clouds in the sky. Inferences – conclusions we draw about the facts we observe Ex. Because there are clouds in the sky, I think it might rain later. If we act as though a perception is fact when it is actually inference, we can run into numerous communication problems.

13. Discussion You are driving down a busy highway and see a van on the side of the road with its door open. As you speed by, you see a man grabbing a small child. What are the facts? What are the inferences? What is the truth?

14. Attributing Meaning Attribution – creating meaning for behaviors (we witness in others) Scenario Discussion (read by Ms. Johnson) p 27

15. Perception Checking Perception Checking – a skill that is used to double-check your understanding of what is going on with another person. Three Parts: 1- Give an objective description of what you sensed 2- Give an interpretation of what the situation meant to you 3- Ask a question Example – see handout pg 28-30 Perception Checking – useful in creating a nonaccusatory and nondefensive communication environment

16. Perception Related to Self-Concept Self Concept – refers to what we think about ourselves We assess ourselves in Four Ways – 1. Facts 2. Comments 3. Comparison 4. Standards

17. Self Concept - Facts Physical attributes Aptitudes Physical Coordination Skills

18. Self Concept - Comments Assess ourselves through comments others make about us Labels shape our perception and affect our self-concept May develop a self-concept based on illusion rather than on reality.

19. Self Concept - Comparison Another influence on our self- assessment is when we compare ourselves to others This tells us something about our own abilities and traits

20. Self Concept - Standards Evaluate how well we hold up to our moral and ethical standards

21. Critical Thinking – Get out a Sheet of Paper List five adjectives that you would use to describe yourself How did you come up with the adjectives that you used? (From personal observation? Communication with others?) Now take a minute to think about whether these adjectives are accurate. Do you wish that other adjectives described you? What could you do to change your communication behavior so that people would see these new attributes?

22. Self-Concept & Communication Self-concept influences your communication skills Grows from self-concept: Presentation Style Use of nonverbal communication Ability to interact on an interpersonal level Ability to function in a team environment

23. Perception Related to Self-Esteem Self-esteem refers to the value we place on self-concept observations Example How you communicate interpersonally affects your self-esteem. Self-esteem and how we feel about ourselves influence our willingness and ability to communicate effectively

24. “Once you master yourself then you can fully relate to the world and others around you.” Lance Walden, Universal Republic Records