Understanding the Process of Communication

1. 1 Understanding the Process of Communication

2. Chapter Summary • Why Study Communication? • Defining Communication • Communication as a Discipline • Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Dynamic Characteristics of the Communication Process • Communicating Responsibly: Guiding Principles for Communicators

3. Why Study Communication? • Communication has the potential to shape identities, relationships, environments, and cultures

4. Why Study Communication? • Communication in Relationships • Humans rely on communication as the basis of relationships • Satisfaction with relationships, living arrangements, classroom performance, and working environments hinge on ability to communicate • Use to learn about people we interact with • Utilize as a tool to express ourselves and instruct, inspire, and motivate others

5. Why Study Communication? • Communication and Society • Key to establishing identities, communities, and systems of shared governance • Communicate sense of self through clothing, possessions, and style of speech • Necessary for a healthy democracy

6. Why Study Communication? • Communication and Changing Technology • New technologies and the demands of global markets create the expectation that everyone has good interpersonal and presentational skills • Communication in a Diverse Workplace • Working with diverse groups of people requires skills in collaboration and relationship building

7. Defining Communication Communication the process of creating and sharing meaning through the use of symbols • Partly an art, and a form of expression • Also a science, open for study and rigorous examination

8. Defining Communication • Four facets of Communication 1. Communication Is a Process • We are always engaged in some form of communication • Communication continues even as we stop to think about what might be happening

9. Defining Communication 2. We Create and Share Meaning through Communication • Create meaning whenever we think about our actions, interact with others, or even engage in an internal dialog with ourselves • Assume that if we say something clearly enough, we have conveyed or shared meaning with others • Our attempts at sharing meaning can fall short of creating mutual understanding

10. Defining Communication 3. Communication Is Largely Intentional • Creating and sharing meaning places particular importance on those behaviors that are intentional • Although intent can be difficult to determine, we make assumptions about it all the time • We can make conscious choices about intentional communication and work to improve our skills as communicators

11. Defining Communication 4. Communication Is Symbolic • Communication depends on the use of symbols, which includes all the words, images, gestures, and expressions that we use to represent out thoughts, ideas, beliefs

12. Communication as a Discipline • Communication as a Discipline • Understanding how people communicate can be traced back to the ancient Greek study of rhetoric (Brummet 1991) • Rhetorical tradition has been complemented by social scientific approaches to studying communications (Griffin 1991) • More recent approaches to communication and influence focus on understanding how communication contributes to social change

13. Communication as a Discipline • Communication as a Discipline (continued) • From its inception, the study of communication has included • A focus on the initiation and interpretation of messages • A concern about: • How people see the world • How they should behave • The role of interaction in making the world a better place

14. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Activity

15. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Every communication situation contains: • Two or more communicators • One or more messages • One or more communication channels • A certain amount of noise or interference • Feedback exchange between communicators • A communication setting or context (NCA 1998)

16. Basic Elements in the Communication Process Figure 1-1. A Contemporary Model of the Communication Process

17. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Communicators • Initiators and Interpreters • Initiator starts or advances the communication process by generating a message • Interpreter perceives and attempts to understand a message

18. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Communicators (continued) • Encoding and Decoding • Encoding occurs as a communicator translates ideas, thoughts, and feelings into symbols • Decoding occurs as a communicator interprets a message by deciphering the symbols into understandable and meaningful ideas, thoughts, and feelings • The Self is the total composite of a person’s personality, experiences, and identity • Messages in the communication process must pass through the “self”

19. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Messages—symbolic expressions of ideas, thoughts, and feelings • Verbal or nonverbal or both • Verbal messages are expressed through a formal language suing oral, written, or signed words • Nonverbal messages use symbols other than words • Written or oral • Oral communication usually less formal and more personal, more interactive, and more transient than writing

20. Basic Elements in the Communication Process Figure 1-2. Messages and Shared Meaning

21. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Channels • Mediums used to carry messages between communicators are called channels • Influence the message and alters the intent, substance, or result of the message • Three dimensions of mediation [that]can alter message: • Specificity—ability of a channel to focus or customize the message for particular individuals • Richness—the number of verbal and nonverbal clues or modes of communication that a channel carries • Interactivity—the interactive quality of the channel

22. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Noise • Anything that interferes with the creation of shared meaning between or among communicators • Internal Noise—occurs when physiological or psychological characteristics interfere in the communication process • External Noise—created by interference in the environment, such as sounds that compete for attention

23. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Feedback • Feedback is a response or reaction to a message • Tells if messages are being interpreted as intended • Used to adjust and clarify messages

24. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Context • The environment surrounding the communication process • Physical Setting—includes time of day, proximity of communicators, and occasion

25. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Context (continued) • Communicative Settings refers to the number of communicators, the type of relationship, and the nature of the interaction. Includes: • Intrapersonal communication—communication within oneself, self-talk • Interpersonal communication—interaction among a small number of people • Small group communication—takes place among 3 to 7 people • Public communication—interaction with large numbers of people • Mediated communication—uses some form of technology and includes communication by means of television, radio, film, printed books, newspapers, and the Internet

26. Basic Elements in the Communication Process “Not a sentence or a word is independent of the circumstances under which it is uttered.”—Alfred North Whitehead, English philosopher

27. Basic Elements in the Communication Process Figure 1-3. Communicative Settings Concept Map

28. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Exploring Communication Concepts • Self-Talk • When are you most likely to engage in self-talk? • How might self-talk help you prepare for future interactions with others?

29. Basic Elements in the Communication Process • Culture • Culture is everything that makes up one’s way of life, including: • Shared values • Knowledge • Behaviors • Symbolic expression • Co-cultures—cultures within a culture

30. Dynamic Characteristics of the Communication Process • Communication is Transactional • Activity • Communication is Irreversible

31. Dynamic Characteristics of the Communication Process “Every once and awhile, you let a word or phrase out and you want to catch it and bring it back. You can’t do that. It’s gone, gone forever.”—Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States

32. Communicating Responsibly: Guiding Principles for Communicators • Communicating with Civility • Accepting others as equal partners in reaching common goals • Calls for communicating clearly, effectively, and appropriately • Valuing Diversity • Understanding the process by which difference becomes meaningful and developing the ability to live, learn, and work within many cultures

33. Communicating Responsibly: Guiding Principles for Communicators • Communicating Ethically • Principles that guide our decisions about what is good or bad, right or wrong • Appropriateness—responding in ways that fit the communications context • Perspective Taking—ability to consider behavior from someone else’s point of view • Self-monitoring—ability to see, think about, and act based on the consequences of your behavior.

34. Communicating Responsibly: Guiding Principles for Communicators “To the extent that we protect other people’s religion, speech, freedom to learn and participate in the political process, we preserve our own.”—John Frohnmayer, Chair, National Endowment for the Arts

35. Summary • Communication is the process of creating and sharing meaning through the use of symbols. • Communication is a diverse field focused on the the initiation and interpretation of messages in a variety of contexts. • The basic elements of the communication process are initiators and interpreters, messages, noise, channels, feedback, context, and culture.

36. Summary • Verbal communication uses formal languages. Nonverbal communication uses extralinguistic symbols. • Communication process is transactional, irreversible, and multidimensional. • The civil communicator cares about and participates in the world. Attention to diversity aids the communicator. Ethical guidelines help practice civility and diversity.