Communication Flashcards
Why do we communicate?
We are wired for communication.
Communication and relationships are rewarding.
To fulfill social, physical and identity needs and achieve practical goals.
Physical needs and communication
Negative relationships have negative affects on health.
Marriage, friends, religious and community ties increase longevity.
Positive relationships increase memory, increase intellectual function, and decrease stress hormones.
Identity needs and communication
We enter the world with no identity and we learn about ourselves from others. Interactions with other people help us learn about ourselves from seeing how people react to us. No communication leads to no sense of self.
Social needs and communication
Communication helps satisfy need for pleasure, affection, companionship, escape, relaxation and control. People with a rich social life are happy. However, there is a decline in close relationships. Educated people tend to have larger and more diverse networks.
Practical goals
They are instrumental goals that aim at getting things done. Some are basic and some are more important. Effective communication increases career success. Skills such as speaking, listening, reading, writing, problem solving, positive attitudes, positive behaviour and adaptability are all important.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (bottom up)
Physical needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem, self-actualization.
Linear communication model
Communication is a one-way event where the sender encodes a message, sends it through a channel where it is received by the receiver who must decode it while dealing with noise.
Transactional communication model
Communication is ongoing and irreversible. Both people are sender and receiver at the same time, while in a different and overlapping environment.
Environment
Experience and cultural background that lead a person to make sense of another person’s behaviour. it is not always obvious.
How does environment effect communication?
A smaller shared environment increases difficulty in communication.
Noise
Distractions that interfere with transmission. It ca be external, physiological or psychological.
Interpersonal communication
Continuous transactional process involving participants with different and overlapping environments, who create relationships with the exchange of messages, many of which are effected by noise.
Communication principles
- It can be intentional or unintentional.
- It is irreversible.
- It’s not impossible.
- It is unrepeatable.
- It has context and relational dimensions.
Communication misconceptions
- More is always better.
- Meanings are in words.
- Successful communication always involves understanding.
- Single person can cause another person’s reactions.
- It solves all problems.
Quantitive definition of interpersonal interaction
Interpersonal communication is face to face between two people.
Impersonal communication
Treats people as objects as opposed to individuals.
Qualitive definition of interpersonal communication
Parties consider each other unique individuals. It is characterized by minimal use of labels, unique idosyncratic rules and high exchange of information.
Relational culture
Describes people in close relationships who create their own unique ways of interacting.
Features of qualitative interpersonal relationships
- Irreplacability
- Interdependence
- Uniqueness
- Disclosure
- Intrinsic rewards
Balance of personal and impersonal
Most relationships fall on a spectrum. The balance in relationships changes overtime.
Mediated communication
The use of computer based tools for human interaction.
Benefits to mediated communication
- It does not threaten relationships.
- Families are more likely to stay in touch.
- It enriches networks between generations.
- Asynchronous nature allows connection in different time zones.
- It promotes and reinforces communication.
Challenges of mediated communication
- Leaner messages from lack of nonverbal cues, careful management of identity or hyper personal interactions.
- Disinhibition
- Permanence
Communication competence
The ability to accomplish personal goals so it enhances and maintains relationships.
Characteristics of communication competence
- There is no ideal way.
- It is situational.
- It is relational.
- It can be learned.
Characteristics of competent communicators
- They have a wide range of behaviours.
- Ability to choose appropriate behaviours according to context, goals and knowledge of person.
- Skills at performing behaviours.
- Cognitive capacity
- Empathy
- Self monitoring
- Commitment
Competence in Intercultural Communication
- Motivation to communicate with other cultures.
- Tolerance for ambiguity
- Open mindedness
- Knowledge and skills
Communication in the workplace
On the job communication can affect life and death. There are clashes between generations who value hierarchy and those who value teamwork.
Organizational communication theory
Communication activities create patterns that affect organizational life.
Active listening
Giving careful and thoughtful attention and responses when we receive messages. It involves paraphrasing what someone says and giving a thoughtful response.
Critical listening
Evaluating and judging messages
Empathetic listening
Mutual trust and understanding about what someone said.
Hearing
Physiological dimension of hearing influenced by background noise.
Attending
Process of filtering out some messages and focusing on others.
Understanding
Making sense of a message received.
Listening fidelity
Degree of congruence between what the listener understood and what sender conveys.
Responding
Giving observable feedback to speaker. We respond as we receive.
Sender
Creator of message
Encode
Put message into words
Decode
Making sense of a message
Medium
Where message passes from sender to receiver.
Characteristics of any relationship
- Affinity: appreciation for each other.
- Immediacy: degree of intent or intention.
- Respect: need to be held esteem by others.
- Control: degree influence of one person.
Meta communication
Message that exchanges information about the relationship. It is helpful for solving problems.
Types of relationships
- Social: short time and intimacy
- Close: friend, romantic, marital, family
- Therapeutic: purposeful and direct; helper/helpee
Open question
Allows for variety of answers and expressions of how one thinks and feels
Closed question
Yes or no questions
Receiver
Attends the message
Prompting
Use of silence and brief encouragement
Primary Question
Introduces topic at the beginning of the interview
Secondary question
Adds more information
Sincere question
Asks about the person, no hidden agenda
Counterfeit question
Traps the speaker, can be a tag question, makes a statement, hidden agenda, makes a assumption, seeks “correct” answer
Communication climate
The emotional tone of a relationship between two or more people.
Development of communication climate
It developed as soon as two people begin interacting. They form spirals.
Spiral
Reciprocative communication where one person’s emotions influences another person’s emotions. Can be positive or negative.
Ecsalatory conflict spiral
One attack leads to another until skirmish escalates into a full fledged war
Desecalatory conflict spiral
Parties slowly lessen dependence on one another, withdraw and become less invested
Confirming responses
Message that expresses caring or respect for one another. Requires recognition, acknowledgement and endorsement.
Disconfirming responses
Message that expresses a lack of caring or respect.
Types of disconfirming messages
- Impervious response: no reaction
- Interrupting
- Irrelevant response
- Tangental response: shifts conversation
- Impersonal response: uses clichés
- Ambiguous response
- Incongruous response: verbal message does not match nonverbal message
Disagreeing messages
In between confirming and disconfirming. Tell someone “you’re wrong”
Types of disagreeing messages
- Agressiveness
- Complaining
- Argumentativeness
Defensiveness
Attempt to protect a presenting image one believes is being attacked
Face threatening act
Behaviour by another person that is perceived as attacking someone’s face or image.
Defensive Behaviour
- Evaluative
- Controlling
- Strategy
- Neutrality
- Superiority
- Certainty
Supportive behaviour
- Descriptive
- Problem orientation
- Spontaneity
- Empathy
- Equality
- Provisionalism
Evaluative communication
Sender judges receiver resulting in a defensive response, uses “you” statements.
Descriptive behaviour
Describes speaker’s feelings without evaluating others using “I” statements.
Controlling communication
Sender tries to impose an outcome on the receiver.
Problem orientation
Seeking way to solve problem so it solves everyone’s needs. Focus on working to solve problems instead of imposing an outcome.
Strategy
Speaker hides ulterior motives. Characterized by dishonesty and manipulation
Spontaneity
Sender expresses message without any attempt to manipulate the receiver
Neutrality
Indifference towards receiver
Empathy
Projecting oneself into another person’s point of view to experience their thoughts and feelings
Superiority
Implies receiver is not worthy of respect. Suggests “I’m better than you”
Equality
Both communicators see each other as being worthy of respect.
Certainty
Dogmatically implies that the speaker has all the facts and is correct while everyone else is wrong.
Provisionalism
Sender implies willingness to consider the other person’s perspective.
Goal of listening
Understanding what people said
Remembering
Ability to recall information
Elements of the Listening process
- Hearing
- Attending
- Understanding
- Responding
- Remembering
Types of Nonlistening
- Pseudolistening
- Stage-hogging
- Selective listening
- Insulated listening
- Defensive listening
- Ambushing
- Insensitive listening
Why we don’t listen better
- Message overload
- Preoccupation
- Rapid thought
- Effort
- External noise
- Faulty Assumptions
- Lack of apparent advantages
- Lack of training
- Hearing problems
- Media influences
How to improve listening
- Talk less
- Get rid of distractions
- Don’t judge prematurely
- Look for key ideas
- Ask questions
- Paraphrase
Types of listening responses
- Prompting
- Questioning
- Paraphrasing
- Supporting
- Analyzing
- Advising
- Judging
When is questioning effective?
When it assists with better understanding, clarifies the issue and examines the issue in more detail.
When isn’t questioning effective?
When it’s used to distract from the issue, satisfies curiosity and disguises suggestions and critiques.
When is supporting effective?
When there is agreement, offer to help, praise, reassurance and are empathetic. Diversion can be used if appropriate.
When isn’t supporting effective?
When you are denying right to feelings, minimizing significance of the issue, focusing on future rather than present and are judging.
When is analyzing effective?
When it creates clarity, helps the person look at issues in a different way, you are tentative and the person is ready to hear from you.
When isn’t analyzing effective?
When it causes the speaker to become defensive and when the incorrect interpretation causes more confusion.
When is advising effective?
When you know what you’re saying is accurate, when they want your advice and when you take responsibility when it does not work.
When isn’t advising effective?
If it doesn’t work with the other person and if the don’t want the advice.
When is judging effective?
The person asked for it and the response is constructive.
When isn’t judging effective?
When it is interpreted as a critical “slap” or it implies you are qualified to pass judgement.
Nonverbal communication
Messages expressed by other than linguistic means. It is continuous. It can be intentional or unintentional.
Vital skills for nonverbal communication
Effective personal nonverbal skills and the ability to read and respond to nonverbal cues.
Function of nonverbal communication
- Repeat content of nonverbal messages
- Complement verbal communication
- Substituting verbal messages
- Accenting parts of verbal
- Regulating verbal communication
- Contradiction
- Mixed messages
Leakage
Reveals information that the communicator does not verbally disclose.
Deception cues
Cues that signal untruthfulness.
When are deception cues more likely?
- Wanting to hide emotion
- Feeling strongly about information
- Feeling apprehensive or guilty
- Getting little enjoyment
- No time to rehearse
- Knows there is severe punishment
Cultural influences on nonverbal cues
Many factors include differences in meaning, interpretation, eye contact, gestures, social distance, and time use are all different. Smiling, laughing and crying are all universal.
Gesture
Motion of the body that has communicative value. It includes illustrators, emblems and adaptors.
Illustrator
Accompanies speech, does not stand alone.
Emblems
Nonverbal with precise meaning known to everyone.
Adaptors
Movement where one part of the body grooms, touches, holds, pinches or manipulates another one. It is an unconscious response to the environment.
Face and eyes
There are multiple facial expressions and expression combinations possible. They change rapidly.
Microexpressions
Brief facial expressions that may convey true feelings.
What do eyes convey?
Emotion, social attitudes, interest, submission and dominance.
Individual factors
Includes voice, touch, appearance, physical attributes and clothing.
Proxemics
How people and animals use space. Different zones are reserved for different relationships.
Territoriality
The notion that an area is reserved for an individual or a group of individuals.
Territory
Station or area claimed by an individual or a group of individuals
Physical environment
Home designs and interior designs communicate impressions of individuals and affects the interactions taking place in them.
Chromenics
How people use and structure time. Can communicate how important someone is. Expresses intentional and unintentional message. Time is based on a person’s status. Time spent with someone shows how much you value them.
