1

1: Inter-Act, 131: Inter-Act, 13thth Edition Edition

OrientationOrientation OrientationOrientation

2

Interpersonal Interpersonal CommunicationCommunication

The complex process through which people express, interpret, and

coordinate messages in order to create shared meaning, meet social goals,

manage personal identity, and carry out relationships

3

Purposes of Interpersonal Purposes of Interpersonal CommunicationCommunication

• Share meaning

• Meet social goals

• Manage our personal identity

• Conduct our relationships

Interpersonal Interpersonal Communication ProcessCommunication Process

• Process: Process: systematic series of actions that leads to an outcome

• Message production: Message production: actions you perform to send a message

• Message interpretation: Message interpretation: activities performed to understand intended meaning

• Interaction coordination: Interaction coordination: activities performed to adjust behavior to partner

4

5

Message Message – a performance that uses words, sentences, and/or nonverbal behaviors to convey the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the speaker

Canned Plan Canned Plan – mental library of scripts

Script Script – text that instructs you what to say in a specific situation

6

The Communication Setting The Communication Setting

• Physical Context – where communication takes place, the environment, the distance between participants, seating, time of day

• Social Context – the nature of the relationship • Historical Context – the background of

previous communication• Psychological Context – moods & feelings• Cultural Context – beliefs, values, attitudes,

meanings, social hierarchies, religion, notion of time, and roles of the participants

7

• External noise – the sights, sounds, and other stimuli that draw people’s attention away from intended meaning

• Internal noise – the thoughts and feelings that interfere with meaning

• Semantic noise – distractions caused by the speaker’s words that interfere with meaning

Noise

8

9

Social Media ContextSocial Media Context

• Social Media: technologies that facilitate communication and interaction

• Digital communication: electronic transmission of digitally encoded information

Social NetworkSocial Network

10

Traits of Social Media TechnologyTraits of Social Media Technology

• Facilitates social interactivity

• Takes time to send and receive messages (temporal structure)

• Lacks social cues

• Can be stored and replicated

• Potentially reaches a large audience

• Allows mobility

11

12

Principles of Interpersonal Principles of Interpersonal CommunicationCommunication

• Is continuous

• Is transactional

• Is irreversible

• Is situated

• Is indexical

13

Communication Is Communication Is ContinuousContinuous

• Interpersonal communication can be verbal or nonverbal. Therefore, we are always sending messages to others—whether we are aware of it or not!

14

Communication Is Communication Is TransactionalTransactional

• Each person gives and receives messages, feedback.

• Each person gets needs met and helps others satisfy needs.

• Each person is changed with each interaction.

15

Communication Is Communication Is IrreversibleIrreversible

Once an exchange has taken place, we can never ignore it, take it back, or pretend it did not occur.

16

Communication Is SituatedCommunication Is Situated

• All communication occurs within a communication setting.

• Setting affects how messages are produced, interpreted, and coordinated.

• Meaning is dependent upon the situation.

17

Communication Is IndexicalCommunication Is Indexical

• Index (or measure) of the emotional temperature of a relationship

• Trust: the extent to which partners rely on, depend on, and have faith that their partner will not intentionally harm them

• Control: the extent to which each person has power or is “in charge” of the relationship

• Intimacy: degree of emotional closeness, acceptance, and disclosure

18

Ethics of Interpersonal Ethics of Interpersonal CommunicationCommunication

“A set of moral principles held by a society, a group, or individual”

1. Truthfulness and honesty2. Integrity3. Fairness4. Respect5. Responsibility6. Empathy

The Dark SideThe Dark Side

19

Bright SideBright SideEthical

Appropriate

Hard Dark SideHard Dark SideEthical

Inappropriate

Evil Dark SideEvil Dark SideUnethical

Inappropriate

Easy Dark SideEasy Dark SideUnethical

Appropriate

20

Diversity – Diversity – variations between and among people

• Culture

• Sex

• Age

• Class

• Physical characteristics

• Sexual orientation

21

Culture Culture – systems of knowledgeshared by a relatively large groupof people

Culture is a critical concept to communication because “every communicator is a product of his or her culture.”

-Anderson 2000

22

Communication Communication CompetenceCompetence

• Increasing communication knowledge

• Increasing communication skills

• Increasing communication motivation

Competence is the impression that communicative behavior is botheffective and appropriate.

Competence can be enhanced by:

23

Developing Developing Competence KnowledgeCompetence Knowledge

1. Acquire interpersonal communication knowledge

• Effective messages

• Appropriate messages

2. Emotional Intelligence: ability to monitor your own and others’ emotions

24

Developing Developing Competence SkillsCompetence Skills

• Micro communication skills: message templates, “lines”

• Communication skill scripts: mental texts that include micro communication skills

25

Developing Competence Developing Competence Motivation Motivation

• Unlearn old ineffective scripts.

• Learn new scripts.

26

Behavioral FlexibilityBehavioral Flexibility

1. Make a prediction about appropriate communication.

2. Enact that type of communication.

3. Pay attention to reactions.

4. Either change communication or not.

27

Writing Communication Writing Communication Improvement PlansImprovement Plans

• State the problem.

• State the specific goal.

• Outline procedure for reaching the goal.

• Devise a method of determining when

the goal has been reached.