Communication Term Paper

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CN 101 W2 D2

What is Communication? Intro (2 minutes) Last Time

§ Development of the discipline § Created our communication agreement (now on D2L)

Things Due

§ On Friday, your first discussion post is due. See your syllabus for discussion post expectations and go to Week 2’s Content on D2L and follow the link to go to the proper discussion board.

Today

§ What is Communication? Escape the Dinosaur! (10 minutes)

§ Despite the theatrical warnings we received about reviving prehistoric species and reintroducing them into the 21st century ecosystems, Jurassic World was created. We are returning to the island to observe the dinosaur’s behavior and learn how they are adapting to living among the abandoned human infrastructure. We split up into small groups to observe the dinosaurs when suddenly, a Tyrannosaurus Rex starts chasing our Jeeps!

§ We love dinosaurs, so we don’t want to hurt the T-Rex, but we need to escape. § So, in your small groups, you get to finish the story and tell me how you escaped the T-

Rex! Again, you cannot hurt the T-Rex, other dinosaurs, or any of your fellow researchers! You must escape some other way!

§ Take five minutes to come up with how you escaped. You can be as creative and outside-of-the-box as you would like to be. You have all possible resources at your disposal.

§ When we come back, I want to hear all of you unmute and state your names (so we know who was in your Jeep) and then I want to hear how you escaped!

Pre-Lesson Conversation (5 minutes)

§ We’re heading back into our small groups for two minutes. In your group, attempt to answer the following questions:

o How did you personally define communication before reading this chapter?

§ Write down the answers you come up with in your notes. § Tell me about our responses. Let’s map them out on the board, then explore what the

textbook had to say. (3 minutes)

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Lesson (25 minutes) What is Communication?

§ We could say that it’s the exchanging of messages, but it’s a little more than that. § In fact, there are seven important characteristics of communication.

o Communication is symbolic o Communication requires meaning o Communication is cultural o Communication is relational o Communication involves frames o Communication is presentational and representational o Communication is transactional

Communication is symbolic

§ All communication uses verbal and/or nonverbal symbols, which are representations of other things.

o Symbols can be language, words, movements, sounds, pictures, logos, gestures, etc.

o For example, if you are driving, you might notice road signs. What does this one mean?

o How about this one? o And this one? o We recognize that symbols stand for something else.

§ Important note: While those road signs have symbols, sign and symbol are not synonyms.

o Signs are consequences or indications of something specific that can’t be changed. (Ex: A slippery sidewalk in the winter is a sign that there has been precipitation recently and that it’s so cold that there is now ice. If someone put up a plastic yellow “slippery when wet” stand on that sidewalk, that would be a symbol of the slipperiness).

o So, in actuality, a stop sign is a stop signal, and a slippery-when-wet sign is a slippery-when-wet signal.

Communication requires meaning § For communication to occur, those symbols have to convey meaning. In other words,

we have to be able to interpret them and know what the symbol is trying to tell us. § These meanings develop over time by people using symbols in specific ways and

agreeing upon what they mean. We call that development social construction. o A good example of this is generational slang. The phrase “no cap” wouldn’t mean

anything to us if people hadn’t started using it and decided upon what the phrase means. When I was younger, “no cap” mean someone forgot to wear their baseball cap. But to a younger generation, “no cap” means “no lie.” Unless it’s already changed from the last time I Googled it. And future generations might have a different interpretation of what “no cap” means.

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§ Also, symbols have different meanings in different contexts. Me saying “You’re the GOAT” to a friend giving me advice over lunch is different from me saying “You’re the GOAT” to an actual goat at a petting zoo. In the lunch context, GOAT means greatest of all time. In the petting zoo context, GOAT means I’m talking to a loveable farmyard friend.

§ We also know that meaning can be influenced by both verbal and nonverbal communication.

o If I say, “you’re such a jerk” loudly and while scowling at someone, that means I’m mad at them.

o If I say, “you’re such a jerk” while chuckling and smiling at someone, that means they’ve been teasing me and that I’m reciprocating.

§ Finally, meaning can be informed by medium. Have you ever sent a text to someone and had it completely misinterpreted? Like you meant it as a joke, but the recipient interpreted it as you being serious?

o Here’s a good example of a medium complicating the meaning. o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09M1R92GfrQ

§ Not having those nonverbal cues can make recognizing the meaning complicated. Communication is Cultural

o Our cultures influence our communication and how we interpret communication. When in different cultures, we might find that the meaning of your communication is different. Things like eye contact and handshakes might be proper in culture A, but offensive in culture B. And different culture doesn’t just refer to international difference. It refers to regional difference within countries, too.

o For example, I’m a southern girl. I grew up in the southeastern US. And I was raised to say yes sir and no ma’am automatically as a symbol of respect. But when I moved to Ohio, I discovered quickly that in that particular town, a lot of people did not like when I called them “sir” and “ma’am.” It was either taken as me being overly formal or me passive aggressively commenting on their age. Neither was my intended meaning, but in that different culture, that was the meaning of my communication choices. And after a while, I started using that language less to adhere to the cultural expectations of that particular town’s culture. But when I’m back in North Carolina? The ma’ams and sirs are back.

o Can anyone think of a time in which you were in a different culture and your communication was interpreted differently than your intention?

Communication is Relational

o Communications affect relationships and relationships affect communication. o The way we communicate with a person indicates our relationship with that person.

o If you joke around a lot with someone at work, you are probably amicable colleagues at least or maybe even friends.

o If you are very serious in your communication with someone at work, that suggests you have a more formal relationship with them, like a supervisor- employee relationship.

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Communication Involves Frames o We make sense of things by understanding basic knowledge that helps make sense of

scenarios. We call this basic knowledge a frame. Ever heard of the phrase, “frame of reference?” If you have a frame of reference, it means you have the background knowledge and contextual knowledge you need to make sense of something.

o Frames accomplish several things. o They help us coordinate your interactions. If you know the person at the front of

the room fits your frame of “teacher,” you’ll probably tailor your behavior accordingly when interacting with them.

o Frames also assign meaning. If someone fits your frame of “friend” and tells a joke, it’s probably meant to be funny. If the person fits your frame of “enemy,” that joke might be at your expense.

o Frames are largely perceptual, meaning that our frames won’t be identical. A post-injury athlete told he can’t compete yet despite feeling ready might feel that the call is holding him back, when the coach perceives that call to be in the athlete’s best interest to avoid exacerbating the injury. Same call, but two different frames involved.

Communication is Presentation and Representational

o Let’s differentiate between these two words. o Presentation means your particular take on facts or events. o Representation describes facts or conveys information.

o How we communicate with others presents them with a way of viewing the world that’s based on your perspective.

o For example, in Taylor Swift’s new song, “no body, no crime,” she tells a story about a fictional friend who is murdered by her husband after she finds out he’s having an affair. Taylor avenges her friend in the end. Disclaimer: Don’t murder people, y’all.

o But there’s a line: o “They think she did it but they just can’t prove it . . . She thinks I did it but she

just can’t prove it.” o The representation that law enforcement see is a missing man who had a

missing wife, a life insurance policy, and a woman he was having an affair with. o The presentation Taylor has constructed for us suggests that the man murdered

his wife, but the woman murdered the man for his money. If we listen to the end of the song, we discover that’s not the case. But that’s how the facts are presented.

o So, perception and fact are both involved. Communication is a Transaction

o If we view communication as an action, that implies a one-way street. We do something and that’s it.

o If we view communication as an interaction, that implies a four-way stop. Messages are exchanged, but one at a time.

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o If we view communication as a transaction, that implies a two-way street where communication is happening simultaneously between the people involved.

o THIS is the most accurate way to think about communication. o It’s not just turn-taking and sharing information. It’s creating shared

understandings between people. Post-Lesson Conversation (5 minutes)

§ We’re heading back into our small groups for five minutes. In your group, refer back to your earlier notes about that question and talk about how you would modify your answers based on our lesson today?

o Based on what we learned today, how would you define communication? § Write down the modifications in your notes.

Next Time

§ Read pp. 292-306 in your Appendix. § Don’t forget that your first discussion post is due on D2L on Friday.