DUE IN 6HOURS! Communication Course - Personal Communication, Debate and Models of Communication

Importance of Communication

Most people agree that what separates humans from other members of the animal kingdom is our ability to communicate. A baby is born with the ability to communicate. The first cry indicates that the baby has arrived, and for several months those cries indicate hunger and discomfort. Although we come into the world with the ability to communicate naturally and continue to communicate throughout our lives, we are not always good at communicating. This reveals one of many reasons why we study communication. Communication helps us meet our needs as well as to understand others, ourselves, and our world. Additionally, effective communication is critical to success in the professional world.

Principles of Communication

Communication is symbolic. We communicate using words, but the words are only symbols, not the actual objects themselves. Communication involves words, pictures, sounds, and marks, all of which may represent something else.

Communication involves a shared meaning.

When you speak with a friend, and she tells you of an experience that she recently had, you are able to understand her experience because you have a shared meaning of the words and symbols that she uses to describe the experience.

Communication is a process. It evolves over time and after multiple engagements that build upon each other. This ongoing interaction changes the relationship.

Communication is a process. The process of exchanging messages, between two or more people, to create and share meaning is how communication is defined.

Communication is purposeful. We communicate for a reason. There are five key reasons to communicate.

Elements of Interpersonal Communication

It has been explained that communication is a process. The participants and elements of that process include the following: sender, receiver, message, channel, feedback, environment and noise.

Sender The sender is the source, or originator, of the interpersonal communication.

Receiver The receiver is the recipient of the communication. In a conversation, two people exchange the role of the sender and the receiver very rapidly.

Message The message is the actual content of the communication itself. It's the idea the sender wants to communicate to the receiver.

Channel The channel refers to the medium in which the message is sent from the sender to the receiver. If the communication is via email, the Internet is the channel; if it is via telephone, the phone lines are the channel. In person, the air is the medium or channel.

Feedback Feedback is defined as the information the sender gets from the receiver in response to the message. It can be non-verbal, such as a head nod indicating understanding or it can be verbal when the receiver says, "I don't understand what you mean." Feedback is very important in determining if the communication was effective or if we need to repeat or change the message to be sure it is correctly understood.

Environment Environment refers to the external environment where the communication takes place.

Noise Noise refers to anything that interferes or disrupts the communication process.

Communication Continuum

Interpersonal communication exists on a continuum that ranges from impersonal to highly personal.

A conversation between a waiter and a customer would typically fall at the impersonal end of the spectrum. A conversation between two longtime friends would fall at the other end of the spectrum.

Types of Communication

Communication can take place in many forms, from in person to mediate.

Mediated Communication Mediated communication is when someone or something acts as a connector between the two people communicating. Mediated communication often refers to communication involving technology, such as cell phones, computers, email, and video cameras.

Small Group Communication Small group communication involves communication among three or more people. In a small group, the nature of the communication can change rapidly, as two or more may share an opinion and have greater ability to influence the opinions of others in the group.

Bloom's Taxonomy

(Adapted from: Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals: handbook I, cognitive domain. New York; Toronto: Longmans, Green.)

The first three steps should have been instilled in your minds in high school; it is the next three levels that will really open your eyes to high order thinking. Analysis, breaking down knowledge, looking at specifics, for example, in Plato's book Meno, Socrates argues with Meno concerning Universal Virtue, whereas Meno said that there is one set of universal morals that each person should adhere too with no exception. Socrates, used Analysis to question Meno, and using specific examples he was able to find holes in Meno's logic and eventually point out that Universal Virtue is not always a black and white issue.

From Analysis is Synthesis, this is taking elements and building, using new thoughts, concepts or procedures. This is where we try new items, like Chocolate and Peanut Butter, who would have thought that these two tastes would taste great together? Was it really an accident as we are lead to believe in commercials? How about in the medical field? Synthesis is expansion of analysis.

Finally there is evaluation, is it true, is it false, did it work, did it fail, and why? Yes, it is possible for things to fail, and yes it is ok to fail, but why? This is the highest level because it takes the most thought!

Please note the steps to higher thinking below:

Competence Skills Demonstrated

Knowledge • Observation and recall of information • Knowledge of dates, events, places • Knowledge of major ideas • Mastery of subject matter • Question Cues:

o List, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc.

Comprehension • Understanding information • Grasp meaning • Translate knowledge into a new context • Interpret facts, compare, contrast • Order, group, infer causes • Predict consequences • Question Cues:

o Summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend

Application • Use information • Use methods, concepts, theories in new situations • Solve problems using required skills or knowledge • Question Cues:

o Apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover

Analysis • Seeing patterns • Organization of parts • Recognition of hidden meanings • Identification of components • Question Cues:

o Analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer

Synthesis • Use old ideas to create new ones • Generate from given facts • Relate knowledge from several areas • Predict, draw conclusions • Question Cues:

o Combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what if?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite

Evaluation • Compare and discriminate between ideas • Assess value of theories, presentations • Make choices based on reasoned argument • Verify value of evidence • Recognize subjectivity • Question Cues:

o Assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize