Communicate Within Yourself

WRITTEN BY :

M. FAUZAN RIZKY (140203100)

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING

AR-RANIRY STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

BANDA ACEH

2017
A. Definition of Communication and Communication within Yourself

Communication is a vital part of our daily routines. We sit in school

and listen to the teachers. We read books and magazines. We talk to friends,
watch television, and communication over the internet. We are reading and
writing memos, listening to our coworkers, or having one-to-one
conversations with our supervisors. Communication involves at least two
people: the sender and the receiver (Ferguson, 2004).

Meanwhile, communication within yourself is perfectly different

from the general definition of communication. Communication within
yourself or as theoritical known as intrapersonal communication is deeper
than the communication itself. It only involves one people. Intrapersonal
communication is within yourself: feelings, attitude, hopes for the future,
internal problem solving, self esteem. Evaluation of self or others or
realtionships. Basically, it is “talking to yourself”.

In some cases we can see the buddhist thoughts, theories of

interpersonal communication and intrapersonal communication intersect in
interesting ways in Buddhist thought. According to Buddhism, language and
communication ultimately should pave the way to liberation. Hence,
selfreflexivity and critical introspection—the essence of intrapersonal
communication—assume a great importance. For Buddhists, this self-
reflexivity is built into the very process of verbal communication. In
communicating, one is not merely stringing together a cluster of words but
also reflecting on them and evaluating them; to communicate, to use
language to interact with others, is to adopt a moral stance. From this flows
the notion that linguistic communication involves the imparting of not only
information but also feelings and moral assessments. Therefore, to
communicate through language is to reflect on how one is constituted as a
human being. This is an important area that has been relatively neglected by
communication scholars ( Littlejohn, 2009 ).

B. Intrapersonal Communication
Intrapersonal communication, communication within a person or
between a person and himself or herself, is a form or class of thinking, just
as nonverbal communication is a form or class of nonverbal behavior.
Intrapersonal communication cannot be identical to thinking or it would be
nothing more than thinking. There would be no reason for its existence as a
concept. It differs from thinking as a generic concept in its emphasis on the
existence of a dialogue occurring within one person and its focus on the
message-creation and meaning creation processes. Intrapersonal
communication is often conceived as involving a conversation or sharing of
meaning between two positions or modes of thought within a person. It
involves shared meanings between the dialogic entities. Unlike generic
nonverbal behavior, thinking itself involves the use of symbolic forms. Thus
its subsets such as intrapersonal communication inherently involve the
symbolic transfer of meaning, possibly between two dialogic positions
within a person.

The Transmission Process

Communication involves a sequence of communicative events that,
individually, constitute insufficient conditions for its existence. The
boundary conditions for the departure and end points of each event in the
sequence are clearly elastic, with the ordering sequence of the events
relatively but not absolutely fixed and the departure point for analysis within
the sequence arbitrary. The following communicative events both specify a
sequence and provide a template for considering the difference between
attempts to communicate and communication. They assume a written
message but are adaptable to all channels and are but one way of
punctuating a communication situation. The question becomes, would a
specific punctuated instance or sequence of events be communication or
simply an attempt to communicate if the sequence progressed only to the
first element of the sequence, to the second element, and so forth:
1. The possibility of composing a message is considered.
2. A message is considered and intended, but not composed.
3. A message is intended to be sent and is composed, but is not sent.
4. The message is composed, intended, and sent but not received.
5. The message is composed, intended, sent, and received but not detectible
as received by the receiver.
6. The message is detectible, received with the source’s knowledge, but not
opened.
7. The message is received, recognized as such by the receiver, opened but
not processed.
8. The message is received, opened, and partially processed.
9. The message is opened and processed, but not understood.
10. The message is processed and understood to an extent but with no
measurable cognitive or emotional change in the receiver.
11. The message is understood to an extent with consequent
phenomenological change, but without any externally observable response.
12. The message is intended, composed, sent, received, detected,
recognized as a message, opened, processed, understood, and interpreted,
with an externally observable response, but without a reply.
13. The message is composed and so forth, with an externally observable
response, and sending a reply is considered.
And so forth.
Developing effective ways of communicating well with yourself is an
imperative aspect of overall health and happiness. Here are 5 ways to
encourage healthy self-communication that you can integrate into your life
today.

1. Say your name. Research has found that people who use their own
name rather than “I” when engaging in positive self-talk are actually
more supportive and encouraging to themselves. Try it! Use your first
name and say, for example, “Tim, you can do this. It’s only a speech,
and you have done dozens of them before.” Studies suggest that
speaking in the third person creates a kind of mental distance that
allows for more objectivity, and, therefore, more rational self-
support to occur.
2. Be assertive. You communicate self-respect when you advocate for
yourself. If you find that your core needs are not being met or that
you are in a situation that is not life affirming for you, by asserting
your needs, working to change your situation, or confronting an
unhealthy interpersonal dynamic, you communicate to yourself (and
to others) that you honor yourself.
3. Practice mindfulness. When you tune in to the present moment, you
can access exactly how you are feeling or what you are thinking.
Mindfulness helps you do this without judging what you are
experiencing, allowing you to communicate openness and
acceptance to yourself.
4. Keep a journal. Journaling can be a highly effective way for you to
gain insight into what you are thinking and feeling. It can also be a
place for you to communicate positive and affirmative messages to
yourself.
5. Visual cues. Put encouraging and helpful messages to yourself in
places you normally go throughout your day. You can put a slip of
paper with a positive affirmation on it in your desk drawer, taped to
your bathroom mirror, or in your wallet. These visual reminders can
help you practice healthy communication with yourself.
REFERENCES

Ferguson. 2004. Communication Skills (Second Edition). Career Skills

Library

Littlejohn, Stephen W. And Karen A. Foss. 2009. Encyclopedia of

Communication Theory. SAGE Publication, Inc.