Foundations of Human Communication

Source : Devito. J.A. (2005). Human Communication: The Basic Course. Boston:Allyn and Bacon

The Benefits of Human Communication

Present yourself in a positive light Build interpersonal relationships Interview effectively Participate in relationships and task groups Influence attitudes and behaviors of audiences Use media critically

The Forms of Human communication

1.

Intrapersonal Each of us communicates internally by listening to the little voice that lives in your mind. The way we mentally process information influences our interaction with others. Though intrapersonal communication you talk with, learn about, and judge yourself. You persuade yourself to do something, reason about possible decisions to make, and rehearse messages that you plan to send to others.

The Forms of Human communication

2.

3.

Interpersonal Interaction between one individual to another. Qualities that characterize interpersonal communication arent limited to twosome. They can be present in threesome or even in small group. Interviewing Communication that proceeds by question and answer.

The Forms of Human communication

4.

Small Group Through small group communication you interact with others, solve problems, develop new ideas, and share knowledge and experiences Example: Two or more members of a group can form a coalition to defend their position against other members, whereas in interpersonal communication, the members face each other without support from others. Group members are able to take risk that they would not dare if they were alone

The Forms of Human communication

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Organizational Communication that takes place within an organization among members of the organization

The Forms of Human communication

6.

Public speaking One or more members are likely to deliver their remarks to remaining members, who act as an audience.

A group becomes too large for all members to contribute. This causes limited feedback.

The Forms of Human communication

7.

Mass communication

Messages transmitted to large, widespread audiences via electronic and print media newspapers, magazines, television

Purposes of Human Communication

To discover To relate To help To persuade To play

What is communication?

Communication occurs when one person (or more) sends and receives messages that are distorted by noise, occur within a context, have some effect, and provide some opportunity for feedback.

Communication Context

All communication takes place in a context that has at least four dimensions: physical, socialpsychological, temporal, and cultural.

Communication Context
1.

The physical context The tangible or concrete environment in which communication takes place-the room. Hallway or park.

Communication Context
2.

The social-psychological context Includes the status relationships among the participants, the roles that people play, the cultural rules of the society. It also includes the friendliness or unfriendliness, formality or informality, and serious or humorous situation.

Communication Context
3.

The temporal (or time) context Includes the time of the day as well as the time in history in which the communication takes place. Historical context is how messages on racial, sexual, or religious attitudes and values would be differently framed and responded to in different times in history.

Communication Context
4.

The cultural context The beliefs, values, and ways of behaving that are shared by a group of people and passed down from one generation to the next.

Sources Receivers

Each person involved in communication is both a source (and speaker) and a receiver (or listener).

Source Receiver Encoding Decoding

The act of producing messages for example, speaking or writing is called encoding. The act of receiving messages for example listening or reading is called decoding. Thus, speakers or writers are called encoders, and listeners or readers, decoders.

Source Receiver Competence

Refers to your knowledge of the social aspects o communication (Rubin, 1982, 1985 ; Spitzberg & Cupach, 1989)

Messages

You send and receive messages through any one or any combination of sensory organs.

Feedback Messages

Messages sent back to the speaker reacting to what is said. Tells the speaker what effect he or she is having on the listener (s). The art of effective communication is the ability to discern feedback and to adjust messages on the basis of that feedback.

Feedback Messages

Positive and Negative feedback Person-focused message-focused Immediate-delayed Low-monitored High-monitored Supportive-critical

Channels of communication
The channel chosen can influence the message and its interpretation by the receiver. Most communicators believe that face-toface interaction is the best approach for personal communication.

Noise

Noise prevents a receiver from getting the message a source is sending. Noise may be physical (others talking loudly, cars honking) physiological (hearing or visual impairment, articulation disorders) psychological (preconceived ideas, wandering thoughts). Noise is any barrier to communication anything that distorts the message, anything that prevents the receiver from receiving the message.

Ethics

Consists of the rightness or wrongness the morality of a communication transaction. Ethics is integral to every communication transaction.

The Elements of Transaction

The Principles of Human Communication

Communication is a package of signals Communication is a process of adjustment Communication involves content and relationship dimensions Communication is ambiguous Communication is punctuated Communication involves symmetrical and complementary Communication is inevitable, irreversible, and Unrepeatable.

Communication is a package of signals

All parts of a message system normally work together to communicate a particular meaning.

Communication is a process of adjustment

In reality, no two persons use identical signals systems, so a process of adjustment is relevant to all forms of communication. The art of communication is identifying the other persons signals, learning how theyre used, and understanding what they mean

Communication involves content and relationship dimensions

The content message refers to the behavioral response expected See me after the meeting The relationship message tells how the communication is to be dealt with the employer can command the worker (status difference)

Communication is ambiguous Are messages with more than one potential meaning. At times when you express an idea, you never communicate your meaning exactly . Sometimes your listener (s) misunderstands your emotional meaning.

Communication is punctuated The tendency to divide up the various communication transactions in sequence of stimuli and responses is referred to as punctuation of communication (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967)

Communication involves symmetrical and complementary

In a symmetrical relationship - two individuals mirror each others behaviour. In complementary relationship two individuals engage in different behaviours.

Communication is inevitable, irreversible, and Unrepeatable.

Inevitable communication takes place even though one of the individuals does not think he or she is communicating or does not want to communicate. Irreversible - Once you say something, it is irreversible. Unrepeatable You can never recapture the exact same situation, frame of mind, or relationship dynamics that defined a previous communication act.