Communication Fundamentals Essay Example

Communication Fundamentals Essay Example Communication Fundamentals Essay Communication Fundamentals Essay An emergency Is considered to be a set of circumstances clearly beyond your control that has prevented your attendance. Legitimate written documentation must be authentic paperwork from a credible, validating source. A believable account of your difficult (or perhaps even tragic) circumstances will not serve in place of verifying documentation. Make-up exams (with documentation) must be completed within seven days of the originally scheduled exam. During the exam, if you leave the room for any reason, you must first submit your exam for grading. When you submit your completed exam for grading, you must show your ASS ID card to verify your identification. Your exam will not be accepted for grading without an ASS ID. So be sure to bring your ASS ID card with you to the exam. If you arrive for an exam after the first person finishing his or her test has left, you will not be allowed to take the exam. Examination Procedures The exam will consist of 40 multiple-choice questions, with four answers provided for each question. You will need to select the single best answer for each question (two points for each correct selection, 80 points total). You will have 60 minutes to complete the exam from the time it is distributed. You will have ample time to read each test item carefully and respond to each test item thoughtfully. Test items are not intended to be tricky, but rather to assess the depth of your understanding. To record your answers for grading, a Cantors form will be provided with your test. However, you will need to bring a pencil and eraser. Unclear responses on the Cantors form will negatively impact your score. Dont expect hints and clues from the Instructor during the exam period. Examination Preparation The outline of testable material below is intended to serve as a study checklist, directing you to testable material in the Lecture Notes, as well as in the textbook (pages of corresponding textbook material are indicated in parentheses). The exam is NOT designed to assess your recollection level of course material that youve memorized. Instead, it is designed to assess your comprehension level of course material that youve understood. So dont prepare for the test by using the Lecture Notes as a script to memorize. Rather, use the Lecture Notes as a way to evaluate and enhance your own understanding. To evaluate and enhance your comprehension level of course material, heres an effective way to prepare. For each bullet point In the Lecture Notes, attempt to rephrase or explain it in a way that Is clear enough for your mother to understand. If you can clearly explain the point to another intelligent person, then you probably comprehend that item. If not, then you with a small group of classmates will enable participants to clarify for each other items that are not fully understood. Outline of Testable Material from Unit 1 Communication Fundamentals Communication Studies What, Where, and How (3-9, 31-50) Distinctions between communications and communication Communications views communication narrowly. Simplistic one-way flow of broadcast info. Focuses on technology channels of the media (TV, film, radio, internet, etc. ) Communication views communication broadly Any facet of the process of human interaction Focus on human messaging (contexts, interpretations, responses, influences, etc. ) Nature and benefits of studying human symbolic activity Symbolic activity enables people to understand, connect with, and influence each other Humans are characterized by the capability to express thoughts, feelings, and experiences through symbols Benefits of studying: Reveal how it enables people to understand/learn from each other, producing growth in intelligence and maturity Reveal how it enables people to connect and relate with each other, creating relationships, groups, organizations, and culture. Reveal how it enables people to influence and impact each other, affecting changes in perceptions, beliefs, values, attitudes, and actions Language, Meanings, and Messages (9-20) Components of the communication process and how they complicate mutual understanding Components of communication process Encoding coding meaning into symbols Transmitting sending coded message via selected channel Receiving discerning coded message from its channel Decoding translating coded message into meaning Complicated by noise Noise originates from the mind psychological noise Noise originates from the body physiological noise Noise originates from the setting environmental noise Complicated by context Varying backgrounds, experiences, and cultures of each communicator Type of relationship and various relational expectations existing between communicators Influencing characteristics of the situation (preceding, present, and subsequent events) and setting (physical location) Nature of language, messages, and meanings in communication Language Codes Set of symbols shared by a community Exchanged through messages of packed symbols. Reductionism always reduces (imperfectly represents meanings) How miscommunication and misunderstanding can be minimized Express meaning and seek feedback Listen for meaning and offer feedback Communication Competence Relationship between fundamental human needs and human communication Human needs: Safety need to feel protected from dangers, difficulties, and privations that threaten our physical well-being Security the need to feel relationally accepted, cherished, and unconditionally loved by others Self-efficacy the need to feel that weve impacted our world in a way that makes a difference through our own unique capabilities. Significance the need to feel appreciated, respected, and esteemed by others for our worthwhile contributions Only cooperation accomplished through immunization can satisfy our fundamental needs If we dont communicate, then we will die physically or psychologically Nature of communication competence components: Four prerequisite factors for competent communication knowledge and skill (capabilities); passion and compassion (motivations) Knowledge (know what to say) Skill (know how to say it) Passion (care about what to say) Compassion (care about who its said to) Two subsequent outcomes of competent communication appropriateness and effectiveness Appropriateness (satisfies our expectations) Effectiveness (accomplishes my goals) Implications of two competency dimensions of every communicated message relationship and content Competent communicators think before they speak Frank (low relationship/high content) think about how our relationship should govern/guide what is said Friendly (high relationship/low content) think about how my goals can be clearly and convincingly articulated) Communication Ethics Three communication characteristics necessitating ethical communication. Communication is: Unavoidable (one cannot not communicate) Irrevocable (a message cant be reeled back in like a fishing line) Consequential others will respond with thoughts, feelings, or actions) Distinctions between ethically and legality Ethics: Beneficial or harmful antecedent causes and influences described as qualities of human character Morals: Beneficial or harmful subsequent outcomes and effects described as consequential human conduct. Legal Constraint: Externally imposed codes that command/require Impotent unless enforced with only short-lived effects Demands rote behavioral compliance Ethical Character: Internally rooted convictions that convince and inspire Potent absent of enforcement with enduring effects Dynamic and flexible principles that guide and direct Enables wise situational discernment Dialectics of ethical communication conveying and responding to messages Com. Dialects: principles that are best practiced in a state of tension, helping to avoid destructive forms of unrestrained extreme speech Dialect of conveying messages: Sincere truthfulness (convey truth honestly) Caring respect (show same concern/dignity would want from them) Dialect of responding to messages: Thoughtful evaluation (ponder/scrutinize to make discerning Judgments) Human testability (open minded learner, no one knows everything) Verbal Communication (107-133). Two functions of verbal communication conveying and creating perceptions of reality To share thoughts and convey perceptions of reality To shape thoughts and create perceptions of reality Distinctions between denotative and connotative semantics Denotative Semantics: Symbolize commonly shared perceptions of reality held by those in a language community. Characterized by consistency and universality Connotative Semantics: symbolize unique meanings that are laden with personal values and individual experiences. Found in the minds of individuals. Characterized y personal meanings that may be shared by an in-group, but not by the language community at large Function of syntax in verbal communication Sense-making through systematic arrangement of words Guidelines for competently conveying and creating perceptions of reality Use verbal language to clarify cognition to share and convey perceptions Speak and write correctly by employing the communication conventions of the language community. Speak and write precisely by defining abstract terms and illustrating with concrete examples Avoid unfamiliar and inappropriate language, such as vulgarity and pesticides vocabulary Use language to incite imagination to effectively shape and create perceptions Employ evocative words laden with connotative meaning to foster new perceptions of reality. Provide figurative language tropes through stories, metaphors, and analogies Reveal uncommon insights into commonplace circumstances (Vive never thought of it that way before) Nonverbal Communication (137-155) Role and importance of nonverbal communication in seeking mutual understanding Technology can degrade the richness of human communication Actions speak louder than words Many of the meaning cues in a message are communicated nonverbally When verbal and non-verbal message conflict, people believe the non-verbal messages oculists, proteomics, hepatics, and objective. Vocalic: communicating with your voice Tone, volume, articulation, pauses Kinesics: communicating with your movements Facial expressions, hand/arm gestures, movement Oculists: communicating with your eyes Interested and caring or bored and distracted Honest and truthful or hiding and deceiving Wink, roll eyes, blink, eye contact Proteomics: communicating with your position. Personal space invasion leads to flight response Personal territory invasion leads to fight response Hepatics: communicating through physical contact Objective: communicating with inanimate items Appearance personal grooming and apparel, artifacts (visual aids). Perception, Learning, and Listening (84-102, 163-177) Purposes for listening interpretation, identification, inspiration, evaluation, coordination, and education Interpretation: to understand others by assigning Identification: to foster relational connections Inspiration: to be impacted and motivated Evaluation: to assess perspectives and issues Coordination: to organize and harmonize efforts. Education: to learn and grow in intelligence Levels of listening and learning to remember (recognizing and recalling); to comprehend (analyzing and synthesizing); to implement (evaluating and applying) Listening to remember employing rote memorization that enables: (ILL) Recognition identify message elements with prompting (ALL) Recall generating message elements without prompting Listening to comprehend-employing attentive interpretation that enables: (ALL) Analysis inferring meanings from various message details.