Essentials of Human Communication: Ninth Edition

Essentials of Human Communication
Ninth Edition
Chapter 1
The Essentials of Human
Communication
Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives
1.1 Identify the forms, benefits, and myths of human
communication
1.2 Draw a model of communication that includes sources–
receivers, messages, context, channel, noise, and effects; and
define each of these elements
1.3 Paraphrase the major principles of human communication
1.4 Explain the role of culture in human communication, the seven
ways in which cultures differ from one another, the aim of a
cultural perspective; and define ethnic identity and ethnocentrism
1.5 Define communication competence and explain the qualities
identified as part of competence
Forms, Benefits, and Myths of Human
Communication (1 of 5)
1.1 Identify the forms, benefits, and myths of human

communication
•  Human communication
–  The sending and receiving of verbal and nonverbal
messages
–  Occurs between two or more people
•  The study of human communication begins with the
following:
–  forms
–  benefits
–  myths
•  Forms of Human Communication

–  Intrapersonal communication
–  Interpersonal communication
–  Interviewing
–  Small-group communication
–  Public communication
–  Computer-mediated communication
–  Mass communication
•  Benefits of Studying Human Communication

–  Skills you will learn include:
§  Critical and creative thinking skills
§  Interaction skills
§  Relationship skills
§  Leadership skills
§  Presentation skills
•  Myths about Human Communication

–  Popular but erroneous beliefs:
§  The more you communicate, the better your
communication will be
§  Needs and wants do not need to be communicated
explicitly in a close relationship
§  Conflict is a sign the relationship or group is in
trouble
§  Leaders are born, not made
§  Fear of speaking in public is detrimental
Communication Models and Concepts (1 of 5)
1.2 Draw a model of communication that includes sources–
receivers, messages, context, channel, noise, and effects;
and define each of these elements
•  In early models, communication process was thought to
be linear
•  Newer view:
–  Sees communication as a transactional process
–  Each person is both speaker and listener
•  Sources–Receivers
–  Each person is both a source (speaker) and a receiver
(listener)
•  Messages
–  Take many forms
–  Transmitted or received through one or more sensory organs
–  Three specific types:
§  Feedforward
–  Phatic communication: small talk
§  Feedback
§  Metamessages
•  Communication Context
–  Context determines the meaning of any message
–  Contexts have at least four aspects:
§  Physical context
§  Cultural context
§  Social-psychological context
§  Temporal context
•  Channel
–  Vehicle(s) through which messages pass
•  Noise
–  Anything that interferes with receiving a message
–  Types of noise:
§  Physical
§  Physiological
§  Psychological
§  Semantic
•  Effects
–  Communication always has some effect on those
involved in the communication act
Figure 1.2 The Essentials of Human
Communication
Principles of Communication (1 of 6)
1.3 Paraphrase the major principles of human
communication
•  Several principles are essential to an understanding of
human communication
•  These principles have practical implications to help
increase communication effectiveness
•  Communication Is Purposeful
–  Accomplishes a goal
–  Different cultures emphasize different purposes
–  Five general purposes seem relatively common:
§  to learn
§  to relate
§  to help
§  to influence
§  to play
•  Communication Takes Place in Varied Forms
–  In this text, face-to-face communication and online/social
media communication are integrated because:
§  It’s the way we communicate
§  Contemporary communication can only be understood
as a combination of online and offline interaction
§  It’s part of the skill set that employers expect potential
employees to have
§  Both forms are vital to developing, maintaining, and
even dissolving relationships
§  Both forms are important to your achieving your goals
•  Communication Is Ambiguous
–  Ambiguity: the condition in which something can be
interpreted in more than one way
§  Language ambiguity
§  Relationship ambiguity
•  Communication Involves Content and Relationship
Dimensions
–  Communication exists on at least two levels
•  Communication Is Punctuated
–  Segmenting of the continuous stream of communication
–  Some are causes and others effects
•  Communication Is Inevitable, Irreversible, and
Unrepeatable
–  Inevitability
§  Interactional situations are always taking place
–  Irreversibility
§  You cannot “uncommunicate” a message
–  Unrepeatability
§  A communication act can never be duplicated
Culture and Human Communication (1 of 5)
1.4 Explain the role of culture in human communication, the
seven ways in which cultures differ from one another, the
aim of a cultural perspective; and define ethnic identity and
ethnocentrism
•  Culture consists of the beliefs, ways of behaving, and
artifacts of a group
•  By definition, culture is transmitted through
communication and learning rather than through genes
•  The Importance of Culture
–  Important for several reasons:
§  Demographic changes
§  Sensitivity to cultural differences
§  Economic interdependence
§  Communication technology
§  Culture-specific nature of communication
•  Dimensions of Culture
–  Seven major dimensions of culture:
§  Uncertainty avoidance
§  Masculinity–femininity
§  Power distance
§  Individualism–collectivism
§  High and low context
§  Indulgence and restraint
§  Long- and short-term orientation
•  The Aim of a Cultural Perspective
–  Messages that are effective in one culture may prove
totally ineffective in another culture
•  Ethnic Identity and Ethnocentrism
–  Each culture develops an ethnic identity that is
unique: the attitudes and beliefs of the group
Communication Competence (1 of 6)
1.5 Define communication competence and explain the
qualities identified as part of competence
•  Your ability to communicate effectively is your
communication competence
•  There are five major traits of a competent communicator
•  The Competent Communicator Thinks Critically and
Mindfully
–  Need critical thinking
§  Mindfulness
§  Mindlessness
–  To increase mindfulness, try the following
suggestions:
•  Create and re-create categories
•  Be open to new information and points of view
•  Beware of relying too heavily on first
impressions
•  Think before you act
•  The Competent Communicator Makes Reasoned Choices
–  Competence in communication choice making is a series
of four interrelated characteristics
–  The competent communication choice maker:
§  realizes that each communication situation can be
approached in different ways
§  has a large arsenal of available choices
§  can make reasonable predictions as to what choices
will work and what choices won’t
§  has the interpersonal, small-group, and public speaking
skills for executing these choices effectively
•  The Competent Communicator Is an Effective Code
Switcher
–  Code switching: using more than one language in a
conversation, and using different language styles
depending on the situation
•  The Competent Communicator Is Culturally Aware
and Sensitive
•  The Competent Communicator Is Ethical
–  Ethics: the study of good and bad, of right and wrong,
of moral and immoral
–  Ethics is concerned with actions, with behaviors
§  Objective view: Some argue the rightness or
wrongness of an act is absolute.
§  Subjective view: Ethics of a message depends on
the culture’s values and beliefs as well as the
circumstances.
Summary of Concepts and Skills (1 of 4)
•  Human communication exists in varied forms
•  Among the benefits you’ll derive from this course are
improvements and enhancements to your self-
presentation skills, relationship skills, interviewing skills,
group and leadership skills, and presentation or public
speaking skills
•  Among the myths of human communication are that the
more you communicate, the more effective you’ll become
and that fear of public speaking is detrimental and must
be eliminated before you can be successful
•  Human communication is the act of sending and
receiving messages that are distorted by noise, occur
within a context, have some effect (and some ethical
dimension), and provide some opportunity for feedback
•  Communication is transactional
•  The essentials of communication are sources–receivers;
messages (feedforward, feedback, and metamessages);
context (physical, cultural, social-psychological, and
temporal); channel; noise (physical, physiological,
psychological, and semantic); and effects
•  Communication is purposeful
•  Communication involves choices, which will determine
effectiveness or ineffectiveness
•  Communication and relationships are always—in part—
ambiguous
•  Communication involves both content and relationship
dimensions
•  Communication and relationships invariably involve issues of
power
•  Communication sequences are punctuated for processing
•  In any interactional situation, communication is inevitable
•  Culture permeates all forms of communication
•  Significant dimensions along which cultures may differ are
uncertainty avoidance, masculinity–femininity, power distance,
individualism–collectivism, high and low context, indulgence
and restraint, and long- and short-term orientation
•  Ethnocentrism is the tendency to evaluate the beliefs,
attitudes, and values of our own culture positively and those of
other cultures negatively
•  Communication competence refers to your knowledge of how
communication works and your ability to use communication
effectively
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Essentials of Human Communication

1.1 Identify the forms, benefits, and myths of human

•  Forms of Human Communication

•  Benefits of Studying Human Communication

•  Myths about Human Communication

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Essentials of Human Communication: Ninth Edition

Uploaded by

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Copyright

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Essentials of Human Communication: Ninth Edition

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Essentials of Human Communication

1.1 Identify the forms, benefits, and myths of human

• Forms of Human Communication

• Benefits of Studying Human Communication

• Myths about Human Communication

You might also like

•  Forms of Human Communication

•  Benefits of Studying Human Communication

•  Myths about Human Communication