COM101 Script

Principle of Conversation:

1. The principle of process

2. The principle of cooperation
3. The principle of politeness
4. The principle of dialogue
5. The principle of turn-taking

1.The Principle of Process

Opening
● It usually involves some kind of greeting, either verbal (e.g. "Hi, how are you?") or
nonverbal (e.g. a smile or handshake). The greeting is a way to establish a connection
and open up the channels of communication.
● For example, it wouldn't make sense to start with a cheery greeting and then launch into
serious bad news.
● Common approaches to openings include self-references (talking about yourself),
other-references (commenting on the other person), relational references (noting your
connection), and context references (commenting on the situation you're in).

Feedforward
● To Open the Channels of Communication:
○ This refers to phatic communication - small talk, greetings, trivial comments that
establish rapport.
○ It signals that normal rules of interaction will be followed and the people are
willing to communicate.
 ● To Preview the Message:
○ The feedforward can give a preview of the content that will be discussed, like the
topic, style, level of importance, or positive/negative qualities.
○ This helps set appropriate expectations for what information will be shared.
● To Disclaim:
○ A disclaimer distances oneself from potential negative reactions to the message.
○ It is a statement that aims to ensure the message is understood as intended and
does not reflect badly on the speaker.
○ Examples given are saying "I'm not against immigration, but..." or "Don't think I'm
homophobic, but..."
● To Altercast:
○ Altercasting places the listener in a specific role for how they should respond to
the message.
○ It casts them in a certain perspective, like as an "advertising executive" who
should respond from that point of view.
○ This influences how the listener may interpret and react to the information.

Business
● This makes sense as this is where the actual content is exchanged.

Feedback
● It is the reverse of the feedforward stage.
● Five dimensions of feedback:
○ Positive-Negative: Positive feedback praises or compliments, while negative
feedback criticizes.
○ Person-Focused - Message-Focused: Person-focused feedback evaluates the
person, while message-focused focuses on the content.
○ Immediate - Delayed: Immediate feedback is given right away, while delayed is
some time after.
○ Low-Monitored - High-Monitored: Low-monitored feedback is spontaneous and
honest, while high-monitored is carefully constructed.
○ Supportive - Critical: Supportive feedback confirms the message/person, while
critical feedback passes judgment.
Closing
● Its purpose is to bring the conversation to an appropriate end in a smooth, comfortable
way.
● Like "Well, I should get going now" are effective.

2.The Principle of Cooperation

● The principle of cooperation states that conversation proceeds with the assumption that
each person involved is cooperating to mutually understand one another.
● It implies that speakers and listeners follow certain conversational maxims/rules to
effectively communicate.

3.The Principle of Politeness

● The six maxims of politeness:
1. Tact - Avoid imposing on others or challenging their autonomy.
2. Generosity - Confirm others' importance over your own.
3. Approbation - Praise others and minimize criticism.
4. Modesty - Minimize praise of self and maximize praise of others.
5. Agreement - Maximize expressed agreement and minimize disagreement.
6. Sympathy - Maximize expressed sympathy for others and minimize antipathy.

● So in summary, the principle of politeness sets an expectation that conversation will

prioritize smooth, supportive interactions by adopting polite verbal and nonverbal
behaviors according to the unwritten social rules of a given culture or context. This helps
make conversations more pleasant experiences.

4.The Principle of Dialogue

● Dialogue requires both parties to take turns in the roles of speaker and listener during
the exchange of ideas.
 ● It involves a genuine interest in understanding the other person's feelings and
perspective through listening as much as speaking.
● In dialogue, there is respect for the other individual simply because they are a fellow
human, not because of what they can provide.
● Cultural sensitivity is needed, as norms around hierarchical roles may influence
expectations.

5.The Principle of Turn Taking

● Turns allow individuals to both express themselves and receive messages from others in
the flow of discussion.
● The Four key of Turn Takings:
➔ Speaker Cues:
◆ Turn-maintaining cues like pauses or continuing gestures that signal a
speaker wants to hold the floor.
◆ Turn-yielding cues like endings or eye contact with a listener that indicate
a speaker is finished.
➔ Listener Cues:
◆ Turn-requesting cues such as noises or leaning in used by listeners to
request a turn to speak.
◆ Turn-denying cues like avoiding eye contact used to decline speaking
when offered a turn.
➔ Back-channeling Cues:
◆ Non-verbal cues like nodding, uh-huhs, etc. used by listeners to engage
without taking a turn. Can convey agreement/disagreement, involvement,
or need for clarification.
➔ Interruptions:
◆ Attempts to abruptly seize another's turn rather than wait for their yielding
cues, seen as asserting power or control over the discussion. More
common from high status individuals or men.
Self-Disclosure
● It involves revealing things about your values, behaviors, qualities, thoughts, feelings,
etc.
● It occurs in various forms of communication beyond just interpersonal interactions, like in
small groups, public speeches, online sharing, etc. It plays an important role in
developing relationships.
● People self-disclose for various reasons like catharsis, helping others, encouraging
relationship growth, maintaining relationships, or ending relationships.
● Willingness to self-disclose differs depending on the type of information, relationship,
and receiving parties. Some details people are more or less comfortable sharing.
● It's important to reflect on one's own self-disclosing tendencies to better understand this
communication concept. Factors like closeness and context greatly impact
appropriateness.

Influences on Self-Disclosure
● Who you are: Highly sociable and extroverted people self-disclose more than those who
are less sociable and more introverted. People who are apprehensive about talking in
general also self-disclose less.
● Your culture: Different cultures view self-disclosure differently. People in the US
disclose more than in other cultures like Great Britain, Germany, Japan, or Puerto Rico.
● Your gender: Research supports that women disclose more than men. Women disclose
more about relationships, feelings, fears, and what they don’t like about partners.
● Your listeners: You disclose to people you like and trust and love. You also come to like
those to whom you disclose.
● Your topic: You’re more likely to self-disclose about some topics than others, like
jobs/hobbies more than sex life or finances. You’re also more likely to disclose favorable
than unfavorable information.

So in summary, your personality, culture, gender, relationships, and the nature of the
topic being disclosed all influence whether, what, and to whom you decide to self-disclose
information.
Rewards and Dangers of Self-Disclosure
● Rewards of Self-Disclosure:
○ It helps increase self-knowledge - through disclosure you gain perspective
on yourself.
○ It enables better communication and more satisfying relationships through
disclosure.
○ It increases relationship satisfaction and sexual rewards through learning
partner preferences.
○ It seems to have positive effects on physiological health - disclosure
reduces vulnerability to illness.
● Dangers of Self-Disclosure:
○ Personal risks - disclosure of information differing from listener values
could lead to rejection.
○ Relational risks - total disclosure may threaten relationships by causing
distrust or loss of attraction.
○ Professional risks - revealing things like political views could cause
problems at work.
○ Once disclosed, the information cannot be undisclosed. Listeners'
conclusions and inferences based on disclosures also cannot be taken
back.

So in weighing whether to disclose, it's important to consider both the potential rewards
to self-knowledge, relationships, and health, as well as the risks to personal, relational, and
professional well-being that disclosure could pose depending on the situation and information.