Overview of Communication

Slides for lecture 1

Transcript

1. An Overview of Communication 5/11/2015 1 LECTURE
2. Understanding Communication • Relational Perspective • Communication and relationships are intertwined processes • All communication is embedded in an relationship • Communication creates, reinforces and modifies relationships • Everyday Communication • Mundane, routine interactions and messages • Very important – constitutes lives and relationships 5/11/2015 2
3. Key Terms • Communication • Transactional use of symbols, influenced, guided and understood in the context of relationships • A lifelong, common part of life • Full of misunderstandings, conflict, arguments, disputes, and disagreements • Influenced by culture and assumptions, expectations, and relationships 5/11/2015 3
4. Communication . . . • Involves symbols • Symbol – arbitrary representation; have no direct connection with what they represent • May be verbal (language) or nonverbal (all other symbols • Distinguished from signs – consequences or indicators or something specific • Are complex and polysemic 5/11/2015 4
5. Communication . . . • Requires meaning • What a symbol represents • Can be conveyed in multiple ways • Social Construction • The ways in which symbols take on meaning in a social context or society • Results from continued use and negotiation of meaning over time 5/11/2015 5
6. Communication . . . • Meaning occurs in context • Physical context • Relational context • Situational context • Meaning is conveyed through a medium • The means through which messages are sent 5/11/2015 6
7. Communication . . . • Is Cultural • Culture is done, performed and enacted through communication • Different cultures make different assumptions and take different knowledge for granted • Culture influences communication while communication creates and reinforces cultural influences • Following cultural expectations reinforces cultural expectations 5/11/2015 7
8. Communication . . . • Is Relational • Communication impacts relationships and relationships impact communication • All messages have two levels: • Content – what is said • Relational – how the communicators are socially and personally related 5/11/2015 8
9. Communication . . . • Involves frames • Basic forms of knowledge that provide a definition of a scenario • Based on the shared agreement of the communicators or on cultural assumptions • Help makes decisions about what symbols are used and how the symbols are interpreted 5/11/2015 9
10. Communication . . . • Is both Representational and Presentational • Representation – conveys facts and information • Presentation – presents one’s particular version of the facts and information • Communication is never neutral; always presentational and potentially persuasive 5/11/2015 10
11. Communication . . . • Is constitutive • What communication does or brings about • Communication can bring into existence something that was not there before 5/11/2015 11
12. Communication Communication Relationships Culture 5/11/2015 12