Write a 250 to 350 word reflection about what you learned this week from the readings and assignments. Discuss at least one real-world example and include one APA cited and referenced quote or paraphrase from your text to support your reflections.
Effective Communication is a way to success
– Jaspal Singh Malik
Interpersonal communication has been really studied for over a century. However, when interpersonal communication was initially studied, it was a bit different than what we think of as interpersonal communications today. First, the initial communication model was proposed. This had a sender who sent a message to a receiver. The message went through three types of noise (psychological, physiological, and physical) in order to reach the receiver. Additionally, the process of encoding and decoding was proposed.
Its important to understand the process of encoding and decoding because it demonstrates how complex communication really is. We dont think in words. We think in symbols. So, when you see a dog running down the road, you dont think internally Oh, look at that dog running down the road. Instead, your mind views the picture and intakes that image and all the meaning that surrounds it. Obviously people have different perceptions. If you were mulled by a dog at a young age, that image may create anxiety and fear. However, if you were an animal lover, that image may create a different type of reaction. So, when a person speaks, they have to turn the images that are in their mind into words that make sense to other people. Then, the receive has to take those words and create meaning to them. If we really think about this process, its very complex. Therefore, its important that people use perception checking every now and then to make sure a message is understood the way the sender intended. Perception checking is merely putting the senders ideas into your own words and putting it into question form. So
what I hear you saying is
..? Obviously, if the message is just that a dog is running down the road, perception checking may be a bit foolish. But it is a very helpful technique in more complex topics, especially if the sender is emotional or not talking in a logical, rational pattern.
So, this model, which was proposed many years ago still provides a good foundation to interpersonal communication. However, the model has changed a bit. First, it didnt take long to figure out that there was something called nonverbal communication that played a big role (often much bigger than verbal communication) in understanding a message. Therefore, the sender and the receiver changed to be communicators, as sometimes people are sending simultaneous messages.
The other update is that there has always been a mode of communication (the way the message is communicated), whether that be face to face, phone, etc. However, with todays technological society, we have a lot more ways to choose from with regards to how we decide to communicate the message. Teleconferencing, web meetings, social media, text messages, etc. have all given us more options while also making communication faster and more complex.
When we think about what channel to use to send our message, we need to think about the entire picture of the message. What is the intent of the message? Is it straightforward or more complex? Could there be emotional challenges? Is it formal or informal? Long or short? All of these play a role in what channel to choose. For instance, very long, emotional messages would not bode well through a text. And a short, informal message is not often appropriate in letter form.
There are a few guidelines that I would suggest when looking at the message:
If youre not sure if it should be more or less formal, choose more formal.
Figure out if first (I, me) and second (we, us) are appropriate. These are chosen for more informal tone. Contractions are also more informal.
Use you to connect personally with your reader, but not in long formal reports that are more formal.
If you have writers block or unsure about how to organize your work, outline it. Outlining is an underutilized tool that can help improve flow and organization.
Pay attention to how the copy looks on paper. Appearance matters and your work will be judged within the first seven seconds of someone looking at it.
Always spell and grammar check your work.
And, one final point by a wonderful author:
Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke. – F. Scott Fitzgerald
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