Download CH 1 Communication Competence in Groups

In Mixed Company
Chapter One
Communication Competence
in Groups
Speech 140 Chapter 1
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Chapter Objectives
1. To correct some common
misconceptions regarding the human
communication process
2. To explain what communication is and
isn’t
3. To identify broadly what constitutes
competent communication
4. To discuss general ways to achieve
communication competence
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Myth 1 Communication
is a Panacea
• Sometimes more communication aggravates
difference between people an exposes qualities
in others we may find appealing.
• Sometimes groups dismantle, not because the
communication is poor, but because members
have personalities or values that severely clash
or because they have contradictory visions for
the group.
• Communication, however, is not an end but
merely a means to an end.
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Myth 2: Communication
Can Break Down
• Human beings continue to communicate even when they
may wish not to do so. Behaviors such as not showing
up for a group meeting, remaining silent during group
discussions, or walking out in the middle of a group
discussion with out saying a word don’t stop
communication.
• The view that communication can break down comes
partly from the recognition that we do not always achieve
our goals through communication; the group may
disband in failure.
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Myth 3: Effective Communication is
Merely Skill Building
• The skills orientation to communication
assumes that if you learn a few magical
communication skills, you will become a
much better communicator.
• Assertiveness with your boss or team
leader may get you fired or demoted. One
skill doesn’t fit all circumstances.
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Myth 4: Effective Communication
is Just Common Sense
• Hindsight bias- “I-knew-it-already” effect. We tend to
overestimate our prior knowledge once we have been
told the correct answer.
• Learning requires a degree of humility, a willingness to
recognize and address our shortcomings.
• This improvement comes not just from knowing the right
answers on tests of your knowledge of group
communication, but also from demonstrating an ability to
put this knowledge into skillful practice in a wide variety
of challenging group situations.
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Communication is Transactional
• Each person communicating is both a sender and a receiver
simultaneously, not merely a sender or a receiver. (As you
speak, you receive feedback, mostly nonverbal, from
listeners; this, in turn, influences the messages that you
continue to send.)
• All parties influence each other. You don’t communicate in
quite the same manner with your parents as you do with your
close friends. The content dimension refers to the information
transmitted, and the relationship dimension refers to how
messages define or redefine the relationship between group
members.
• Communication is a process because changes in events and
relationships are part of a continuous flow. We cannot freeze
relationships in time, each new experience affects future
transactions, human communication is a process.
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Verbal Communication: Telling it
Liking It Isn’t
• Language is a structured system of symbols for
sharing meaning.
• Symbols are representations of referentswhatever the symbol refers to.
• The meaning of words depends on common
agreement, but doesn’t always avoid
misunderstanding because words can be
ambiguous; they can have multiple common
meanings.
• When we assume that everyone has the same
meaning for a word, it is called bypassing.
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Nonverbal Communication:
Wordless Meaning
• Nonverbal communication is sharing
meaning with others without using words.
Our facial expressions, eye contact,
personal appearance, and use of time all
have the potential to communicate
messages to group members.
• Nonverbal communication is continuous,
while verbal communication have clear
beginnings and endings.
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Verbal and Nonverbal
Interconnectedness
• A mixed message occurs when there is positive
verbal and negative nonverbal communication,
or vice versa.
• One of the difficulties with communicating in
virtual groups is the absence of nonverbal cues
that typically accompany verbal messages.
• Emoticons-typed icons or combinations of
punctuation marks meant to indicate emotional
tone-help but are still limited, and using them
often can interrupt the flow of messages.
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Context: The Communication
Environment
• Context-an environment in which meaning
emerges.
• Context consists of who (sender)
communicates what (message) to whom
(receiver), why (purpose) the
communicator does it, where (setting),
when (time), and how (way) it is done.
• Context is a central element of verbal
communication.
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Effectiveness: Achieving Goals
• Communication competence is engaging
in communication with others that is both
effective and appropriate.
• Communication effectiveness is defined as
how well we have progressed toward the
achievement of goals.
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A Matter of Degree: From
Deficiency to Proficiency
• The label “competent communicator” is a
judgment of an individual’s degree of
proficiency in achieving goals in a
particular context, not an inherent
characteristic of any individual.
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We (Not Me) Oriented:
Primacy of Groups
• In groups, our primary attention is on the
group (we), not the individual (me).
• A “We” orientation requires concern for
others, not merely concern for self.
• Consequently, communication
competence in groups necessitates
behavior that is both effective and
appropriate.
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Appropriateness:
Following the Rules
• Appropriateness means complying with
rules and their accompanying
expectations.
• A rule is a prescription that indicates what
you should or shouldn’t do In specific
contexts.
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Achieving Communication
Competence
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
There are five general ways to improve
your effectiveness and appropriateness
in groups:
You can acquire knowledge
Hone communication skills
Improve your sensitivity
Redouble you commitment
Apply ethical standards to your
communication choices
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Knowledge: Learning the Rules
• Knowledge means learning the rules and
understanding what is required to be
appropriate and effective in your
communication.
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Skills: Showing, Not Just Knowing
• The key is learning many skills and using
them flexibly, with the proper knowledge of
what’s appropriate for a given context.
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Sensitivity: Receptive Accuracy
• Sensitivity is receptive accuracy whereby
you can detect, decode, and comprehend
signals sent within groups.
• Failure to attend to and comprehend
signals can severely affect our
relationships with group members.
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Commitment:
A Passion for Excellence
• Commitment is the conscious decision to invest
time, energy, thought, and feeling to improve
yourself or your relationships with others.
• The predominant motivation of the competent
communicator is the desire to avoid previous
mistakes and to find better ways of
communicating with group members.
• Commitment to improving you communication
effectiveness requires self-monitoring. When you
interact in groups you have to be a participantobserver.
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Ethics: The Right and Wrong of
Communication
• Appropriateness and the We-oriented
make ethics important. Competent
communicators concern themselves with
more than what works for them personally.
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Ethics
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ethics is a set of standards for judging the moral correctness of our
behavior.
Honesty
Respect- Relationships in groups fall apart, and groups can't
function effectively when members show disrespect for each other.
Fairness- Prejudice treats people unfairly.
Choice- Coercion prevents choice. There is no real option
presented. Choice goes hand in hand with honesty. If you fear
reprisals for telling the truth, then your freedom to choose
truthfulness instead of deceit is compromised.
Responsibility- Every group member and the group as a whole have
a responsibility, duty, to be concerned about more than merely what
works to achieve personal or even group goals. How goals are
achieved is also vital consideration.
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Definition of a Group
• A group is a human communication system
composed of three or more individuals,
interacting for the achievement of some common
goal (s), who influence and are influenced by
each other.
• A group is different from the mere collection of
individuals call an aggregation.
• To be called a group, a collection of individuals
must succeed or fail as a unit in a quest to
achieve a common goal (s).
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