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M01_ENGL6499_01_SE_C01 pp5.qxd
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Summary
What is communication,
and how does it affect
your everyday life?
• Communication is the process of
using verbal and nonverbal messages to generate meaning within
and across various contexts, cultures, and channels.
• Effective communication helps
you meet personal, professional,
educational, intercultural, intellectual, societal, and ethical
goals.
• Effective communicators accept
responsibility for the outcomes of
their choices.
What do you need to
know to become a more
effective communicator?
• Effective communicators make
critical decisions about the seven
guiding principles of human
communication represented by
the key elements self, others, purpose, context, content, structure, and
expression.
• The four types of communication
context are psychosocial, logistical, interactional, and mediated.
• The three interactional contexts
are interpersonal, group, and presentational communication.
How do communication
models help you address
communication
challenges?
• Unlike linear and interactional
communication models, the transactional model depicts communication as a simultaneous transaction
in which we continuously exchange verbal and nonverbal messages and share meanings.
• In a communication transaction,
communicators encode and decode messages at the same time.
• The components of a transactional
communication model include all
seven elements of effective communication as well as message,
feedback, and noise.
How do theories help
you choose effective
communication strategies
and skills?
• Your choices of communication
strategies and skills are most
20 CHAPTER 1 | human communication
effective when they are grounded
in theory. Without theory, you
may not understand when and
why to use a particular strategy or
skill to its best advantage.
Why is ethical decision
making essential for
effective communication?
• Questions of right and wrong
arise whenever you communicate.
Ethical communication is fundamental to responsible thinking,
decision making, and the development of relationships and communication within and across
contexts, cultures, and channels.
• The National Communication
Association Credo for Ethical
Communication endorses nine
principles of ethical communication for all communicators.
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TEST
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2
3
4
5
yourknowledge
The textbook defines communication as the process of using
verbal and nonverbal messages to generate meaning within
and across various contexts, cultures, and channels. Which
term in this definition refers to the various physical and electronic media through which we express messages?
a. messages
b. meaning
c. contexts
d. cultures
e. channels
6
7
Which of the following skills received the lowest ranking in
the study of skills employers seek in college graduates?
a. computer skills
b. written communication skills
c. oral communication skills
d. leadership
e. proficiency in field of study
Which communication principle seeks an answer to the following question: How well do you suspend your personal
needs and attitudes when you listen?
a. Know Thy Self
b. Connect with Others
c. Determine Your Purpose
d. Adapt to the Context
e. Structure Your Message
Which communication principle seeks an answer to the
following question: How can I adapt to the psychological
circumstances and physical setting of the communication
situation?
a. Know Thy Self
b. Select Appropriate Content
c. Connect with Others
d. Adapt to the Context
e. Structure Your Message
The logistical context of communication refers to
a. the cultural environment in which you live.
b. your emotional history, personal experiences, and cultural
background.
c. the time, place, setting, and occasion in which you will interact with others.
d. whether communication occurs one-to-one, in groups, or
between a speaker and an audience.
e. interpersonal, group, and presentational communication.
8
9
10
Linear models of communication
a. include the concepts of noise and feedback.
b. function in only one direction: a source creates a message
and sends it through a channel to reach a receiver.
c. recognize that we send and receive messages simultaneously.
d. illustrate the interrelationships among the key elements of
human communication.
e. all of the above
The encoding process can be described as
a. the way you feel about others.
b. the process of minimizing internal noise.
c. effective listening.
d. converting a “code” sent by someone else into a meaningful message.
e. the decision-making process you use to create messages
that generate meaning.
Stephen Covey defines a habit as the intersection of
a. theories, strategies, and skills.
b. theories, methods, and tools.
c. knowledge, cognition, and intellectual skills.
d. knowledge, skill, and desire.
e. preparation, practice, and performance.
Theories answer why; strategies answer what; skills answer
how; and ethics answers questions of _______.
a. who
b. where
c. when
d. whether
e. all of the above
Which principle in the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication
is violated if a close friend shares your most intimate secrets
with people you don’t know or don’t like?
a. We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason
as essential to the integrity of communication.
b. We strive to understand and respect other communicators
before evaluating and responding to their messages.
c. We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential.
d. We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings
when facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
e. We are committed to the courageous expression of personal conviction in pursuit of fairness and justice.
Answers: 1-e; 2-a; 3-a; 4-d; 5-c; 6-b; 7-e; 8-d; 9-d; 10-d
M01_ENGL6499_01_SE_C01 pp5.qxd
test your knowledge 21