Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
45
Chapter 1: Introducing Interpersonal Communication
Instructor Resources
OBJECTIVES
• Define communication.
• Compare and contrast three different models of communication (linear, interactive,
transactional).
• Identify the important needs and goals that interpersonal communication fulfills.
• Understand the importance of interpersonal communication competence, and identify tools
for improving competence.
• Describe major issues and key elements related to the study of interpersonal
communication.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How would you have defined communication prior to reading the chapter? How has your
definition changed since reading it?
2. What is the significance of defining communication as a process?
3. One of the characteristics of communication is its use of modalities. What types of online
modalities—e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, and social networking sites—do
you use to communicate regularly? How effective are these for communicating? Do you
change the online communication forms you use, depending on the message you are
sending?
46
3. Consider the four principles of interpersonal communication. Develop a brief piece of
advice for effective communication based on each of the four principles.
4. Given the three criteria of interpersonal competence, which do you find the most difficult
to fulfill in your current relationship with a parent? With a romantic partner? Roommate?
Work colleague?
5. Provide an example of a self-presentation goal, an instrumental goal, and a relational goal.
6. What are some challenges related to communicating competently online?
7. Give an example that illustrates how gender differs from biological sex.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
1. Which communication media (e.g., e-mail, cell phone, text message, social media) do
you use the most to communicate with members of your household? Compare and
contrast the kind of communication that happens with this media versus face-to-face
interactions.
2. Identify a recent misunderstanding you had with another person. Which of the three
models is most useful in helping you understand what happened? Use the terms of the
model to explain what happened.
3. Think of experiences you have had in which there is inconsistency between what is
conveyed at the relational level and what is said at the content level. Explain the situation
and how you handled it.
4. Interpersonal communication is irreversible, and we have all experienced “foot-in-the-
mouth” moments. Identify a recent situation that you wish you could undo. What would
you say or do differently?
5. Consider a time when you unintentionally communicated a message to someone through
your behavior. How did this person interpret your behavior? What were the
consequences? What steps did you take to correct the misinterpretation?
6. How would you evaluate your ability to communicate online? Do you see yourself as
effective, appropriate, and ethical in your online communications? What are examples of
times when it is challenging to meet all three criteria?
7. Consider a time when you sent an e-mail or text-messaged someone you were angry with,
then regretted your action. What was the result? Did you try to repair the situation
through further e-mails or text messages or did you employ alternate media? What did
you learn from the experience?
8. Complete the Self-Quiz in LaunchPad titled Test Your Self-Monitoring. Do you agree with
the results? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of being a high self-
monitor? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a low self-monitor?
9. Complete the Self-Quiz in LaunchPad titled The Dark Side of Interpersonal Relationships.
Which of the relationship challenges in this self-quiz would you like to improve? Choose
one and discuss what actions you could take to overcome this challenge.
50
EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITIES
Exercise: Communication Domains
Objective: To create an icebreaker and to have students experience and respond to different
communication domains.
Directions: Instruct the students that there are four timed stages in this activity and that they
will need materials to jot down a few notes.
Stage 1
1. Break the class into random dyads. (If there is an odd number, make one a triad.)
3. The students in each dyad must learn each other’s first name and generate a list of as
many things as possible they have in common with one another.
Stage 2
4. Randomly match dyads to create groups of four. (If necessary, one group of six is fine.)
6. Each group must: (1) learn one another’s first names; (2) find two things all members of
the group have in common; and (3) generate a list of more than three communication
difficulties that many people seem to manifest. (They will likely come up with ideas such
as shyness, poor listening, lack of eye contact, strong accents, etc.)
Stage 3
7. After five minutes, announce to the students that they must assign each member of their
group a letter so that each group has a person designated as “A,” “B,” “C,” etc.
8. Explain that in a moment, everyone in the class who is a letter “A” will have to stand up
9. The “B” members then will stand and tell everyone in the class the two things their group
10. The “C” members then stand and tell the class two difficulties they listed, attempting not
11. The “D” members stand and are asked to report on something unexpected—such as two
things the instructor mentioned in the class lecture, something that was explained about
51
Stage 4
12. Explain that the activity is designed to break the ice in a new class, but also to
demonstrate the differences among communication domains.
13. Ask for responses to the following questions:
• Did it feel different to you to speak in a group of four to six students than it was to
communicate to another person in a dyad?
• Would a shy person likely feel happier communicating in a dyad or a small group?
• When you were asked to stand and tell the class something, and to remain standing,
you entered the domain of public speaking. What feels different about communicating
in that domain?
• In which domain are you more comfortable, and why?
• How is public speaking different from communication over radio, television, or the
Internet?
14. Conclude the exercise by explaining that the course they are about to study is in the
domain of the dyad, or interpersonal communication.
Exercise: The Pros and Cons of Social Media
Objective: To have students think critically about the pros and cons of using social media.
Directions: Instruct the class that they will debate the pros and cons of using social media.
Divide the class into two groups. One group will examine the benefits of using social media,
while the other will examine the disadvantages of using social media. Allow approximately
20 to 25 minutes for each group to brainstorm ideas and 20 to 25 minutes for debate.
For the “pro” group, provide the following instructions: Consider the many types of
social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Google+, etc.). What are
some advantages of using social media in your personal relationships (friends, family,
romantic partners), as well as your professional relationships (fellow students, teachers,
workplace colleagues)? Compile a list of all the positive ways in which social media
contribute to your life and your relationships.
Some possible benefits of using social media include: connecting with friends and
family; reconnecting with people from your past; finding job assistance; providing a forum
for self-expression; sharing useful information, such as recipes, do-it-yourself tutorials, and
recommendations for books, movies, music, and TV shows; sharing inspiring or funny
quotations and photographs; enlisting community support; and finding news articles and
offbeat stories.
For the “con” group, provide the following instructions: Consider the many types of
social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Google+, etc.). What are
some disadvantages of using them in your personal relationships (friends, family, romantic
partners), as well as your professional relationships (fellow students, teachers, workplace
colleagues)? For example, what concerns might your employer have about you use of social
media? Are there any legal risks to using social media?
52
Some possible drawbacks to using social media include falling victim to identity theft
and exposing oneself to those who use social media as a weapon to hurt or bully others.
Employers may be concerned about loss of productivity, or that using social media promotes
inappropriate conduct like disparaging the company online or disclosing confidential
information. Legal risks related to social media include cyberbullying, defamation, copyright
infringement, and distribution of offensive material.
Exercise: Communication Channels and Tools
Objective: To utilize the Communication Channels and Tools Worksheet.
Directions: Follow these steps.
a. Have students complete the Communication Channels and Tools Worksheet.
b. Provide 15 to 20 minutes to discuss results in groups of four to five students.
c. Debrief by considering the following questions:
1. What channels or tools seem to be most preferred? Which are least preferred? Why?
2. How does the nature of the message change your ideas about the appropriateness of the
channels and tools?
3. What other factors affect your preferences?
53
Communication Channels and Tools Worksheet*
Instructions: Consider various situations in which you must initiate communication with a romantic
partner. Rank each approach on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best way to relate this
communication and 5 being the worst way.
a. You need to apologize for a fight that you started the last time you were together.
___ Have a face-to-face conversation
___ Talk by telephone
___ Leave a voice-mail message
___ Send an e-mail, text message, or other post
___ Write a note or card
b. You want to confront your partner about something he or she has done.
___ Have a face-to-face conversation
___ Talk by telephone
___ Leave a voice-mail message
___ Send an e-mail, text message, or other post
___ Write a note or card
c. You want to express gratitude to your partner for a favor.
___ Have a face-to-face conversation
___ Talk by telephone
___ Leave a voice-mail message
___ Send an e-mail, text message, or other post
___ Write a note or card
d. You want to make “date” plans for the evening.
___ Have a face-to-face conversation
___ Talk by telephone
___ Leave a voice-mail message
___ Send an e-mail, text message, or other post
___ Write a note or card
e. You want to end a six-month-old romantic relationship.
___Have a face-to-face conversation
___Talk by telephone
___Leave a voice-mail message
___ Send an e-mail, text message, or other post
___Write a note or card
*This activity is based on “What you don’t know won’t hurt ME”: Impression management
functions of communication channels in relationships, by P. B. O’Sullivan, Human
Communication Research, 26, pp. 403–431.
54
Exercise: One-way/Two-way Communication
Objective: To compare and contrast the three models of communication.
a. Have the class form dyads. (They can work as triads if an odd number exists.)
b. Each person should assume one role for the entire activity, either speaker or listener (or
two listeners and one speaker if triads exist). The listener will need two sheets of paper
and a pen or pencil.
c. Instruct the class that there are two stages to the activity. In the first stage, they should
arrange their chairs so they are seated back-to-back. Once they have arranged themselves
accordingly, begin the activity.
55
Option 1
56
Figure 1.1 One-way/Two-way Activity Drawings
Stage 1
1. Provide each speaker with one of the two diagram options in Figure 1.1. The speaker’s
role is to give instructions to the listener on how to draw the diagram. During stage 1,
dyads must remain seated back-to-back, and only the speaker can talk. The listener must
do his/her best to follow the instructions given and cannot communicate back to the
speaker. Once the speaker has finished giving the instructions, then stage 1 is complete.
2. Direct the dyads to turn their chairs around and face each other. The speaker should NOT
show the listener the original diagram, because they are going to work with the same
diagram again. Move on to stage 2.
Stage 2
