Pre-Reading

for Block Three:

Effective Communications

Interpersonal communication is de1ined as a message sent by a person to a receiver (or receivers) with the
conscious intent of affecting the receiver’s behaviour. This does not mean that there is always a sequence of events in
which a person thinks up a message, sends it, and someone else receives it. Communication is a dynamic process in
which everyone receives, sends, interprets, and infers all at the same time. There is no beginning and no end; all
communication involves persons sending one another symbols to which certain meanings are attached. These
symbols can be either verbal (all words and symbols) or non-verbals (all expressions and gestures are symbols). The
exchange of ideas, thoughts, feelings and experiences between two persons is possible only when both have adopted
the same way of relating a particular nonverbal, spoken, written, or pictorial symbol to a particular experience.

Effective Communications

Sender - the communicator or the person who consciously or subconsciously is to sending the message.

Receiver - any person to whom the message is aimed or directed.

Message - any verbal or non-verbal symbol that one person transmits to another; it is the subject matter being
referred to in a symbolic way (all words are symbols).

Channel - the means of sending a message to another person: the sound waves of the voice, the light waves that make
possible the seeing of the words on the page etc.

Noise - refers to those elements within the process that interferes with the communication process.

• Sender Noise - attitudes, distrust, con1idence and frame of reference and the appropriateness of his or her language
or the expression of the message.

• Receiver Noise - attitudes, distrust, background, and experiences (baggage) that affect accurate decoding process.

To a large extent, the success of communication is determined by the degree of which noise is overcome or
controlled.

Channel Person 1 to Person 2

Sender Functions: Receiver Functions:

1. Encoding A (deciding what you want 1. Decoding A (determining what was
to communicate)
communicate to you)

2. Encoding B (deciding how you want to 2. Decoding B (internal perceptions)

communicate - words, tone and body
language)

3. Transmission of the Message

NOISE
Sender Functions: Receiver Functions:
1. Decoding A (determining what was 1. Encoding A (deciding what you want to
communicate back to you)
communicate and reply back)

2. Decoding B (internal perceptions) 2. Transmission of the Message

Channel Person 2 back to Person 1

 Internal Noise or Filtering
1. Self-Image.

Both sender and the receiver have an image or concept of themselves and feelings of self-worth and self-esteem.
What their self-concept is at any given moment and what value they attach to themselves personally in a given
situation will, in part, determine their communication. For example, if I think of myself as an expert in an area
and have great con1idence in myself (attach great worth to myself) in any given situation, I am likely to
communicate in the 1irst place, more likely to choose an assertive, telling style of communication rather than a
different one, and less likely to listen to others on the same topic. After all, I am the expert.

2. Image of the Other Person or Persons.

Both the sender and the receiver have an image or concept of the others in the situation and attach certain
values to these others as people. These images of the others will also, in part, determine communication. For
example, if I see the others in the situation as being less expert and of lower status in the situation than I am, I
am likely to talk down to them, to interrupt them when I think they are off target, to listen less for their original
points of view and more for whether they are understanding me and/or agreeing with me. If I feel less expert or
of lower status I will say less, listen harder, and try to 1igure out how to gain status in the situation (this,
incidentally, may inhibit good listening also, diverting attention from the task to the relationship issue). Distrust
in relationships cause our image of others to be distorted or globalized to situations unrelated to the cause of
the distrust.

3. DeGinition of the Situation.

Both sender and the receiver have a certain picture of the situation in which they are jointly operating. Is it a
meeting to solve a speci1ic problem? Is it an informal bull session? Are we here to give the boss a chance to tell
his/her ideas? Often this process of ‘de1ining the situation’ is not verbalized until someone raises the question
“what are we here for?” or “what is our task?”

The de1inition of the situation goes beyond specifying the goals or task to be achieved; it is the complete set of
perceptions pertaining to one’s own and others’ roles in the situation, its duration, its boundaries, and the
norms that will govern it (for example, is it a formal or informal situation?) Obviously, what we say and how we
say it will be largely governed by how we de1ine the situation.

4. Motives, Feelings, Intentions, Attitudes.

Another set of 1ilters or internal noise in the communication process both for sender and listener are the various
needs and motives they bring to the situation, their intentions, and their attitudes towards others. If my needs
are to sell a proposal or to in1luence others, I will communicate differently from how I will if I am curious about
something and need to get information. If I am trying to in1luence, I will listen differently to what others say
from how I will if I am gathering information, and I will listen for different things. For example, if I am trying to
in1luence, I will listen for agreement or disagreement than for new ideas.

5. Expectations.

The 1inal category of psychological factors that create 1ilters is our expectations of ourselves and of others in the
situation, based either on actual experience or on preconception and stereotypes. If I expect my audience to be
slow to understand, I will use simpler words; if I expect them to be receptive, I will talk in a more relaxed way; If
I expect them to be critical, I will frame my points carefully and precisely. For the point of the listener, if they
expect the speaker to be very smart, they may read more meaning than there is in the message; if they expect
the speaker to be inarticulate or unintelligent, they may fail to hear the good points. If they expect
disagreements, they may read hostility into what the speaker says; and if they expect support, they may fail to
hear disagreement.
 Communication Scenario’s

Scenario 1: You are meeting with a classmate for lunch for the Girst time and having an unstructured
conversation. How do you know when if your new friend strongly disagrees with you on a sensitive
issue?
a. They respond directly, stating that they disagree and explain why
b. They 1ind a way to switch topics
c. They make a joke of the situation
d. They abruptly end the meeting or have a strong emotional reaction

Scenario 2: You have an assignment that you cannot make head or tail of. Do you…
a. Seek clari1ication from the professor
b. Discuss this with a classmate
c. Connect with one of your contacts outside the program that could provide some insight
d. Strive to 1igure it out on your own

Scenario 3: A classmate critiques your contribution during a class. Do you…

a. Listen for the validity of this counter
b. Perceive this as a slight and shut down
c. Ignore it, chalking it down to peers having different opinions
d. Look to the professor for intervention

Scenario 4: Your career counsellor is meeting with the entire (large) cohort and seeking input on
planned activities. Do you…
a. Voice out your ideas amidst the many others
b. Send a note to your CC with your suggestions after the session
c. Ask someone in the classroom to voice your suggestions
d. Do nothing – trust that others will provide adequate suggestions

Scenario 5: You are experiencing some difGiculty with one of your teammates as you work on a group
project. Do you…
a. Confront them during one of your meetings
b. Find time to meet with this teammate in private, to smooth things over
c. Go to the professor
d. Let peace prevail – it is only for one term