Communication Defined
• The process
whereby humans
collectively create
and regulate social
reality
• A transactional
process by which
people create
meaning through
symbols
COMMUNICATION-ASACTION
Situation
communicator
audience
Situation
“MY BARN”
COMMUNICATION-ASINTERACTION
message
receiver
sender
message
COMMUNICATION-ASTRANSACTION
• "EVERY TIME PERSONS
COMMUNICATE, THEY ARE
CONTINUALLY OFFERING
DEFINITIONS OF THEMSELVES AND
RESPONDING TO DEFINITIONS OF
THE OTHER(S) WHICH THEY PERCEIVE"
John Stewart
CONVERSATIONAL
META-PERSPECTIVES
10 INDIVIDUALS IN ANY
CONVERSATION
I. HOW I
SEE ME
A
B
• "I'm the type of
person who can
roll with the
punches"
II. HOW I
SEE YOU
A
B
" My impression is
that you are
generally the
'satisfied’ type"
III. HOW I
THINK YOU
SEE ME
A
B
" It's my guess that
you think I 'm selfconfident"
IV. HOW I
THINK YOU
SEE
YOURSELF
A
"I think you see yourself in control"
B
A
V. HOW I
THINK YOU
THINK I SEE
YOU
B
"I feel that you don't believe that I see you in a
positive way."
Three Levels of
Communication
Martin Buber
Check out: http://courses.washington.edu/spcmu/buber/
• I-It
– Treat others impersonally, almost like objects
– clerical staff, servers in restaurant, student in class
• I-You
– Treat others as more than objects, but not as unique
– Interaction guided by our roles as peers, students, relatives
• I-Thou
– Affirms the other as unique, meet others in their wholeness, individuality
– Rather than “seeming” interact as “being” (how we really are and feel)
What does it mean to
communicate interpersonally
•
•
•
•
•
Unique (vs. generic)
Unmeasurable (vs. Quantifiable)
Reflective (vs. Unquestioning)
Responsive (vs. Reactive)
Addressable (vs. Talked to/at)