CM206
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
UNIT 4 SEMINAR
October 19th term, 2011
Opening Poll
Which type of bird are you?
 1. Lark (early riser, early to bed)
 2. Owl (late riser, late to bed)
 3. Hummingbird (in between)
2
Agenda
Welcome!
Agenda
Opening
Student Questions
Review Unit 3
View Unit 4
Preview Unit 5
Wrap Up
3
Minutes
5
15
5
25
5
5
Announcements
• Reminder: First DB post does need to be made by Saturday,
midnight, for full credit
• Submitting late work
4
Student Preparation and Questions
Prior to attending the live seminar, or reviewing the
seminar recording, complete the following tasks:
1.Check your grades and think about your performance in
the previous unit:
• Where did you do well and where did you struggle?
• What would help you do even better in the current unit?
2.Read the current unit Overview, Seminar, and Discussion
pages.
3.Read the current unit recommended textbook pages.
4.Write down at least two questions you would like
answers to in the seminar.
CHAT: Type one of your questions into the chat window.
5
UNIT 3 Review: Influence of Perception on IC
Overview (including Survey)
Seminar
Discussion
A situation in your life where the guidelines
for improving perception and communication
could guard against misperceptions
Lesson 1
Identify elements of the perceptual process in personal
and professional situations 45-90 min.
Lesson 2
Explain instances of effective and ineffective
communication in terms of the principles of self-concept
and perception 2-3 hrs.
6
CM206 Unit 3 Review: Survey Summary
Between Week 1 and 3, on average for all sections:
• The perceived value of the course increased slightly
• Confidence remained the same
• Positivity rose slightly
= Unit 1
7
= Unit 3
UNIT 3 Review: Performance Summary
• Discussion
• Practice Completion
• Time spent
• Lesson 1 Scores
• Lesson 2 Scores
8
UNIT 4: What is Verbal Communication?
Overview
Seminar
Discussion
Journal: Reflect on the process of achieving
your week 2 goal and set a new interpersonal
communication goal
Lesson 1
Apply verbal communication principles to improve
effectiveness of communication in personal and
professional situations 1-1 3/4 hrs.
9
Unit 4
The World Of Words: Chapter 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDghRSpw4s&feature=channel
Google Images
Symbolic Nature of Language
• Words are symbols
Google Images
UNIT 4: Lesson 1 Prepare
1. Apply verbal communication principles to improve communication effectiveness
1. All language is symbolic, and therefore (p.95-97):
• Arbitrary
• Ambiguous
• Abstract
2. Principles of verbal communication (p.98-103):
• Language and culture reflect each other (e.g., linguistic determinism)
• The meanings of language are subjective
• Language use is rule-guided (e.g., constitutive and regulative rules)
• Punctuation shapes meaning
3. Guidelines for improving verbal communication (p.112-116):
• Engage in dual perspective
• Own your own feelings and thoughts (“I” language)
• Respect what others say about their feelings and thoughts
• Strive for accuracy and clarity (e.g., use indexing; avoid static evaluation where
an assessment suggests something is unchanging or fixed)
12
3 Characteristics of Symbols
1: Symbols are arbitrary
- Words by themselves have no meaning
- Changes over time?
Goolge Images
3 Characteristics of Symbols
2: Symbols are ambiguous
- Jeff was late to a meeting, which started at 3 PM; what time did he
arrive?
- Beck raked and bagged a lot of leaves; how many bags did you end up
with?
- Jennifer just graduated college and makes a good salary; how much
does Jennifer make?
3 Characteristics of Symbols
3: Symbols are abstract
- Words are not the things they represent
“You misunderstood. Our ad
says that we can help you get
out of debt.”
4 Principals of Verbal Communication
• Language & culture reflect each other
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE
• The meanings of language are subjective
Google Images
4 Principals of Verbal Communication
• Language is rule –guided:
- Regulative Rules: specify when, how, where, and with whom to talk about certain
things
- Constitutive Rules: Specify how to interpret different kinds of communication
• Punctuation shapes meaning: Demand/withdraw pattern
Google Images
5 Symbolic Activities
•Language Defines
-http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=iLpwW
UKm6KA
•Language Evaluates
•Language Organizes
Perceptions
•Language Allows
Hypothetical
Thought
•Language Allows
Self- Reflection
UNIT 4: Lesson 1 Prepare
1. Apply verbal communication principles to improve communication effectiveness
Wood describes 5 ways that symbolic abilities impact our lives:
Definition: Focusing attention on certain aspects and not others. We tend to perceive
and interact with people according to our definition of them. Totalizing occurs when we
respond to people as if how we define them completely represents who they are.
Evaluation: Labeling people and things to shape perceptions. Words are laden with
values. The particular words we use reflect our values and positively or negatively impact
our perceptions and those of others. Hate speech is an extreme example of evaluation.
Organization: Organizing everything into categories. This allows us to think abstract
thoughts and generalize. Stereotyping involves thinking in broad generalizations about
a whole class of people or experiences.
Hypothetical thought: Thinking about experiences and ideas that are not part of
our immediate and concrete situation: we plan, dream, remember, set goals, consider
alternative courses of action, and imagine possibilities.
Self-reflection: Looking at our self and adapt our behavior. When we turn our
attention back on our self, we can monitor our communication and adjust it to be
effective in particular situations.
19
UNIT 4: Lesson 1 Practice
1. Apply verbal communication principles to improve communication effectiveness
Watch Item 1 video:
“Ed Misses the Banquet”
Ed’s rule: doing his job shows commitment to the company.
Manager’s rule: attending an important event shows commitment to the company.
Ed’s rule: new employees should be given time to learn company expectations.
Manager’s rule: set expectations for new company employees immediately.
Ed’s rule: an R.S.V.P. demonstrates the importance of an event.
Manager’s rule: sending a formal invitation communicates the importance of an event.
Ed’s rule: family obligations have to come first.
Manager’s rule: family obligations are secondary to professional obligations.
20
Guidelines for Improving Verbal
Communication
• Engage in dual perspective
• Own your thoughts and feelings
• Respect what others say about their thoughts and feelings
• Strive for accuracy and clarity
- The law of abstraction
- Qualify language
UNIT 4: Tips for Success
• The Practice and Perform activities are open book and
untimed. So, consult the textbook and online information
in a separate browser window or tab as you do them.
• Read the Practice and Perform item questions carefully to
help you select the best answer.
• If you don’t understand the feedback in a Practice item, ask
me about it and I will try to explain it.
• Use the transcripts of the Lesson 4 video scenarios to
help you complete the items:
- For the Practice, see Ed Misses the Banquet: p. 117
- For the Perform, see Meg and Trevor: p. 296
• Complete your Unit 4 work early and get a head start on
Unit 5, which will require a greater time commitment.
22
UNIT 5 Preview: What is Nonverbal Communication?
Overview
Seminar
Discussion
Journal: A situation in your life where the
guidelines for improving nonverbal
communication could guard against
misinterpretation.
Lesson 1
Identify verbal and nonverbal elements in
personal and professional situations 1-2 hrs.
Lesson 2
Identify nonverbal communication principles in personal and
professional situations 1-2 hrs.
Lesson 3
Explain instances of effective and ineffective communication in terms
of how verbal and nonverbal elements work together 2-4 hrs.
23
Wrap Up
Poll Question
How many of you still
have questions?
 Yes
 No
Post your questions in
“Course Questions”
discussion board
(Link in Course Home menu)
24
Agenda
Minutes
Opening
5
Student Questions
15 
Review Unit 3
5
View Unit 4
25 
Preview Unit 5
5
Wrap Up
5