LECTURE 14: REVIEW OF THE COURSE
REVIEW OF LECTURE CONTENT
Unit 1 (Introduction)
1.
“Communication refers to the act, by one or more persons, of sending and receiving messages that
are distorted by noise, occur within a context, and have some effect (and some ethical dimension),
and provide some opportunity for feedback.” (DeVito, 2000, page 18.)
2.
Public communication or speech (meaning reaching out and speaking to people in general, not
just ‘public speaking’) builds community and promotes diversity (the macro functions of speech).
3.
The micro functions of speech relate to the individual’s need to define self, disseminate
information within the community. to debate issues, and to bring about change in the community.
4.
The major areas of communication are intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, public,
organisational, mass, and intercultural communication.
5.
Communication has multiple purposes: discover/learn, persuade, relate, play/have fun, and help.
6.
Culture permeates all forms of communication, be it the primary culture of our forebears or the
secondary cultures to which we belong according to the contexts in which we communicate with
others.
Unit 2 (Fundamentals of Speech Communication)
1.
Development in the theory and related thinking about communication practice may be generally
divided into three basic views: the linear, the interactional, and the transactional views.
2.
The message model has been developed from a theory of animal communication. It does not
adequately explain the complex processes involved in human speech communication.
3.
The inferential model was developed to overcome the shortcomings of the message model
towards understanding of the complex shared system(s) of beliefs, values, attitudes, feelings, and
thoughts that underlie(s) communication (compare with what was said about culture in relation to
communication acts).
4.
The current model of speech communication is a transactional one (read the third of the basic
views of communication).
5.
The elements of the transactional model interact with one another in dynamic fashion such that no
act of communication, whether or not it involves language use, is the same as another.
6.
The basic principles of communication may be highlighted via each of the following key phrases:
package of signals, transactional process, process of adjustment, content and relationship
dimensions, punctuated sequences, symmetrical and complementary dimensions, inevitable,
unrepeatable, and irreversible.
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Unit 3 (Dimensions of culture)
1.
Culture may be defined as the collection of shared beliefs, attitudes, values and ways of
behaviour of a group of people. It is transmitted from one generation to another, not through
genes but through communication.
2.
An understanding of the role of culture in is essential if we are to understand speech
communication and master the complex skills involved.
3.
The basic elements of speech as transactional communication are cultural context, situational
context(s), source-receivers (including both encoding and decoding processes), message,
channel, noise, feedback (and feedforward), effect, and ethics.
4.
The context of communication has at least four dimensions: cultural, socio-psychological,
physical, and temporal.
5.
Communicative competence refers to the elements and rules of communication specific to a
given culture.
6.
Messages that are communicated may take various forms depending on the number of channels
employed to transmit them. Multiple channels function at any time in a given speech
communication act.
7.
Feedback messages refer to information that is sent back to the sender or source. It has various
dimensions including positive versus negative, critical versus supportive, person-focused versus
message-focused, immediate versus delayed, and low-monitored versus high-monitored.
8.
Feedforward refers to messages about messages (metacommunication) and are often used to
initiate channels of communication, to preview forthcoming messages, to disclaim, and to
altercast.
9.
Noise is anything (physical, socio-psychological, and/or semantic) that distorts the message, and
is always present in some form or other in any communication act.
10.
Ethics in communication refers to the moral issue (i.e. right or wrong) that is inherent in every
act of communication.
Unit 4 (Listening Matters)
1.
Listening is a specialised area of perception that deals with auditory input.
2.
Technically speaking, ‘Hearing’ and ‘listening’ may be viewed as separate processes. This means
that it is possible to ‘hear’ something but not ‘listen’ to it!
3.
Hearing is a physiological process whereby the individual receives and transmits sound data via
the eardrum and the auditory apparatus. In short, it is the sensory stimulation stage of perception
of auditory data.
4.
Listening is a psycholinguistic process that includes hearing, interpretation-evaluation of the
auditory stimuli, and making an appropriate response. In other words, listening involves all three
stages of perception (sensory stimulation, organisation, and interpretation-evaluation) as well as
response to external stimuli.
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5.
Listening is a five-part process that begins with receiving and continues through understanding,
remembering, evaluating, and responding.
6.
Seen in the complex context of communication, listening involves both auditory and nonverbal/non-auditory signals (that we can see rather than hear).
7.
Receiving is made up of hearing the verbal signals as well as seeing the non-verbal signals.
8.
Understanding refers to making sense of what the speaker means rather than merely what the
words mean. (Meanings are in people, not in words!)
9.
Remembering involves storing the received message in long-term memory, a rather complex
process that involves schema modification and/or the formation of new schemata (knowledge
structures).
10.
Evaluating comprises making judgements on the basis of the message that has been received and
processed.
11.
Responding entails providing feedback to the speaker ‘on-line’ i.e. while the speaker is speaking
or after the speaker’s turn.
12.
Many cultural factors affect the listening process, including language and speech varieties, nonverbal behaviour patterns, speaker credibility, and differences in feedback.
13.
To listen effectively and efficiently, we must learn to adjust our behaviours on the basis of at least
four dimensions: active/participatory and passive listening, empathic and objective listening, nonjudgemental and critical listening, and surface and depth listening (Apply the ‘continuum
principle’ mentioned in Appendix II).
Unit 5 (The Individual Communicator)
1.
Perception concerns becoming aware of the many types of stimulus that impact upon our senses.
2.
There are three stages in the process of perception: sensory stimulation, organisation, and
interpretation-evaluation.
3.
Processes that are known to influence a person’s perceptual processes are implicit personality
theory, self-fulfilling prophecy, perceptual accentuation, primacy-recency, consistency,
stereotyping, and attribution.
4.
We can become more accurate in our perception of objects, events, especially people by being
aware of our perceptions, checking our perceptions, reducing uncertainty, and becoming aware of
cultural differences and their influence on our perception.
5.
Aspects of the overall self-image of a person may be explained in terms of comprise his or her
self-concept, self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-disclosure practices.
6.
Self-concept, the image you have of yourself, develops from the image others have of you which
they reveal, social comparisons with other people, and self-evaluation.
7.
The Johari Window is the metaphor at the centre of a theory about self-awareness. The model
comprises quadrants depicting the open self, the blind self, the unknown self, and the hidden self.
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8.
An increased open self (self-disclosing information and actively seeking information about self
from others) improves self-awareness, and contributes positively to effective communication.
9.
Self-esteem or perception of self-worth refers to the value you place on yourself. It may be
increased by eliminating self-destructive beliefs, seeking out nurturing people, self-affirmation,
recognising that you do not have to be loved by everyone, and doing projects that have potential
for success.
10.
Self-disclosure involves revealing information about your self to others, and is best done under
the following conditions: with one other person, mutual liking, disclosure information to each
other (dyadic effect), between people of approximately the same age, between competent
communicators, impersonal and positive topics, and the discloser is sociable and extroverted.
11.
Positive effects of self-disclosure are increased self-knowledge, better ability to cope with
problems of anxiety and guilt, more effective communication, and meaningful relationships.
12.
Dangers of self-disclosure include personal and/or social rejection, and intrapersonal problems.
13.
Positive listening to other people’s self-disclosures entails active and effective listening,
providing support for the discloser, keeping disclosures confidential, and not using disclosures as
future weapons against the person who has made them.
Unit 6 (The Language in Communication I)
In this unit we looked how messages and meaning are related, the ways in which verbal and non-verbal
messages interact, and at the general characteristics of messages.
1.
When verbal and non-verbal messages interact, certain messages are accentuated, complemented,
contradicted, controlled or regulated, and substituted for each other.
2.
Meaning is an active process created and recreated between speaker and listener on the basis of
some kind of co-operation (read transaction and negotiation), that is, meaning is an outcome of
the interaction of messages sent and received between speakers and listeners (influenced by their
background knowledge, attitudes, values, beliefs, credibility, etc.).
3.
Meanings are in people, not merely in words and gestures, are unique, are both denotative and
connotative, and based on context.
4.
Messages are governed by rules, both linguistic and extralingustic, which are learned within one’s
culture.
5.
Messages can be direct or indirect.
6.
Messages differ in terms of believability, and when verbal and non-verbal messages contradict,
people tend to believe the non-verbal signals more.
7.
Messages may refer to objects, things, and events, or to other messages (metacommunicate, i.e.
send a message about another message).
Unit 7 (The Language in Communication II)
This unit covered some of the basic principles of effective verbal communication by highlighting bipolar
(opposite) orientations, and examined a number of ways by which these principles are violated to set up
communication barriers.
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1.
Excluding talk refers to speech that concerns the interests and concerns of a particular group of
people within a larger group that includes outsiders. Self-talk in which an individual persists in
speaking only about himself or herself all the time.
2.
Downward talk reflects the tendency of some individuals to speak down to others, rather than
treating them as equals.
3.
Lying causes problems in communication by reducing speaker credibility, and bringing about
social disapproval of the liar.
4.
Gossip as a universal phenomenon might be inevitable, but it creates problems particularly when
it betrays people’s confidence and trust in you, is known to be false, and when it is used to
damage others.
5.
Disconfirmation happens when you ignore the presence as well as the communication of others,
particularly certain groups of people.
6.
Racist, sexist, and heterosexist language are specific examples of disconfirmatory behaviour. In
other words, these are instances of speech that separates and alienates people rather than unites.
Unit 8 (Extralinguistic Elements of Communication)
I have used the term ‘extralinguistic’ in the title of the unit, but as you probably know by now, it can be
used interchangeably with the term ‘non-verbal’. This is because verbal means linguistic or directly
concerning language, so extralinguistic communication relates to everything else besides language-based
elements but which are still necessary for speech communication to take place. Extralinguistic signals
also include paralanguage or paralinguistic elements. (This is an interesting issue; perhaps you have
further questions to ask about this.)
1.
Extralinguistic or non-verbal communication is about communication without the use of words.
We have explored such extralinguistic areas as body language, facial and eye movements, spatial
and territorial communication, artifactual communication, touch communication, paralanguage,
silence, and temporal or time communication.
2.
Non-verbal signals arising as a result of body movements are called emblems (directly translate
words or phrases), illustrators (literally illustrate the verbal message), affect displays (convey
emotive meaning), regulators (control, co-ordinate, or maintain the flow of speech of the
speaker), and adaptors (unconscious indication of some communicative need).
3.
Facial expressions and movements may convey a range of emotions such as happiness, anger,
sadness, fear, disgust, and contempt.
4.
Eye contact serves to seek feedback, inform others of their turn to speak, indicate the nature of
the psycho-social context i.e. the relationship, and compensate for increased physical distance
between the speaker and listener.
5.
Eye avoidance may help people prevent/avoid prying questions or signal a lack of interest.
6.
Proxemics is the study of space and spatial relationships in communication.
7.
There are four major proxemic distances: intimate distance (touching to 18 inches); personal
distance (18 inches to 2 feet); social distance (4 to 12 feet); and public distance (12 to 25 feet or
more).
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8.
Space-based communication is affected by variables such as status or power distance in culture,
situational context, speech topic or subject matter, sex, age, and positive or negative evaluation
of the other person.
9.
Territoriality is a collective term for behaviours that reflect people’s possessive reaction to an
area of space or to particular objects. Consider the functions of various markers.
10.
Artifactual communication concerns human-made messages such as the use of colour, clothing
and body ornamentation, and decoration of space, all of which communicate specific meanings.
11.
Haptics is touch communication that conveys a wide range of meanings. Functions include
positive affect, playfulness, control, ritual, and task-relatedness.
12.
Some people do not like to touch others or to be touched. This is called touch avoidance.
13.
Paralanguage relates to the non-verbal aspects of speech communication characterised by vocal
features such as rate, volume, pitch, pauses, fillers, hesitations, tone, and voice quality.
14.
Silence is golden? Well, silence communicates a broad range of meanings that includes deep
emotional responses, lack of interest, and ‘silent treatment’ that is intended to hurt others.
15.
Chronemics or time communication refers to the way time is used in specific cultures to
communicate meaning.
16.
Smell can communicate messages that attract others. It is also related to our sense of taste, our
memory, and our ability to identify objects, events, and people.
17.
Culture affects non-verbal signals to a great extent. This means that different cultures send,
receive, and interpret extralinguistic signals differently in speech communication. Since about
70% of meaning in a given act of communication is conveyed non-verbally, the impact of culture
cannot be over stressed.
Unit 9 (Speaking Interpersonally)
In this unit we covered the nature of conversation, casual conversation and ‘planned’ conversation, the
conversation process and its structure from opening to closing, the principles of conversational
effectiveness, and conversational problems and their repair. An interesting connection was made in this
unit between general communication principles, and conversational maxims from discourse studies.
1.
Conversation consists of five general stages: opening, feedforward, business, feedback, and
closing.
2.
We can initiate conversations in different ways by references to the self, the other, the
relationship, or to the context.
3.
The business component of conversation is maintained by exchanging speaking and listening
turns: turn maintaining and turn yielding cues are used by the speaker, and turn requesting, and
turn denying, and back channelling cues are used by the listener.
4.
Conversational closing can be accomplished through various ways, including reflection on the
conversation such as in summarising, direct statement to end the conversation, reference to future
interaction, asking for closure, and stating one’s pleasure with the interaction.
5.
The skills of conversational effectiveness can be achieved by applying the metaskills of
mindfulness, flexibility, and cultural sensitivity in an appropriate manner.
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6.
The skills of conversational effectiveness include openness, empathy, positiveness, immediacy,
interaction management, expressiveness and other orientation.
7.
Conversational problems may be avoided to some extent by using the disclaimer, a statement that
helps to ensure that your message is understood and will not reflect negatively on you, the
speaker.
8.
Conversational problems may be repaired by using excuses, that is, statements intended to reduce
the negative effects of a speaker’s messages and actions (or non-actions). However, an excuse
must be made appropriately, otherwise it might make the problem worse.
9.
We know that within the transactional theory of speech communication, speakers and listeners cooperate to send and receive messages.
10.
The linguistic philosopher, H. Paul Grice (1975) proposed a set of conversational maxims to
explain the principle of co-operation that makes conversation possible: Maxims of quantity,
quality, relation, and manner. Grice has referred to the maxims collectively as ‘the co-operative
principle’.
11.
When people converse naturally, they do not always follow the conversational maxims. Often the
maxims are violated or flouted to send and receive specific meanings. Other maxims such as
cultural maxims also violate the conversational maxims.
12.
Also based on the principle of co-operation is ‘the politeness principle’ postulated by Robin
Lakoff (1973). Again, this is a set of maxims: ‘do not impose’, ‘give options’., and ‘make your
receiver feel good’.
13.
One other principle of conversational co-operation is ‘the reality principle’ that enjoins people to
speak of (and comprehend) real and possible things.
TOPICS FOR SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION
Some procedural guidelines
This section provides a selection of topics and/or issues that should stimulate you to think critically about
the ideas, skills, and strategies that have been presented in this course. Read and think about each of the
following statements with a view towards a critical evaluation of its acceptability or validity in the light
what you now know about the theory and practice of speech communication.
Each statement can be related directly to a specific unit of the module. However, since each unit
contributes towards the critical interpretation and evaluation of the complex process of speech
communication, each statement has implications for the same as well. I suggest that you follow these
steps:
1.
Read each statement and write it down clearly on a clean sheet of paper. Perhaps you can identify
the keywords and underline them.
2.
Think about its overall meaning critically by asking relevant questions about what it claims. Use
mainly “Wh-“ questions such as “What is the meaning of…?”, “Which unit of the module covers
this topic?”, How does it relate to what I know about…? etc, You only need about 5 - 6 questions
at the most, but make sure you write them down below the statement on the sheet of paper.
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3.
Brainstorm on a separate sheet of paper. This is best done using a mind map or a keyword pattern,
that is, putting down on paper as many ideas as possible in a branching, interconnected manner.
At this stage, the quality or accuracy of your ideas should not matter; quantity is preferred.
4.
Go back to your notes, textbook, the unit summaries supplied above, and other materials as
necessary to check if you have missed anything, and to see your modified ideas in their proper
perspective.
5.
Now you should be able to reorganise all the ideas/points that you have collected in order to
comment on or discuss the issue raised by the given statement. In fact, with a little more effort,
you will be able to give a talk on the topic/issue and even write a paper!
List of Topics/Issues
(List your main ideas or responses to each statement in the blank space after the statement)
1. Culture permeates and influences all areas of speech communication.
2. In any act of speech communication involving you, the most important component is you, the
individual communicator.
3. Intercultural communication is involved in all other forms of communication except intrapersonal.
4. Language is a symbol of status and power.
5. Language is a symbolic system that reflects reality rather than encode it permanently.
6. Maxims of conversation work both when they are observed as well as when they are flouted or
violated.
7. Most people do not realise that they are racist, sexist, or heterosexist.
8. Non-native speakers of English who insist on speaking the language as often as possible are victims
of cultural imperialism.
9. Our use of speech creates both complementary and symmetrical relationships.
10. Perception is central to the creative construction of meaning in speech communication practice.
11. Probably the greatest barriers to effective intercultural communication are ethnocentrism and
disconfirmation of the Other.
12. Speech helps build communities of people while at the same time promoting diversity.
13. The listening process is different for different people.
14. With the exception of intrapersonal communication, speech communication is basically
interpersonal and ‘public’ in nature.
15. Without non-verbal elements of communication, speech would not be possible.
16. Words do not mean; people do.
___________________________
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (William
Shakepeare)
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