Speech 9 – Interpersonal Communication
Spring 2011
Riverside Community College
Instructor: Michele Weber
Email: michele.weber@rcc.edu
website: www.micheleweber.homestead.com
Phone: (951) 222-8000 x 5131 (message phone)
Meeting times: Monday nights 6:00pm – 9:23pm
Location: QD 111
Office Hours: by appointment or email
Text:
Adler, R.B.; Rosenfeld, L.B. & Proctor, R.F. (2007) Interplay: The process of interpersonal
communication. Oxford University Press. Tenth Edition (this edition can be found for a much
better price than the 11th edition which can be found in the book store. Either book will work.
Online sources: www.half.com, www.amazon.com, etc)
Course Description:
This course will examine the dynamics interpersonal communication with in relationships. The
focus of the course will be on learning and practicing skills which are needed to help improve the
quality of interpersonal communication. This class is designed to help you improve your
interpersonal skills. The class is very skills oriented and will emphasize learning though
experiences.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. To introduce students to the basic concepts, theories and processes of Interpersonal
Communication
2. To increase the students understanding of communication skills
3. To teach students to apply communication skills to their own interpersonal skills
4. To allow students the opportunity to exercise these new communication skills within the
classroom setting
5. To teach students to analyze different forms of interpersonal communication and
formulate strategies for changing them.
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1) Demonstrate understanding of the Communication Process
1. Identify models of Communication
2. Evaluate the role of listening in the interpersonal communication process
3. Analyze the role of verbal and nonverbal communication in interpersonal
communication
1. Evaluate the role of intrapersonal communication in two-person communication
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Asses the role of values in two person communication
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Appraise the significance of self-concept and self-esteem in
interpersonal communication
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Analyze the role of perception in the creation and deterioration of
relationships
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Critically assess the impact of emotion management in relationships
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Analyze theories of interpersonal communication as they operate in interpersonal
relationships
1. Discuss the Role of self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships
2. Differentiate amongst relationship theories as they function in the development,
maintenance, and termination of relationships
3. Analyze conflict in interpersonal relationships and recommend appropriate styles and
methods of conflict resolution.
Policies and Procedures
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Because “active participation” is essential and is an integral part of your grade you
will be required to come to class ready to discuss reading assignments and to
participate in other class activities. These activities will include lecture and
discussion, group work, presentations and other in class assignments.
Examinations must occur on the day assigned. Make-ups will only be given in
the case of excused absences, such as a verifiable illness.
Attendance is mandatory. Each student is allowed one absence without
participation points being deducted. If you miss a class you risk missing important
information and assignments. I discourage tardiness, however if you are late for
class, do not walk in while a presentation is being given.
All assignments must be typed and proofread for errors. Grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and writing style are all important components of written assignments.
Follow standard APA and MLA guidelines.
All assignments are due on the day assigned. An excused absence is the only
exception. Excused absences are defined as verifiable illness, funeral, wedding, jury
duty, emergency, etc. Any other late assignments will receive a 20% deduction off
the total. It is your responsibility to keep me informed.
Please turn off all cell phones blackberries upon entry into the classroom.
You are expected to provide original work. Any plagiarism will result in an automatic
“F” in this course. Plagiarism is the improper use, or failure to attribute, another
person’s writing or ideas. Please give credit where credit is due to all the sources
you use. Also, keep in mind that any cheating, or copying of another person’s exam,
or paper will not be tolerated.
Please show courtesy and respect for others. This is especially true while someone
is giving sharing their ideas. We may not always agree with someone else’s
perspective or interpretation of information.
Note: To receive GE credit for this course, a semester grade of “C” or better must be
earned.
Grade breakdown: Your grade is based on the number of points you accumulate
out of the total possible
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Journal
Presentation
Presentation Outline
Application Paper
Activity Analysis
Participation
100 pts
150 pts
250 pts
100 pts
50 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
Total Points
950 pts
Grade Scale
855 – 950
760 – 854
665 – 759
570 – 664
A
B
C
D
Below 570
F
Assignments:
Examinations: There will be two exams for this class: midterm and final. The final will be
comprehensive. Exams will be objective true / false, multiple choice. You will need a
Scantron 882. Each exam will cover reading, in class activities and lecture.
Journal: Journals are a means to provide self-reflection. Journal writing will serve two
purposes. The first purpose will be to respond to communication skills. The second will be
to respond to various topics. There will be 10 journal entries with each entry being worth 25
points. The journals will be collected twice throughout the semester for grading. It is very
important that you stay current with your journal writings. Late journal entries will be
penalized.
Presentation: You and a partner will be responsible for delivering a 10 to 15 minute
presentation. Your presentation will need to cover a communication principle in depth. Be
creative on this one and make the presentation fun, interesting and meaningful to the class.
Your presentation will then be graded on the quality of information presented as well as the
style of the presentation. You will be responsible for turning in an outline on the day of the
presentation. You will also be required to turn in an evaluation of your partner to me after
your presentation is complete.
Application Paper: This will be a research paper which will cover a topic which we have
discussed in class. I will hand out a list of topics you can use; however you can choose
something else, just run it by me first. This paper should provide insight and application into
the area of communication. The relevancy of the paper should be how we can apply these
principles or concepts to every day life. The paper will be a 5-7 page double spaced paper,
with a minimum of seven sources in your bibliography. Citations should follow standard
MLA or APA format.
Activity Analysis: Application is the best way to help understand communication principles.
The activity analysis will consist of a combination of both communication skills and exercises,
reading assignments, video analysis and applications. As a result of your participation in
these in class activities you will be required to provide feedback in the form of a written
analysis. Everyone will begin the class with 100 points for the activities and will receive a
deduction of 10 points for every analysis not turned in.
Participation: This class is very experiential. You must be present to experience the in
class assignments. You must understand that due to our accelerated schedule, attendance
is an important part of this class. If you miss class you risk missing important assignments
or skills which the class is working on. Simply attending class however will not be enough to
receive full participation points. Class participation points will be made up of attendance,
active involvement in class, homework assignments, and in class assignments.
Class Schedule
Date
Activity
Mon Feb 14
Introduction to course
Introductions to each other
Mon Feb 21th
Presidents Day Holiday No Class!
Mon Feb 28
The Communication Process
Intro to Interpersonal Relationships
Activities on Comm Process
Mon Mar 7
Assignment
Chapter #1
Journal Entry #1
Chapter #2
Culture and Interpersonal Communication
Culture Activities
Chapter #3
Assign Self Concept Bag
Mon Mar 14
Culture Movie
Mon Mar 21
Self Concept Bag is due
More self – concept
Journal Entry #2
Chapter #4
Journal entry #3
(movie analysis due)
Mon Mar 28
Mon April 4
Perception
Perception exercises
Chapter #5
Language and Exercises on Language
Exercises on Language
Journal Entry#4
Chapter #6
Monday April 11th Spring Break No Class
Mon April 18
Non Verbal Communication
Give out Midterm
Journal Entry #5
Mon April 25
Listening
Journals 1-5 are due
Chapter #7, 8
Emotions
Journal Entry #6 and 7
Mon May 2
Intimacy and Distance in Relationships Chapter #9
Dynamics of Relationships
Chapter #10
More on Relationships / Assign Group Project Chapter #11
Journal Entry #8
Mon May 9
Communication Climates
Conflict
Review and wrap up
Mon May 16
Group Meeting Day
Mon May 23
Group Presentations
Chapter #12
Journal Entry #9
Journal Entry #10
*Journals Due
Mon May 30th Memorial Day – No Class
Mon June 6th
Final Exams
/ Any leftover presentations
Journal Entry Assignments
Instructions:
Use some type of notebook or blue book for your entries. All of your journal
entries can be hand written, however they should be free of spelling and
grammatical errors and easy to read. It is recommended that you keep up with
all of your journal entries as we go through each section. This is important for
two reasons: First, you will have the ideas or concepts we discussed in class
fresh in your mind, therefore making it easier to respond. Second, I will be
collecting the journals twice during the semester for grading.
Entry #1: Interpersonal Communication (personal assessment)
Think about communication competence and your communication skills. In a
couple of paragraphs “What do you consider your two or three most significant
strengths in the area of communication? Share some examples why you
consider these to be strengths. Identify one or two significant weaknesses.
Why do you consider these to be problem areas?
Now come up with three to five goals (related to interpersonal communication)
which you would like to set for yourself this semester. What is one specific thing
that you could do now in order to reach one of these goals?
Entry #2: Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Evaluate two incidents in which self-fulfilling prophecies you have imposed on
yourself have affected communication. Describe how each one of these
predictions shaped your behavior. Describe how you might have behaved
differently if you had made a different prediction.
Now describe two incidents in which you imposed self-fulfilling prophecies on
others. What effect did your prediction have on these people’s actions?
Entry #3: Perception Checking
In at least two situations this week in which you think perception checking will be
appropriate, try using this skill with others. The skill of perception checking
consists of:
2. A description of the behavior your noted
3. Two possible interpretations of that behavior
4. A request for feedback as to the correct interpretation of the behavior.
In your journal, describe the situation(s), discuss why you thought perception
checking was appropriate in the situations, and reflect on how perception
checking influenced the quality of your communication.
Entry #4: Language
6. Identify and provide specific examples of times in your interpersonal
relationships when choice of language led to either positive or negative
results. For each situation, cite the person involved, the place of the
occurrence, the situation and the language use.
7. After this identify the type of language problem (equivocal language,
relative words, euphemisms, static evaluation, etc…) and explain the
results of each incident.
8. How did language play a pivotal role in these experiences? (be sure to
illustrate a different type of language problem for each)
Entry #5: Nonverbal
Provide personal examples (10 total) of how you have used each of the types
of nonverbal communication as discussed in the textbook. The elements that
should be included are: face and eyes, kinesics, touch, paralanguage,
proxemics, territory, chronemics, physical attractiveness, clothing, and
environment. These examples should reflect specific incidents, not just
generalities.
Next, based on the examples you have provided as well as comments made
by others about your nonverbal communication, how do you rate yourself in
regards to frequency (how often you use nonverbal cues), awareness (are
you aware of yourself and others nonverbal behavior)? Be specific and
provide examples.
Entry #6 Listening
1. The text book discusses different types of ineffective listening. Which two
are you most likely to participate? Share examples of each. What would
you do differently in each situation?
2. If you could pick a “model” of a good listener what who would it be?
Why? What makes this person an effective listener??
Entry #7: Emotions
1. Relate four incidents in which you experience communication related
debilitative emotions. These can be either mild or extreme (ex. Getting
ready for a job interview, presentation, etc.)
2. For each incident record the self talk that led to the emotion experienced
(ex. “I’m not ready for this test” or “I’m going to blow this interview.”
3. Identify the fallacy that relates to the self talk recorded (ex. Catastrophic
expectations, over generalization, helplessness, etc…)
4. Provide conclusions for each incident.
Entry #8: Relationships
Consider on of your most important relationships. Begin by identifying the
individual and briefly describing the relationship. Then, use the principles in
the chapters to analyze this relationship.
1. Consider the variables of why we form relationships (attraction, similarity,
complementarily, proximity, etc.) How did these variables function in the
beginning of your relationship? How do the variables function now that you
have a more established relationship?
2. Discuss your relationship in terms of Knapp’s stages of Coming Together /
Apart. How did you move from one stage to another? Where are you now?
What tells you this?
3. How do the dialectical tensions function in this relationship? Give at least
two specific examples and describe how you managed the tension?
4. What role does self-disclosure play in this relationship? Why do you selfdisclose (ch 10) What benefits have you found in self-disclosure in this
relationship? How important is honesty in this relationship? Do you ever use
“alternatives” to self-disclosure (white lies, equivocation, hinting?) What are
the results of such behavior? Give specific examples.
5. How would you describe the “social penetration” of this relationship?
6. What is your satisfaction in the relationship? What could / should be
changed? What is your prediction for the future?
Entry #9 responding non-defensively
When we perceive that others are attacking our self-concept we tend to
respond defensively. Responding defensively often lowers the quality of
communication. During this next week when you find yourself feeling
defensive, stop and consciously decide to respond non defensively. In your
journal respond to the following:
1. First, describe two situations in which you tried to respond non defensively
and what you did to be non defensive.
2. Analyze the influence of the use of this skill on the quality of
communication which occurred.
Entry #10 Conflict
4. During the next week, consciously try to use the skills for managing
conflict constructively in at least one conflict situation you are involved in.
Describe the situation, how you tried to manage it constructively, and the
influence your skill had on the quality of the communication. Remember to use
one of the conflict management skills discussed in class.