Ch. 1 Human Communication: What
and Why
Types of communication
 Intrapersonal
 Interpersonal
Small Group
 Public
 Mass communication

Intrapersonal vs. Interpersonal
 Intrapersonal-
 Interpersonal-
communicating with oneself
communication that takes place
between two people
Dyad- two persons interacting
Small group communication
 Communication
that takes place between more
than two members
 Group members usually communicate equally
Public communication
 Communication
that takes place in a large group
 Too large for all members to communicate equally
Mass communication
 Consists
of messages that are transmitted in large
quantities to several people at one time
 Transmitted through several sources: electronic,
print, television, radio, magazines, etc.
 No personal contact between sender and receiver
What needs are satisfied in your life
by communicating with others?
 Physical
needs
 Identity needs
 Social needs
 Practical needs
Physical needs
 Communicating
with others benefits our physical
health/well-being
Identity needs
 We
define who we are through communication
with others
 Impressions
of who we are, are formed according
to the ways in which others respond to us
Social needs
 Several
social needs are met through
communication:
Pleasure
Affection
Inclusion
Escape
Relaxation
Control
Practical Needs
Communication is used in order to achieve our
everyday needs
-to get where we need to go
-to accomplish what we need to accomplish
-to better understand our environment and what is
expected of us
What is communication competence?
 The
ability to communicate effectively
What is effective communication?
 Communication that maintains or enhances the
relationship in which it occurs
Why should we want to become more
competent communicators?
 More
satisfying relationships
 In order to satisfy our human needs
 To get more out of life
Some interesting findings…
***Several studies show that married couples that were
identified as effective communicators report more
satisfying relationships than husbands and wives who are
less skillful communicators
***Other studies have found that college students’ G.P.A.
was positively related to their communication competence.

Studies show that even a small amount of training can
greatly affect communication ability
How might you become a more
competent communicator?
 By
taking this class
 By wanting to become a better communicator
 By continuously working toward improving your
communication skills
 By practicing the skills you are taught
What are the characteristics of a
competent communicator?
A wide range of communication behaviors to
choose from in an interaction
 Ability to choose the most appropriate behavior for
the situation
 Ability to perform effective communication
 Plenty of practice as a skilled communicator

Other characteristics of competent
communicators
 Empathy
 Cognitive
Complexity
 Self-Monitoring
 Commitment to the relationship
Empathy
 Ability
to put yourself in another’s shoes
 Understanding another’s perspective
Cognitive complexity
 The
ability to analyze the behavior of others in a
variety of ways
 Looking at the situation from a variety of angles
(rather than just your perspective)
Self-Monitoring
 Observing
your own behaviors as if you are
outside yourself
 Imagining how others are interpreting your
behaviors
 Being aware of how your behaviors affect others
Commitment to the relationship
 Level
of commitment to a relationship determines
willingness to communicate effectively
 We work harder at communicating in relationships
we genuinely care about
Three factors to remember when
deciding on a response
 The
context (what is involved in the situation)
 Your goal (do you want this relationship to
continue positively)
 The other person (where is he or she coming from
and how is he or she feeling)
In Conclusion:
 It
is now clear that communication satisfies several
human needs
 It is important that we all work on our
communication skills in order to have more
effective relationships
Models of Communication
 Linear
Model
 Transactional Model
Linear Model
 In
this model communication only goes one way
How it works…
 Sender
– person sending the message
 Receiver – person receiving the message
 Sender encodes a message, chooses a
channel by which to send the message,
and then sends the message to a receiver
who then decodes the message.
 Channel
– the way the message is
conveyed (face- to-face, telephone, e-mail,
etc.) depends on the situation
 [p. 14 explains different channels and their
effectiveness in specific situations]
 Encode
– when the sender consciously
attaches meanings to symbols from
feelings and ideas, creating the message
sent
 Decode – when the receiver interprets and
creates an understanding of what the
message sent means
Noise
 affects
the message sent by the sender
 may prevent the message from reaching the
receiver accurately
 may affect the way the receiver interprets the
message.
 May take place before, during and after
message is sent
Types of Noise
 1.
External – factors that take place
outside the receiver
 2. Physiological -- biological, personal
factors that prevent the receiver from
accurately interpreting and decoding the
message
 3. Psychological -- when forces within a
person prevent he/she from having the
ability to send or receive a message
effectively
Environment
•
•
Refers to our physical surroundings, or to
our personal experiences and cultural
backgrounds that communicators base
their view of the world on.
Our environments may influence the way
we encode or decode messages.
The way we understand a
message is based on several
factors:
1. How we interpret the message sent
2. Environment we come from
3. The environment we are in when the
message
is sent
4. The amount of noise that is present
when communication takes place
Weaknesses of the linear
model:
 lacks
an element of response, and
communication is only one way.
 This model assumes that all messages
sent involve conscious encoding
 Sometimes we send messages
unconsciously without consciously
encoding them

This brings us to the transactional model – which
changes encoding to response

Response – takes place when the sender
(consciously or unconsciously) sends a
message, or when a receiver (consciously or
unconsciously) responds to a message.
Transactional Model
 Similar
to the linear model with added
elements
 Represents two-way communication
In the Transactional Model…
 Feedback
is the seen and understood
response of a receiver to a sender’s
message
 Both
parties involved are sending and
receiving messages simultaneously
 Noise
and environment are also elements
involved with the transactional model