COMMUNICATION
LESSON 1: VERBAL COMMUNICATION
"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but,
I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
-Unknown
I.
Literacy Objective: The students will be able to describe two effective verbal
communication strategies.
II.
Materials for Lesson:
Pre-test Check for Yourself
"Me and My Giant" by Shel Silverstein (optional as a
handout)
"Interpersonal Communication" handout by Richard L.
Weaver, II
"We Cannot Not Communicate" handout by Fran
Averett Tanner
"Thank you, William Shakespeare" handout
by Guy Wright
III.
Suggested Readings:
IV.
Additional Activities:
V.
Notes to Instructor:
Games Language People Play by Jerry Steinberg
(1991) Dominic Press Pippin Publishing Limited
150 Telson Drive
Markham, Ontario L3R 1E5
Uses and misuses of humor
"Classroom Classics" handout by Alexander Abingdon
This has been called the Age of Communication. We can pick up the phone and talk
immediately with someone in every inhabitable part of the earth, or turn on the
television and see telecasts from anywhere on the planet. Computers provide
sophisticated and current information. Printed communication is provided in
greater quantity than ever before. EMAIL provides instant written communication.
Discuss these concepts with the class. Talk about the benefits of being an effective
communicator and not just a communication receiver. Set the stage for on-going
discussions throughout the curriculum for analyzing effective and ineffective
communication strategies and situations. Talk about the power of words and
word choice as opportunities appear in the classroom. Classroom interactions
provide constant sources for analyzing and exemplifying the strategies discussed
in this unit. Model effective strategies: paraphrase back the messages you
receive, make your messages complete, really listen to others, enunciate clearly,
and talk about words and messages. The use of humor in communication is
presented as an additional activity. If you have access to any cartoon books or
short films that illustrate humor usage, you are encouraged to fit them into this
lesson.
Journal Entry:
Review:
Words have power! What are five of your most powerful words?
Why do you consider them powerful?
Ask for volunteers to read their home assignments from the lesson
before.
INITIAL INQUIRY
Administer "Pre-test Check for Yourself".
Read orally to the group "Me and My Giant" by Shel Silverstein. Reading orally to your
group will provide time for the students (and you) to make the transition from personal
lives to the classroom environment. This might be a fun reading for the students to take
home to read with members of their families.
Focus the discussion on effective communication strategies. What we say and how we
say it makes a difference on how effectively we communicate.
Discuss with the class the importance of communication. Possible questioning may be
as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is effective communication? Ineffective communication?
What are the many ways we communicate?
Why is speech important?
Why do we talk?
How can we improve?
What does one's speech reveal?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Words, words, words! We live in a sea of words. If we are not talking, we are reading, or
writing, or listening to others. Yet, we take words and their role in communication for
granted. Have you ever said something to someone and in return received an odd
answer or a blank stare? When we talk to people we often assume too quickly that we
are being understood. But communication is more than the exchange of words- it is the
exchange of messages. Messages can be verbal or nonverbal. Both are equally valid
communication. Words are verbal, but much of the feedback we get that tells us how our
message is being received is nonverbal. For example, how do you communicate to me:
* that it is time for a break?
* that you are bored with the lesson?
* that you are fascinated with the lesson?
* "Don't call on me; I don't know the answer!"
* "Ask Me!!!"
* "I'm in a rotten mood so everybody stay away!"
When we think of messages however, we usually think of words or verbal
communication. Words mean different things to different people because words are
personal. They depend on the experiences, reactions, feelings, contexts, and ideas of
the people using them.
Words continually change meanings. For example, ask the students to write down
different meanings for each of the following words:
easy bug heavy radical hot trip class hustle tough easy jam
Think about how you use words differently in different contexts or with different people
even though the message is the same. How would you communicate to someone " I
would really like to get to know you better " if the person was:
a member of the opposite sex whom you just met for the first time?
the parents of your son's best friend?
one of your teachers?
a new neighbor- same sex?
a new neighbor- opposite sex?
a new mother-in-law?
a small child?
Use other examples of how we alter our words depending on who we are talking to, even
though the message stays the same, such as "You're wrong! It didn't happen like
that!". Ask the students to come up with examples.
Communication requires a person who sends a message and a person who receives the
message. Effective communication occurs when the message sent by sender is the
same as the message received by the receiver. Communication is the successful
sending and receiving of messages. Being competent in our communication skills is a
goal we all have, so why do have so much trouble communicating with one another?
Difficulties usually result from the failure of the receiver to understand the intentions of
the sender. This entire unit looks at communication and the factors that influence it.
Read and discuss the handout titled "Interpersonal Communication".
this is the 1st
ACTIVITY
class!!!
Student Interviews:
Pair students off and ask them to take turns being an interviewer and an
interviewee. The interview should be conducted in a semi-structured manner.
Tell the class they are to interview their partners about what they have learned in
their recent lessons and how it has affected them as individuals. The interviewer
should listen attentively to what is being said. Allow approximately ten minutes
for each interview. (This seems premature for Week 1 possibly)
Next bring the group together as a whole. Have each interviewer "report" on the
interviewee. Allow dialogue between partners when there is a discrepancy between what
is being reported and what the interviewee said (or meant to say). The instructor should
reinforce the importance of WORD choice and NON-VERBAL behavior in conveying a
message. Incorporate into the discussion the concepts contained in the handout:
Were you aware of movements or gestures by your partner?
Did your partner use silence during your discussion?
What did you observe about space, time, color, clothes?
What feedback did you receive from your partner?
Was all of your communication face-to-face?
What unintentional messages did you pick up while your partner was
speaking?
What effect did your partner's messages have on you?
What physical noises were you aware of during the interview?
What psychological noises were you aware of during the interview?
What did you find yourself thinking as your partner spoke?
Teachers Note: Any of these questions can be used as writing assignments.
Self-paced Activities
Activity 1: Ask these students to write a list of the important messages their partner
shared with them in the interview. Then, ask them to check with their partner to
reconfirm what was shared.
Activity 2: Ask these students to write a description of a visit they recently had with a
friend and the variables that affected the communication, such as the time of day, noises
or distractions, weather, location, touch, other people present, what they wore, and what
they talked about.
Activity 3: Ask these students to write a justification for the importance of words. Ask
them to include how they may have misinterpreted what their partner said in the
interview, or how they may have been misinterpreted due to the choice of words.
LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE
Discuss with the students the concept that "You cannot NOT communicate". What does
it mean? Do they agree? Disagree? Why? How many ways do we communicate? Write
their comments on the board. Distribute the handout "We Cannot NOT Communicate".
Read and discuss. Divide the class into small groups and ask them to write examples for
each one of the 8 points to share with the class.
READING IN CONTEXT
Discuss what the students know about William Shakespeare and his contribution to the
English language. Write any of the quotes or contributions they know on the board.
Distribute Thank You, William Shakespeare by Guy Wright to the students and read
aloud. Study unfamiliar words such as "popinjay", "petard" or "bon mot" and try to
predict what they mean by looking at the rest of the sentence and guessing. Ask the
students to circle the phrases they use often.
Comprehension Questions:
Can you restate the quotes using other words?
What mental pictures do you get from them?
Can you draw pictures of them?
What have you learned about Shakespeare?
Why do you think he is remembered?
What influence has he had on the English language?
Ask the students to write scenarios illustrating the intent of the quotes. This can be
done individually, in small groups, or as a whole class.
Personal Dictionary
Be sure to look up the definitions of the unfamiliar words found in "Thank you, Mr.
Shakespeare".
HOME ASSIGNMENT
Ask the students to describe two methods of effective communication they use in their
everyday lives. Allow the students to choose how they wish to respond, whether it be in
list form, paragraph form, or short story form.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:
1.
Continue to develop the verbal communication theme by focusing on HUMOR.
Humor is considered the most complicated and sophisticated language function.
We all know how to tell jokes, but humor in genuine communication is more
complicated. Discuss with the class the following uses and misuses of humor.
On the chalkboard or overhead projector write the highlighted outline of the
following in order to provide a visual cue to your discussion.
USES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Establishing rapport, developing camaraderie or social bonds.
Creating a relaxed atmosphere and decreasing anxiety or overcoming a
stiff, formal style.
Encouraging communication on sensitive matters.
Helping to diffuse conflicts.
Improving job satisfaction and preventing burnout.
MISUSES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Miscommunication (i.e., being unable to tell if someone is joking, not
understanding the humor, or not seeing the humor the same way as
another person.)
Humor as sarcasm.
Being the brunt of someone's humor on a regular basis.
Distracting from serious matters.
Self-paced Activities
Activity 1:
Ask students to describe in a short paragraph a time when they
used humor while communicating and whether it was effective or
not.
Activity 2:
Ask students to describe a personal experience when someone they
were communicating with misused humor. If they cannot recall a
situation, have them create a fictional experience. Encourage them
to elaborate on why the humor was misused.
Activity 3:
Ask students to create two lists detailing the circumstances when
humor would be appropriate, and when it would not be. Ask them to
be specific.
2.
Read and discuss Classroom Classics edited by Alexander Abingdon.
3.
Start a class collection of humorous stories and situations.
PRE-TEST CHECK FOR YOURSELF
Student Name ______________________________
Unit theme __________________
Instructor Name ____________________________
"Pre-Check" Before beginning a new topic it is important to identify what you already
know about a subject.
Write a short description of what you already know about the unit theme:
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__________________________________________________________Date________
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Adapted from Check for Yourself - The Centers for Reading and Writing
ME AND MY GIANT
by Shel Silverstein
I have a friend who is a giant,
And he lives where the tall weeds grow.
He's high as a mountain and wide as a barn,
And I only come up to his toe, you know,
I only come up to his toe.
When the daylight grows dim I talk with him
Way down in the marshy sands,
And his ear is too far away to hear,
But still he understands, he 'stands,
I know he understands.
For we have a code called the "scratch-tap code,"
And here is what we do I scratch his toe... once means, "Hello"
And twice means, "How are You?"
Three means, "Does it look like rain?"
Four times means, "Don't cry."
Five times means, "I'll scratch you a joke."
And six times means, "Goodbye," "Goodbye,"
Six times means, "Goodbye."
And he answers me by tapping his toe Once means, "Hello, friend."
Two taps means, "It's very nice to feel your scratch again."
Three taps means, "It's lonely here
With my head in the top of the sky."
Four taps means, "Oops, I just bumped
my head against the moon."
Six means, "Sigh" and seven means, "Bye"
And eight means, "Come back soon, soon, soon,"
Eight means, "Come back soon."
And then I scratch a thousand times,
And he taps with a bappity-bimm,
And he laughs so hard he shakes the sky That means I'm tickling him!
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
1. Interpersonal communication involves two or three people.
Other forms of communication include small and large group communication,
communication within ourselves, and communication with objects, plants,
pets,etc.
2. Interpersonal communication involves feedback.
Feedback is the message sent by the receiver back to the speaker. It can be
verbal or nonverbal. It does not include tv, radio, or public speaking situations
where messages go from source to audience but do not return.
3. Interpersonal communication need not be face-to-face.
Speaking on the phone, sending nonverbal messages to your kids, overhearing
someone else's conversation, or gesturing to another driver on the freeway are all
forms of communication that are not face-to-face. However, in face-to-face
communication we receive more information because we can see more of the
other person and perceive more body language, moods, and emphasis and we
have a better chance of getting the whole message.
4. Interpersonal communication need not be intentional.
Many messages are communicated to us by the way people act or by a "slip of the
tongue". If people will not look at us directly, or keep looking at their watch or
over their shoulders, we perceive messages even if they are not intentional.
5. Interpersonal communication produces some effect.
The effect does not need to be immediate but it must occur. If a very attractive
person smiled, winked, and begged you for your name and address and you did
not see or hear him/her, the communication attempt did not have an effect.
6. Interpersonal communication is affected by noise.
Noise is always a factor. It can take two forms. Physical noise is the kind we are
familiar with in our environment, such as traffic, doors, horns, people, televisions,
radios, and trains. The other is psychological noise and it exists in the minds of
both the sender and receiver. It is harder to detect and compensate for. It can
include distractions such as:
Thinking about what you are going to say next.
Worrying about what the other person thinks of you.
Thinking about where you should be right now, or where you are going.
Wondering when the other person is going to finish talking.
Worrying about how you look, sound, or are acting.
Source: Adapted from Understanding Interpersonal Communication by Richard L.
Weaver, II.
WE CANNOT NOT COMMUNICATE
No matter how hard we try we cannot not communicate because all of our actions and
words "say" something to others. We use numerous ways to communicate:
We use symbols to communicate, such as words, whistles, laughter, or grunts which
other people can hear and understand. Pictures, paintings, statues, or books are
symbols that people can see and understand. These symbols "stand" for something we
can understand.
We use movement and gestures. We can communicate by pointing a finger, smiling,
winking, frowning, shaking a fist, looking away, raising an eyebrow, or shrugging our
shoulders. Often our "actions speak louder than words".
We use physical touch. A pat on the hands, an elbow in the ribs, or a tap on the shoulder
all communicate messages.
We use silence. When a teacher asks you a question and you are silent, your silence
tells much.
We use space. The distance we place between ourselves and others transfers meaning.
We move toward people we like. We separate ourselves from strangers, people of higher
rank, or from people we dislike.
We communicate with our use of time. If we arrive early, late, or on time to an
appointment and how much of our time we give people expresses meaning.
We use the silent language of color. "Cool" colors of green, blue, and gray encourage
meditation and quietness, thus lessening the degree of communication. "Warm" colors
such as red, orange, and yellow encourage creativity and make people feel more
responsive to each other.
We use our choice of clothes. Our clothes and appearance reveal much about our
attitudes and values.
Source: Adapted from Creative Communication by Fran Averett Tanner.
THANK YOU, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE!
By Guy Wright
I doubt that there's anyone reading this who goes through a normal day's conversation
without quoting Shakespeare. Once in a while we realize we're doing this, but most of
the time we lift his lines to season our speech and sharpen our opinions without the
slightest thought of the source.*1
When you call a man a "rotten apple," a "blinking idiot," or a "popinjay"... When you say
he "bears a charmed life," or is "hoist with his own petard"... When you proclaim him a
"man of few words"...
When you speak of "cold comfort," "grim necessity," "bag and baggage," the "minds's
eye," "holding your tongue," "suiting the action to the words"... When you refer to your
"salad days" or "heart of hearts"... When you deplore "the beginning of the end," "life's
uncertain voyage," or "the unkindest cut of all"...
By golly, you're quoting Shakespeare!
When you use such expressions as "poor but honest," "one fell swoop," "as luck would
have it," "the short and the long of it," "neither here nor there," "what's done is done"...
When you say something "smells to heaven," or is "Greek to me," or it's a "mad world,"
or "not in my book"...
When you complain that you "haven't slept a wink," or that your family is "eating you out
of house and home," or you've "seen better days"...
When you speak of a coward "showing his heels" or having "no stomach for a fight"...
When you nod wisely and say, "Love is blind," ...or "Truth will come to light,"... or "The
world is my oyster"...
Your are borrowing your bon mot from the Bard. Shakespeare was the greatest cliche
inventer of all time. Without him to put the words in our mouths, we would be virtually
tongue-tied, and the English language would have a lean and hungry look.
Source: Adapted from Word Power by editors of Reader's Digest.
1
Some of the expressions have changed a bit with everyday usage, but even these can be
easily traced to the master.
CLASSROOM CLASSICS
Schoolboy Howlers Which Make Examination
Papers Lively Reading
Edited by Alexander Abingdon
Definitions
Acrimony, sometimes called holy, is another name for marriage.
Cubism is the rules of very young Scouts.
Filet Mignon is an opera by Puccini.
A hamlet is a little pig.
Hygiene is keeping clean when it is not essential.
A polygon is a man with more than one wife, preferably living.
Teetotalers are boys who carry golf clubs. They are generally paid, except in Scotland.
Sinister means a woman who hasn't married.
Politics
The President has the power to appoint and disappoint the members of his Cabinet.
A Conservative is a kind of greenhouse where you look at the moon.
Geography
The climate of Bombay is such that its inhabitants have to live elsewhere.
The equator is a menagerie lion running around the earth and through Africa.
Denver is just below the "o" in Colorado.
They don't raise anything in Kansas but Alpaca Grass, and they have to irritate that to
make it grow.
History
Cleopatra ended a remarkable life rather curiously. She was bitten by and aspidistra.
In preparation for the channel crossing, Caesar built 18 new vesuls vessils vesles botes.
1066 is in the ninth century because centuries always for some reason or other fall back
one.
Henry VIII had an abbess on his knee, which made walking difficult.
The father of the famous Black Prince in English history was Old King Cole.
Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen." As a queen she was a success.
Hygiene
For fainting: rub the person's chest, or if a lady, rub her arm above the hand.
There are four symptoms of a cold. Two I forget and the other two are too well known to
mention.
Doctors today say that fatal diseases are the worst.
False doctrine means giving people the wrong medicine.
Miscellaneous
The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he
obeyed him.
After sinking a shaft 100 feet at the mine, they finally struck bedpan.
Source: Word Power by editors of Reader's Digest.