Interesting Concept

One thing I found to be interesting in chapter two was the concept of failed communication. Once I started to think about it, I realized there really are many factors that can get in the way of communication. The book specifically mentions codes, shared experiences and channels as things that can be disrupted and result in miscommunication. Then I started to think about how technology has increased miscommunication. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, technology has increased and opened several new channels for communication but then there also is a greater margin for error especially in emails and text messages. It is so easy to misinterpret someone’s message because we cannot see the senders facial expression or hear the tone of their voice. For example, we might mistake the tone of a short, to-the-point email to be rude but really, the sender had only limited time to send the email or maybe was distracted by something else.

Pragmatic Perspective

I think it makes sense for communication to be thought of as a pattern. When we first see someone we want to communicate with we usually start with some type of greeting like ‘hello,’ then maybe ask a few questions to start a conversation such as ‘how are you?’ or ‘what have you been up to?’ and then end with something to signify we are finished like ‘goodbye’ or ‘see you later’ etc. Generally, most conversations have a beginning, middle and end which is a very obvious pattern.

Communication is like a game because everything one person does affects the person he or she is communicating with. How we decide to communicate is like making moves in a game, each choice we make results in a different response from the other person. However, the analogy of communication being a game can fail because meanings can be interpreted differently. We all have our own meanings for words and actions that can be different from someone else’s.

Social Constructivist Perspective

The social constructionist perspective emphasizes the relationship between communication and culture (page 25). One’s culture greatly influences his or her understanding of the word. Each culture in itself is like a unique little world where meanings are exclusive to that particular culture. Here in America, our idea of beauty is different than in many other countries. We are led to believe that thin and tall body types are ideal for females while even taller and muscular body types are ideal for males. Light skin, full lips, and small noses are amongst other features people are often attracted to. Unfortunately we are led to believe these things when most of them are not realistic. Our unique culture has created these idealistic concepts where the majority of people go along with them.

As for the example of beauty, I think the happiness of our culture is affected negatively. Like I said, much of what is considered beautiful is not realistic. The majority of people fall outside the ‘beautiful’ margin and are oftentimes unhappy because of it.

Interesting Concept

A concept from Chapter 1 that I found to be interesting was about communication today and how new technologies have affected and will continue to affect communication. It is easy to see how communication has evolved throughout thousands of years. Primitively, humans communicated through sounds or language and gestures. As we became more sophisticated (as in ancient Greece) writing became another form of communication. But today in 2009, there are endless and much easier forms of communication. With cell phones and the Internet, we can be constantly in touch with friends, family and coworkers.

I also found it interesting how in early times, the study of public speaking was not taken seriously. For most people, public speaking does not come naturally – it requires skill and lots of practice. Public speaking is an important skill to have because we will use it for the rest of our lives. From what I have seen, people that have mastered public speaking generally present themselves in a professional way, allowing audiences to take them seriously.

Orators

Ideally, orators should all be morally good – wouldn’t that be nice? Our world would be a better place if those who chose to speak publicly to groups of people only delivered positive or even motivational messages. I agree with the Greeks’ rule of good morale in public speaking but it has obviously not been enforced. There have been many evil leaders in our world’s history who have unfortunately been great public speakers and gained followers in support. Some of them have accomplished such immoral, disgusting things solely through their public speaking skills.

Realistically I don’t see a connection between goodness, truth and public communication. Thanks to the first amendment, we all have the right to free speech in this country allowing anyone to communicate publicly about just about any topic they choose – it doesn’t have to be good or the truth. Human beings are all so unique, filled with their own thoughts of opinions and beliefs that it would be impossible to regulate public communication to only good and true words.

Admirable Speaker

When I think of ‘speakers’ the people I think of most are my teachers. Although they may not be famous people addressing thousands or millions of viewers in an audience or on television, they still practice public speaking every day during their lectures. The teacher I most admire for his speaking abilities is Dr. Carlos Garcia. I currently have him for a sociology class and I also took one of his classes last semester, some of you may know him. For me, his speaking is most powerful and persuasive through ethos. I enjoy his lecture style because of his personality; he is funny, enthusiastic and passionate about what he is teaching, which makes the lecture more interesting for me. His personal character is unique because he comes across as very relaxed and easy going (he wears Vans, jeans and t-shirts to class every day) but then when it comes down to it, he is really not one of the easiest teachers because of his challenging tests and assignments. The fact that he takes his students’ work seriously by expecting a lot from them makes me respect him as a teacher.

I would like to say that it is my personal character that allows me to be persuasive as well but I cannot be sure because I’m never trying to persuade myself! My friends and family could probably do a better job answering that question. I am a reasonable, honest and kind person so I would think those qualities would allow me to be persuasive towards those who know me.