Three Components Of Communication Competence

Communication Competence Communication competence is the ability to choose a communication behavior that is both appropriate and effective for a given situation. Interpersonal competency allows one to achieve their communication goals without causing the other party to lose face. The model most often used to describe competence is the component model (Spitzberg & Cupach, 1984) which includes three components: 1) knowledge, 2) skill, and 3) motivation. Knowledge simply means knowing what behavior is best suited for a given situation. Skill is having the ability to apply that behavior in the given context. Motivation is having the desire to communicate in a competent manner.
“Communication competence is the degree to which a communicator’s
Social confirmation - refers to acknowledgment of partner’s goals 4. Appropriate disclosure - being sensitive to amount and type of info 5. Articulation - ability to express ideas through language 6. Wit - ability to use humor in adapting to social situations; ease tensions 2. Conversational Involvement a. Behavioral and cognitive activity b. Cognitive involvement demonstrated through interaction behaviors c. Assessed according to three factors 1. Responsiveness - knowing what to say, know roles, interact 2. Perceptiveness - be aware of how others perceive you 3. Attentiveness - listen, don’t be pre-occupied 3. Conversational Management a. How communicators regulate their interactions b. Adaptation and control of social situations c. Who controls the interaction ebb and flow and how smoothly the interaction proceeds d. How topics proceed and change 4. Empathy a. The ability to demonstrate understanding and share emotional reactions to the situation b. Need not lead to “helping” the other
Rubin (1985) explains that communication competence is “an impression formed about the appropriateness of another's communicative behavior” and that “one goal of the communication scholar is to understand how impressions about communication competence are formed, and to determine how knowledge, skill and motivation lead to perceptions of competence within various contexts” (p.