Communications Paper
Kelsey Fitzgibbon
Professor McCann
Introduction to Communications
24 March 2014
1. What kind of behaviors would you classify as communication? What kinds of behaviors are not communicative? Must communication necessarily be intentional or are unintended messages also a part of communication?
According to the textbook, communication is the relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response. There are many ways in which we can communicate messages to someone else, but there are also some behaviors, which are known as not communicative. Between one human being to another you have a multitude of both verbal and non-verbal types of communication. Verbal communication is the sharing of information between individuals by using speech. A medium for communication that entails talking using the spoken word, such as talking face-to-face, or on a telephone. In addition, according to experts, a substantial portion of our communication is nonverbal. Every day, we respond to thousands on nonverbal cues and behaviors including postures, facial expression, eye gaze, gestures, and tone of voice. From our handshakes to our hairstyles, nonverbal details reveal who we are and impact how we relate to other people. As for what types of behavior is not communicative, I don’t believe this exists. I believe that both intentional and unintentional messages are together what create the basis of communication. Reading someone’s body language and other unintentional behaviors are a major way that we can sense how someone around us is feeling. If all of our judgments of others were based primarily off verbal communication, our perceptions of others would be completely different than they are after having a conversation with someone and experiencing their unintentional communication. This is why unintended messages combined with intended messages are the real basis for communication.
2. An axiom is a self-evident truth. Which of Berger’s axioms (Chapter
Professor McCann
Introduction to Communications
24 March 2014
1. What kind of behaviors would you classify as communication? What kinds of behaviors are not communicative? Must communication necessarily be intentional or are unintended messages also a part of communication?
According to the textbook, communication is the relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response. There are many ways in which we can communicate messages to someone else, but there are also some behaviors, which are known as not communicative. Between one human being to another you have a multitude of both verbal and non-verbal types of communication. Verbal communication is the sharing of information between individuals by using speech. A medium for communication that entails talking using the spoken word, such as talking face-to-face, or on a telephone. In addition, according to experts, a substantial portion of our communication is nonverbal. Every day, we respond to thousands on nonverbal cues and behaviors including postures, facial expression, eye gaze, gestures, and tone of voice. From our handshakes to our hairstyles, nonverbal details reveal who we are and impact how we relate to other people. As for what types of behavior is not communicative, I don’t believe this exists. I believe that both intentional and unintentional messages are together what create the basis of communication. Reading someone’s body language and other unintentional behaviors are a major way that we can sense how someone around us is feeling. If all of our judgments of others were based primarily off verbal communication, our perceptions of others would be completely different than they are after having a conversation with someone and experiencing their unintentional communication. This is why unintended messages combined with intended messages are the real basis for communication.
2. An axiom is a self-evident truth. Which of Berger’s axioms (Chapter