Blog #2 - Groups 1, 2 & 3 Reflection (Aimet Castro)

Group 1

Chapter 1: Communication Perspectives

    The communication process is a complex set of three different and interrelated activities intended to result in shared meaning. These activities are message production, message interpretation, and interaction coordination.
-First, message production is what we do when we encode a message. We begin by forming goals based on our understanding of the situation, as well as our values, ethics, and needs. Based on these goals, we recall an effective canned plan script and adapt it to the current situation.
-Second, message interpretation is what we do when we decode a message. We read or listen to someone's words, observe their nonverbal behavior, and take note of other visuals. Then we interpret the message based on our recollection of similar canned plan scripts. Based on this interpretation, we prepare a feedback message.
-Third, interaction coordination consists of the behavioral adjustments each participant makes in an attempt to create shared meaning. 

Chapter 2: Perception of Self and Others

    We decide what our skills, abilities, competencies, and personality traits are based on the interpretations we make about our personal experiences and how others react and respond to us. These experiences can occur in both face-to-face and online settings.
-Regarding personal experiences, we cannot know if we are competent at something until we've tried doing it, and we cannot discover our personality traits until we uncover them through experience. When we have a positive first experience with a particular phenomenon, we are likely to believe we possess the competencies and personality traits associated with that experience. 

Chapter 6: Listening 

    Three major challenges to effective listening are rooted in listening apprehension, preferred listening style, and processing approach.
-Listening apprehension is the anxiety we feel about listening. Listening apprehension may increase when we worry about misinterpreting the message, or when we are concerned about how the message may affect us psychologically. For example, if you are in an important meeting or job training session, you may worry about trying to absorb all the important technical information needed to do your job well. Or you might feel anxiety when the material you need to absorb is difficult or confusing. Likewise, your anxiety may increase when you feel ill, tired, or stressed about something else going on in your life. And the anxiety we feel about comprehending those speaking in a language that is not our first language, can be extremely debilitating. Simply put, listening apprehension makes it difficult to focus on the message.

Chapter 7: Interpersonal Relationships 

    Relationships are not something we have, but rather are something we make as we communicate with others. Even though no two relationships develop in the same way, all relationships tend to move through identifiable and overlapping phases of coming together and coming apart. This moving back and forth among the phases is known as the relationship life cycle.

Chapter 8: Interpersonal Communication 

    Recall from Chapter 7, people in relationships experience dialectical tensions, one of which is the tension between openness and closedness. When we want more openness, we disclose confidential information and feelings. When we want more closedness, we manage privacy to limit what others know about us.
-Communication privacy management theory describes the decision-making process we go through as we choose whether or not to disclose confidential information about ourselves (self-disclosure) or about others (other-disclosure). The concept of privacy assumes that people own their personal information and have the right to control it by determining whether or not to communicate it.

Group 2

Chapter 5: Nonverbal Messages

    Because nonverbal messages are inevitable, multi-channeled, ambiguous, and sometimes unintentional, interpreting them accurately can be tricky. Add to this the fact that the meaning of any nonverbal behavior can vary by situation, and culture, and the reasons we so often misinterpret the behavior of others to become clear. You can improve the likelihood that your nonverbal messages will be perceived accurately and that you will accurately interpret the nonverbal messages of others.

Chapter 15: Delivery

    Recall from Chapter 5 that your voice is the sound you produce using your vocal organs. How your voice sounds depends on its pitch, volume, rate, and quality. As a public speaker, you can achieve a conversational and animated delivery style by varying your pitch, volume, rate, and quality in ways that make you more intelligible and expressive.

Chapter 16: Informative Speaking 

    Two of the most common informative speech types are process and expository.
-The goal of a process speech is to demonstrate how something is done, is made, or works. Effective process speeches require you to carefully delineate the steps and the order in which they occur. These steps typically become the main points and explanations of each step become the subpoints. Process speeches rely heavily on the demonstration method of informing.

Chapter 17: Persuasive Speaking 

    Not everyone will choose the central processing route to decide on a persuasive proposition. One important cue people use when they process information by the peripheral route is ethos. So, you will also want to demonstrate good character, as well as say and do things to convey competence and credibility.

Group 3

Chapter 4: Verbal Messages 

    Because words are arbitrary and abstract, and their meanings can change over time, we must consider both the words and how they are used in conversational, social, and cultural contexts to communicate effectively. Therefore, in this section, we focus specifically on the relationship between language and meaning in terms of semantics (meanings derived from the words themselves), pragmatics (meanings derived from the conversational context), and sociolinguistics (meanings derived from social and cultural contexts).

Chapter 11: Topic Selection and Development

    Good speech topics come from subject areas that you have some knowledge about and interest in. Your audience analysis helps you narrow the subject area to a topic appropriate for the rhetorical situation.

Chapter 12: Organizing Your Speech

    Once you have developed the speech body, you are ready to decide how to introduce it. Because the introduction is so important to success, you may want to develop two or three different introductions and then select the one that seems best for your specific goal and the audience you will be addressing. An introduction is generally about 10 percent of the length of the entire speech, so for a five-minute speech (approximately 750 words), an introduction of about 30 seconds (approximately 60-85 words) is appropriate. 
-An effective introduction achieves four primary goals: (1) to get attention, (2) to convey listener relevance, (3) to establish speaker credibility, and (4) to state the thesis (speech goal and main point preview).

Chapter 13: Presentational Aids

    Presentational aids range from those that come from existing sources you found while conducting your research to those that your custom products for your specific speech. As we just discussed, they can be visual audio, audiovisual, or other sensory aids.

Chapter 14: Language and Oral Style 

    Speaking clearly means using words that convey your meaning precisely. Because the word is not the thing, as a public speaker you should use words that most closely match the thing or idea you want your audience to see or understand. Speaking clearly decreases ambiguity and audience confusion. Let's review four strategies for improving clarity that is crucial for effective public speakers: use specific language, choose familiar terms, provide details and examples, and limit vocalized pauses.