Analysis

Analysis #1 Kaitlyn Tripp SUNY Oswego COM 100 ON1 – Introduction to Communication Denise Casey Due: February 24, 2020 Abstract The process of becoming an effective communicator is not as black and white as it may appear. It is important to consider the perspective of different forms of communication. This module has allowed me to reflect on my own communication competence, as I determine what is appropriate within a given context. Likewise, the cultural influences I have had with my own upbringing has had an influence on how I communicate with others. Likewise, self-esteem and self-concept have played a substantial role in how I see myself and how I would like others to perceive me. The ways in which I present myself through nonverbal messages can cause others to establish how I am as a receiver or sender through posture, tone of voice, facial expression and gestures. My own listening style allows myself and others to receive messages in a desirable way. Through the use of the Personal Report of Communication apprehension, I am able to determine my own level of fear for real or anticipated communication interactions and put it in a numerical understanding. Through the perusing of the reading, as well as the information I have learned throughout my research, I am able to understand how I can better myself in communication. Keywords: Effective communicator, perspective, communication competence, cultural influences, self-esteem, self-concept, perceive, nonverbal messages, listening style, personal report of communication apprehension Analysis #1 The process of learning the concepts of communication often leads to reflection and self-assessment of oneself. This module has allowed me to analyze the way I communicate, and what I can do to become an effective communicator. I have been able to see my strengths as well as areas I should improve upon when communicating. Areas of which I could improve deal with the decisions made within the spectrum of communication ethics. I struggle with the idea of determining the standards of right and wrong and how it determines how messages are sent or received (Alberts, 2019). I may choose to withhold information if I find that I could hurt the feelings of another, even if it would be ethically right to do. Likewise, I tend to perceive that my self-image arises from the ways that other people view me and how others have told me about who I am as a person. This idea of reflected appraisal (Alberts, 2019) Is something I need to work on because although I may think I have determined an identity for myself, I am only attempting to be how I want others to perceive me. Nonetheless, I still believe I have some strengths as a communicator. For example, while I have difficulties with my own personal communicative identity, my perception of other’s identities is not clouded by ethnocentrism or preconceived factors based on my upbringing. I attempt to be open-minded in many cases in order to effectively communicate without the tendency to view another group as the standard against which all other groups are judged. (Alberts, 2019). Concurrently, when put in a certain role of authority, I am able to collect myself and take initiative and am able to thoroughly assess what needs to be communicated towards individuals. I am a relatively shy person around new people. However, this semester I have taken over SUNY Oswego’s lab orchestra as a conductor, and this has required me to be more communicative towards new people. As a result of being in this role of power, being a conductor has influenced how others perceive me, how I perceive others, and how I interpret situations around me (Alberts, 2019). Through my learning of this module and through this course, I strive to be a more effective communicator, moreover, that can only be done through assessing and thoroughly understanding perspectives and processes of human communication. Communication Competence In communication, two factors should be considered: appropriateness and effectiveness. In this sense, the communicator has to follow certain rules and expectations within a given circumstance whilst achieving these goals in a successful way respectively. These two factors together demonstrate communication competence. In this case, it is the ability to adapt one’s communication to achieve one’s goals (Alberts, 2019). This idea, denoted by James C. McCroskey was further argued by Brian H Spitzberg as he proclaimed that the impressions of appropriateness and effectiveness are more likely when a person is motivated to communicate, knowledgeable about communication, and skilled in communicating in a particular interpersonal relationship and context. (Spitzberg, 1983). From a personal perspective, I always try to adapt the way I talk to others given the situation around me. Likewise, the notion of relational competence stresses that standards of competence are intrinsic to the relationship in which communication is enacted. To put it simply, the factors that go into communication competence are motivated by many circumstances including the context of the conversation as well as the relationship in which the conversation is being had. Contingent on who the sender and receiver are in a given context is determinant on how the statement is epitomized (McCroskey, 1982). Nonetheless, all factors within the context of the message, as well as appropriateness should be further considered in order to effectively communicated. Cultural Influences It is by no surprise that the context of our upbringing designates a basis in how we communicate. Through the years, the idea of shared ideals was a process of perceiving the constructs of another’s identity, whether it be from racial, national, ethnic, gender, sexual, age, class, disability or religious connotations. These insights of identity are learned patterns of perceptions, values, and behaviors shared by a group of people (Alberts, 2019). In turn, these cultural influences may determine how we communicate with others. Communication patterns within a specific community play a role in how one may communicate with another. This is known as cultural communication (Alberts, 2019). As a result of being raised in central New York, I have been raised to communicate with people without judgment or bias based on preconceived notions, and that the judgment of character is determined by how I treat them, how they treat me and vice versa. However, in cultural contexts, this is not the case. Many cultures may be closed-minded about certain orientations, whether it be race, sexuality, gender, or age. They may choose to talk to someone in a certain way based on their perception of how they view another. For example, an adult may use simplified language at someone who is much younger than them because of their perception that younger people would be less educated. In more extreme circumstances, sexuality, race, and gender may cause much discrimination within a given community, and may choose not to communicate, or may communicate with the receiver in an insulting way. An important factor to consider in communication is to have the context of the sender and receiver before the message is sent. Two forms of communication can occur as a result. Low-context communication is comprised of direct messages in which meanings are contained mainly in the transmitted messages. Contrarily, high-context communication involves the use of implicit and indirect messages in which meanings are embedded in the person or in the sociocultural context. (Gudykunst, et al., 1996). In this case, whether factors are implied or not is established by the defined cultural influences. Self-esteem and Self-concept While contexts may determine the perception of one person, it is often considered how one perceives themselves. Two aspects are considered within self-perception: self-concept and self-esteem. Part of one’s self-concept; arises out of how one perceives and interprets reflected appraisals and social comparisons., While self-esteem arises from the understanding of one’s unique characteristics as well as the similarities to, and differences from, others. (Alberts, 2019). These aspects go correspond with each other as one must understand how they are perceived as well as understanding the comparisons and similarities as an individual. Concurrently, it is how you believe others characterize you as well as how you distinguish yourself. As an individual, my self-esteem is determinant of my self-concept. If I determine that others see me in a negative way, I begin to feel insecure about myself. While this is a weakness of mine, it is important to extricate the characteristics that make me confident from how individuals perceive others. Studies have been done in order to determine the correlation between self-esteem and self-concept respectively. Four studies tested the hypothesis that the self-concepts of low-self-esteem people are characterized by less certainty than those of high-self-esteem people. Those with low-self-esteem exhibited fewer boundaries and self-reported confidence when rating themselves on bipolar trait adjectives, a lesser amount of temporal steadiness in their trait ratings over a 2-month period, less similarity between their self-concepts and their following perceptions of situation-specific behavior and memory for previous behavior, and less internal consistency, lower self-rated confidence, and longer reaction times in personal responses to pairs of opposite traits. (Campbell, 1999) Contrastingly, those with high self-esteem exhibited the opposite. Nonetheless, in terms of communication, the confidence of oneself plays a role in how they want themselves to be viewed by the people around them. As a result, they may communicate in a particular method in order to be perceived in a certain way. Non-Verbal Messages When you hear the word “communication”, one might think it refers to the ways one sends and receives a message verbally; however, communication on its own has the ability to be expressed through non-verbal instances. In this form, the sending and receiving of information through appearance, objects, the environment, and behavior play a role in sending a message to a recipient. (Alberts, 2019). Nonverbal communication also can be difficult to interpret as a result of verbal and non-verbal communication happening concurrently. A speaker could have the facial expression of a person who is sad, angry, or confused, as well as have posture or gestures that indicate how invested someone is into the conversation. In certain instances, one may send verbal and nonverbal messages that send conflicting messages; thus, conflicting different forms of communication (Alberts, 2019). There have been times in conversations where I may appear disinterested in a conversation solely because I am tired; however, due to my body language of a tired face, poor posture, this can be mistaken for boredom. It is important to understand how one may be recognized in a conversation based on what one may say with their words and their actions. In some contexts, one may use non-verbal communication in order to get their point across. This is commonly done through flirting in order to get the point across to the individual without verbally saying it. This could range from a gentle touch to an arm, a smile, a hair flip, or just the way one may look at another (Knapp, Hall, & Horgan, 2012). Whether non-verbal communication is intentional or not by the sender, the intent can be perceived in any form by the recipient. Listening Style In a typical conversation, it is often debated whether an individual is a good listener if has poor listening skills. This debate is a result of the fact that one may have their own type of listening style. In essence, this is an array of attitudes, beliefs, and predispositions about the how, where, when, who, and what of the information receiving and encoding process (Alberts, 2019). Expansively, the way people prefer to receive information. These actions can be separated into subsets: Action-oriented, people-oriented, content-oriented, and time-oriented. An action-oriented listening style presents the idea that information is received in a well-organized way without error; it requires informational listening skills in order to pay attention to certain content. Content-oriented style demonstrates an interest in the content of the message itself; this requires a good understanding of critical listening skills in order to assess the situation. Those who are people-oriented may present the idea that friendly and open communication between the sender and recipient is beneficial over a controlled way of communication; in turn, this requires the listener to demonstrate supportive listening skills and to depict an understanding of both the information and the emotions of the sender (Weaver, 1996). Personally, the way I listen as a recipient is an element of a content-oriented listening style. I attempt to show the sender that I am thoroughly interested in the information presented. Nonetheless, it is important to demonstrate all these listening styles when applicable in a given context. Personal Report of Communication Apprehension To many individuals, communication does not come easily. Whether it be public speaking or simple conversation, one might find the idea of communication to be quite intimidating. James M. McCroskey examined this concept with his use and analysis of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, otherwise known as PRCA-24. This is an instrument that is used to measure communication apprehension through subsets of contexts including public speaking, small groups, large groups, and dyadic interaction. The instrument is comprised of twenty- four accounts in which the individual taking this questionnaire has to rate from one to five: one being to be strongly disagreeing and five to be strongly agreeing. As a result of this test, the individual would have to measure their results within the subsets. For example, certain results from specific questions would be a determinant factor either a group discussion score, an interpersonal score, meetings score, and public speaking score. All of these scores together would comprise the individual’s PCRA. This score would be within the range of twenty-four to one hundred twenty. If a score was below fifty-one, it would mean thy have a relatively low communication apprehension. Those who had a score between fifty-one and eighty had an average score for communication apprehension, and those whose scores resulted above eighty represented those who have high levels of trait communication apprehension. In my examination of the personal report of communication apprehension, I have determined that my communication apprehension level is quite high with a total score of ninety-six. In a group discussion, I earned a score of twenty-four. The questions posed in this subset exemplify how one might feel about being in a group discussion. While it is not preferable for me to be put in a group situation, I can effectively communicate and give input as well as getting involved, as long as I am not the only participant that is thoroughly engaged. In that case, it feels more like a leadership role than equal representation in a group setting. In meetings, I scored higher with a score of twenty-six. Personally, depending on the circumstance I can be comfortable in meetings and can be engaged as well depending on the atmosphere of the meeting. If the meeting itself seems very tense and serious, I may be less likely to participate well; however, if it is more laid back and casual, I may show more of an interest in participating. I. Through interpersonal communication, I rated a tad lower with a score of twenty-two. I am the type of individual that feels more comfortable with a person that I do know rather than an acquaintance. When I get to know an individual, I become more open and relaxed. Depending on how well I know an individual determines how likely I am to speak up in conversations, and how confident I may talk to them. Finally, received a score of twenty-four in public speaking. Relative to my previous results, public speaking for me depends on my audience. If the atmosphere feels very tense, I may be more apprehensive, but if it feels more open, I may be more willing to participate. Aforementioned, this semester I have been put in an experience that requires me to communicate effectively as a conductor. To be in charge of an orchestra means that I have to be accustomed to public speaking. Although it may have been hard at the beginning, public speaking has come more easily to me through previous speech classes as well as the experience I have had here as a musician and conductor. The results I have received have the potential to influence how I perform in communication in a positive or negative way. Research conducted on communication apprehension consistently uses a rating scale that ranges from high levels of apprehension to low with varying degrees between. An individual that is rated having high levels of communication apprehension experiences great anxiety and apprehension across multiple situations where oral communication is required. (Petry, 2016). The results of the personal report of communication apprehension are circumstantial based on how, why, and where I am communicating. Despite my communication apprehension level being very high, I have worked towards making more efforts in communicating well within the given circumstances. Experiences that I have had has exposed me to the ability to communicate in individual and group settings, as well as how to communicate in a successful manner. Conclusion Regardless of how we exchange in dialogue, it is quintessential to convey that everyone has their own procedures of communication. The approaches in which an individual can communicate requires one to analyze their role as a sender and receiver. This module has allowed me to understand myself from a communicative perspective. The fundamentals of communication competence require the communicator to follow precise guidelines within a given situation along with achieving these goals in an efficacious method. Within a specific setting, I endeavor to acclimate the way I talk to others around me in order to achieve a goal. The impressions of these results are probable when a person is knowledgeable about communication concepts, in addition to interacting in a particular interpersonal relationship and situation. The processes in which an individual is raised determines whether or not certain factors are implied or not is established within communication in their own culture. Due to being raised in an open-minded culture, the cultural influences around me have allowed me to communicate without predisposed judgment, discrimination or bias. Moreover, depending on a person’s self-esteem and self-concept, an individual may act a certain way due to how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them. Due to my likelihood to strive to be how I want others to perceive me, I have low self-esteem for my own identity. The sending and receiving of information through appearance, objects, the environment, and behavior play a role in sending a message to a recipient. It is important to be aware of this as the gestures one makes in communication can be perceived to have other meanings. It requires me to be alert on how I present myself as a communicator beyond the verbal medium. Likewise, the array of attitudes, beliefs, and predispositions about how one receives information and the encoding process is important as a listener. While I find that I prefer a more content-oriented listening style as I demonstrate an interest in the content of the message itself; I also must understand critical listening skills in order to assess the situation. The results I have received from the personal report of communication apprehension allows me to better determine my role as a communicator. While my communication apprehension level is high, understanding it will help me better in the future as I converse with others. This module has nonetheless allowed me to delve into how I effectively communicate. To understand the world of communication around us, we must first be able to understand how to better ourselves as communicators. Bibliography Alberts, J. N. (2019). Human Communication in Society, 5th edition. . Campbell, J. (1999). The Self in Social Psychology. Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), 223-239. Gudykunst, W. B., Matsumoto, Y., Ting-Toomey, S., Nishida, T., Kim, K., & Heyman, S. (1996). Human Communication Research. The influence of Cultural Individualism- Collectivisim, Self Construals, and Individual Values on Commniocation Styles Across Cultures, Human Commnication Research, Volume 22, Issue 4, 510-543. Knapp, M. L., Hall, J. A., & Horgan, T. G. (2012). Non Verbal Communication in Human Interaction. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. McCroskey, J. (1982). An Introduction to rhetorical communication (4th edition). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Petry, A. C. (2016). Communication Apprehension Affects Performance. University Heights: John Caroll University. Spitzberg, B. H. (1983). Communication Education: Volume 32. Communication competence as knowledge, skill and impression, 323-329. Weaver, J. B. (1996). Individual differences in listening styles: Do you hear what I hear? Personality and Individual Differences, 381–387. Grading Grid for Analysis #1 Student Name____Kaitlyn Tripp_____________ Criteria Yes No Points Possible Cover page 2 Manuscript header in CAPS 2 Your name, paper title, school, date- Double space on cover page 2 Pagination starts on cover page top right justify 2 Title on page two 2 Times New Roman 12-point font 2 1-inch margins 2 Double space throughout 2 Subject headings- 2 Self- reflection of strengths 2 Self- reflection of areas for improvement 5 Specific course vocabulary used 5 Introduction- with a preview of points 5 Communication competence 5 Cultural influences 5 Self esteem 5 Nonverbal communication 5 Listening style 5 Results of the PRCA 5 Conclusion 5 References (in center) of page 5 References are APA? 5 On time submission 10 Professor Discretionary points 10 Total 100 (Note: because my book is an eBook, no page numbers were available)