Alex Grange

CPR
CPR #1

1.

Consider the broad extent to which communications pervades human social

life, what is the importance of communicating well and why is it important for you
to communicate clearly with others?
As humans communication has always been a large part of our survival and
advancing as a species. I would argue that there is nothing more important to the
human race than communication either verbal or non-verbal. It is extremely
important to communicate well with others because without good communication
we would never be able to solve problems, learn new things, and better our
communities and ourselves. Without communication we would not be able to
relay our thoughts and ideas to the world. Communicating clearly with others is
the key to our success. Without effective communication verbal or non-verbal
nothing would get done. With communication we can make our thoughts,
opinions, and ideas much stronger. Many of our advances have been able to
happen because of communication. With the absence of communication our
relationships would fail, our technological advances would not be as advanced,
and our learning would be stunted. Good communication is very important in
every day life and has been for a long time. Communicating clearly is very
important in all relationships whether it be in our personal lives or professional
lives it is the most important factor in succeeding in either of these aspects of life.
If we had no way to express our opinions, thoughts, and ideas we would not
advance in our personal lives or society as a whole. It is very important that we
find ways to communicate clearly so that we can let people know what we are
thinking or what we want to do.

CPR#2

1.

Is there a difference between technology-based communication and

communication that comes from a human body (voice, gesture, body language,
etc.)?
There is a large difference between technologically based communication and
communication that comes from the human body. Much of communication is body
language, expressions, and the voice that we speak in. When we are
communication from our human body people can clearly understand what we are
trying to communicate. In technologically based communication, such as
Facebook it is very difficult if not impossible to determine someone tone or body
language from a simple message. There have been many times where people
misinterpret messages because they didnt sense sarcasm, body language, or
voice from the electronic message. We would rarely run into this type of problem
in human body communication. There are other differences as well such as
timeliness of response. For example if you send an email and they respond a
month later you might just assume that they are busy, but in human interaction if

you say something and they dont say anything back you could safely assume
that the person you are trying to communicate with is angry or annoyed with you
in some way. You would know immediately the reason why the person you are
communicating with is not responding. It makes the communication much more
transactional and strays away from a simple linear form of communication. The
main difference between the two forms of communication is the number of things
that can get in the way of the line of communication. Meaning that in
technologically based communication there are many things that can happen that
can delay or eliminate the reception of the message, for example internet
problems, mistakes, etc. In human interaction there is nothing that can get in the
way.

CPR#3
Considering the Biases (Self-Serving Bias, Cognitive Bias, Confirmation Bias,
Anchoring Bias, Negative Bias, Bandwagon Effect), which are you most guilty of and
why? Share an experience of yours that demonstrates this and explain how you
could have seen things differently along with any effect that would have had.
An effect that I am guilty of is the bandwagon effect. When I was younger I was an
avid Chicago bulls fan mainly because of Michael Jordan and because my family was
Utah Jazz fans. I could have seen things much differently if my family was not so
against the bulls and Michael Jordan. They hated Michael because of the 1998 finals
where Jordan stripped the ball from Malone and made the game winning shot. At the
time I was so happy, but now looking back on the game it was a clear foul and the
Jazz should have won that game. I am a big Jazz fan now and feel stupid for being
such a bandwagon fan when I was younger. Everything I did when I was young was to
agitate others or go against what others believed especially with sports. It is funny
that now I am not a Chicago bulls fan at all and I really do not even like Michael
Jordan anymore. As I grow up I see the value in not being guilty of the bandwagon
effect in politics and consuming as well. It is not necessarily a bad thing but it
sometimes can go against what we actually believe and want just because others are
doing it or not doing it. I am still guilty of bandwagon consuming today and buy
things because it is popular or the best brand but I now realize what I am doing
rather than when I was young I was doing it for different reasons.

CPR#4

1.

What is the form of non-verbal communication that you are most confident of
using to send messages clearly? Describe a situation that shows this (effective
non-verbal communication in a way that you intended to send).

The form of non-verbal communication that I am most confident to use and send a
message is facial expressions. I think that facial expressions are a great way to
express how you are feeling and what message you want to convey. There is so much
that we as humans can communicate with our facial expressions, there is not a mood
or feeling that you cannot express with facial expressions. Take photography for
example, when we look at photos we can tell what is going on in the photo just by the

look on someones face. It is very interesting that we can tell so much about a person
by non-verbal communication. A situation that describes this is when you are angry
or sad. To convey this message you might put on a certain look, whether that is an
angry strong face or a sad teary-eyed expression. People will know exactly what you
are thinking and the message will be well received. We as a society have put
meanings to these facial expressions and we all know what a sad or happy face looks
like. They are universally known and a great way to communicate with others. These
looks can be confused as well, they are not the best way of communication but it is a
very effective form of non-verbal communication. There have been many times
where I try to convey something with a facial expression and someone mistakes that
expression for something entirely different.

CPR#5

1. What is the non-verbal message that you most often send to others? How do
you know/what makes you think this/what makes you guess that? Share an
experience to illustrate your point.
The non-verbal message that I most often send to others is facial expressions. People
have told me on numerous occasions that I am a great listener and make them feel
like what they are saying matter. When I started taking this class I made it a point to
ask one of those people why they think I am a good listener. They said because of my
facial expressions and eye contact. They had a really hard time communicating to me
why I was such a good listener but these are some of the things that stood out. They
told me that my eyes would open up and that made them think I was very interested
in their story. Without talking they said I would smile and nod. These are example of
non-verbal communication that I subconsciously do well. I think why I do this is
because it is not very fun to tell a story and realize that no one is interested or
listening. Even if the story is really bad or I do not like what they are saying I still try
to act very interested and give them non-verbal ques to let them know that I am
listening. I think this is the non-verbal message that I use most in my life, and I
adapted this type of communication when others would do the same to me.

CPR#6

1. Describe a) a situation in which you were uncomfortable, b) a recent

argument, or c) an observation of someone in need. After describing that

situation, what did the non-verbal aspects of communication contribute to the

experience?
A recent experience in which I was uncomfortable was an argument with my
girlfriend. This argument started because she said I was being annoying and
bothering her. This was not a good thing to say to someone who is known to agitate.
I began pushing the issue even further until it turned into a real argument. The
argument went from playful to serious very quickly. We began saying things that we
probably did not mean and this is where I got uncomfortable. After the argument had
cooled down neither of us were speaking to each other but we were still
communicating through non-verbal methods. Although the speaking portion of the
argument was over I think we were still arguing. We would glare at one another
creating an even more hostile environment. Another non-verbal aspect of
communication that was used was not looking at one another. She would roll over
and what that said to me was get away and dont say another word I am sure we
have all had a similar situation. The non-verbal messages made me more
uncomfortable than the actually talking. I know that she is more upset when she is
not talking to me rather than talking to me. What not talking to me communicates is
that I am not worth the time or the effort anymore and that is why it made me so
uncomfortable. This kind of thing happens in relationships and I am sure everyone
has been in a similar situation that made them feel uncomfortable.

CPR#7

1.

What makes self-disclosure difficult? How do you evaluate whether you can
share sensitive information or not?

There are many factors that make self-disclosure difficult but the main thing
for me is making myself transparent to others. Self-disclosure can be very positive
but very difficult for us as human beings. What makes it hard is opening up ourselves
to others to show our uniqueness or flaws. We are opening ourselves up to judgment
by showing people who we are with communication. Depending on the type of
sensitive information we share we are gambling on whether someone form a different
opinion of us. Meaning that if we share sensitive information to a friend they could
judge it so harshly that they stop being a friend. This is why we have to evaluate
whether you can share this sensitive information or not. I try to evaluate sensitive
information in my own head before sharing it via communication. It could be
something that I am embarrassed about or something that I am uncomfortable
sharing with others. It depends on who the audience is on whether or not I share
sensitive information. I do not think there is a clear definition of when to share this
type of information, it is all subjective and depends on so many different factors. Like

stated before self-disclosure can show others our uniqueness as well as flaws. It does
not necessarily have to be a negative situation that can be considered as selfdisclosure. I get just as uncomfortable sharing something that I have accomplished
with someone. Very interesting question and one that I have never given thought to
before.

CPR#8

1. What things do other(s) say/do to make you feel that your sharing is
worthwhile or impactful? How does this impact your relationship? (Discuss
your experiences with someone or severalspecific individuals).
The most important thing someone can do to make my sharing feel worthwhile is act
interested. They do that by both verbal and non-verbal ques. For instance if I am
telling a story or sharing information if someone maintains eye contact I see that as
them communicating to me that they are interested. When someone laughs or nods
their head during a story I can tell that they are listening and making me feel as
though my sharing is worthwhile. To me there is a difference between worthwhile and
impactful. Worthwhile can be funny or entertaining, whereas I view impactful as a
more serious situation where someone was influenced by what you said or did. For
someone to communicate to me that my sharing is impactful, it is helpful if they ask
questions and communicate back to me that what I am saying is making a difference.
This impacts my relationship in various ways. For example, sometimes when I am
telling a story my girlfriend is looking at her phone and I cant tell if she is listening or
not. I am guilty of this same thing as well. It can be annoying because both of us are
essentially saying, what your saying is not as important as my phone. I am sure
everyone is guilty of this at some time or another, but it is something that most of us
need to be more conscious about.

CPR#9
3. Is engaging in social media disconfirming? In what ways?
Absolutely social media is disconfirming. I firmly believe that it is a very poor
type of communication where the things we say can be perceived differently and
confusing. Disconfirming messages show that you do not care about somebody or
that they are not worth your time. Social media communication can be ignored and
others may not acknowledge that we have even said something to them. We have all
engaged in verbal silence in one way or the other on social media. Disconfirming

responses can be very negative and we see them happen every day on social media.
It is very easy to ignore a message on Facebook but if someone came up to you in
person and asked you a question it would be much harder to give a disconfirming
response. It is much easier to tell if someone is giving a disconfirming response in
person and there can be many reasons as to why someone does not respond on
social media. For example in person someone can be silent, have a certain
expression on their face, engage in other activities, etc. Whereas, on social media we
could not see their face or if they are engaging in other activities. The most used
way of disconfirmation on social media is verbal silence or non-verbal silence. So I
would not say that engaging in social media is inherently disconfirming but it can be
a very impersonal way of communication and can easily affect a relationship with
others.

CPR#10

1.

Describe a conflict you have experienced recently. How did you handle it and
what was the result? What did your conflict orientation affect the course of the
conflict?

A conflict that I had most recently was with my girlfriend. Shocker I know. She was
annoyed with the way that I was driving on the way to school. She said, you are
going to get me killed and my dad will kill you. Which she is not kidding about. She
was already frustrated with my that morning and getting into the car with traffic did
not help the situation. It was hard for me to handle the situation because I had to be
focused on driving and not getting in an accident. The conflict started because weeks
before I had rear ended someone and she said that it was because I was careless.
She is not wrong but since then I have been paying a lot more attention while in the
car. The way that I handled the situation was to let her drive to school from there on
out. It was a frustrating argument because we were late, it was early, and there was
traffic. We both came to the conclusion to avoid further arguments was that she drive
to school in the morning because her car is an SUV and I drive a prius. This tactic has
worked so far and lets hope that it keeps working. It was very difficult to pay
attention to the road while she was telling me how terrible I was doing. The reason
we changed cars is because it wasnt necessarily my driving that was annoying her it
was that my car is very small and scary to ride in on the freeway.

CPR#11

1.

Describe a group you have been a part of. What roles existed, and what was
your role? What rites did your group have? Rituals? Norms?

A group that I have been a apart of was my golf team in high school. There
were many roles on the team, and the role that I played was captain for three years. I
was designated captain because I was a leader and I would help the other golfers
with their golf games. The coach saw me as a leader not only because I was a good
golfer but also I knew how to pump others up as well as help them when they were
down. We had norms on the golf team, we had a strict rule guide that we needed to
follow or we would either be suspended or kicked off the team. As captain I was
trusted to help enforce this as well as follow the rules. We would have many rituals
seeing as golf is a very superstitious sport. When we would arrive at a tournament
our ritual was not talk to anyone on opposing teams as we warmed up, we did this for
intimidation as well as a team bonding experience in which we only helped each
other out. We were a catholic school so we did have rites. We would pray on the bus
before the tournament, which was a ritual and a rite. As the years went on and new
people were added to the team some rituals and rites would fade but new ones would
take their place. I would be very interested in seeing what rituals are still in place
today.

CPR#12

1. Describe a group or team that you feel that you had experienced (a) failure
with. What contributed to the failure? How could you have interacted
differently in order to produce different results?
A group that I have experienced failure with was the golf team on my senior
year of high school. There was a teammate that everyone hated but was arguably
one of the best players in the state. He controlled the team although I was captain.
His dad was the coach and he intimidated younger teammates by being mean to
everyone around him. We were no longer a team, we were divided into the people
who were his friends and the people he did not like. Being the captain I tried to rein
him in but seeing as his dad was the coach he felt he could get away with anything. It
lead to a very difficult season and no one played up to their potential and I blame
that on this certain teammate. The things that I could have done differently was be a
more powerful captain, I was older and more experienced and should have had all of
the other golfers on my side and had a talk with him. There are many things that I did
wrong that season but mainly it was not have a powerful voice and be the leader that
I could have been. I tried to do this once and the coach yelled at me to the point
where I quit the team. This was a huge blow to the team because I was the captain

and had been the captain for 3 years prior. If I could go back I would not quit the
team. I played the final tournament independently of the team and should have stuck
with the team regardless of what was happening.

CPR#13
1.

What communication standard (or ethic) would you say is most important for
you when interact with others? What does that look like in a conversation? What
limitations or constraints does that provide for you?

A communication standard and ethic that I firmly believe in is being nice to others.
This can include being a good and effective listener and not disconfirming others
communication. I think that being an effective listener is very important to me and it
is crucial to being a good and social member of society. The way that ideas and
information is spread is through communication and when someone feels as if you
are disconfirming their message then they might not share information or ideas
again. The way that someone communicated and listens can help form their social
persona. This can look like a variety of things in a conversation. Most importantly you
are not giving someone disconfirming messages while hearing what they have to say.
This can include eye contact and different types of non-verbal communication that let
them know you are an effective listener. Picture yourself in a conversation that
someone is giving you disconfirming messages and see how likely you will be to
share information with this person again. I think it is very important to be nice in a
conversation and the easiest way to be nice in a conversation is to be an effective
listener. This question made me think quite a bit about what I like in a person that I
am communicating with. I am a salesman and communication is the most essential
part of my job so being nice and likable is very important to me.