Communication

Russell, Leadership in Recreation, ch. 7

What Are We Communicating?

What are you communicating, by being there in your seat? What brings you here The clothes you wear The people you sit near The way you sit Whom you look at or avoid

What Influences Communication?

Activity: Gossip

Is This Communication?

What if the communicator meant one thing, and you interpret it as something entirely different is that communication?

Is This Communication?

What if nobody ever reads, hears, or understands it is it still communication?

Is This Communication?

If so, what is it saying? If not, what is it?

Is This Communication?

Is This Communication?

(In other words, I have nothing to say to you.)

Is This Communication?

Is This Communication?

What Is Communication?
Lets find a way to tie together all of the different things we call communication

A Communication Model

A model is a simplified image of a complex reality. What is this model trying to depict?

Parts of a Communication Model

Informal Communication Channels

Res our ce

Message

Participants
Spec

text n g/co n setti ific

eM Th
Formal Communication Channels

i ed um

The Communication Medium: The Means by Which We Communicate

Verbal: speech or writing Nonverbal: images, gestures, behaviors Recorded: tangible forms (e.g., in a book or photo) and intangible (e.g., electronic) Perhaps not recorded: experiences in the present, memories from the past, hopes for the future

Communication Resources and Limits

Your culture how you were taught to communicate What you know, think, and believe Your habits, needs, interests, desires Ability to express yourself: skills Ability to understand: listening, perceiving Willingness to understand something different

Formal Communications
Business communications: memoranda, letters, other documentation Entertainment and artistic communications: photos, video, sound, dance

Informal Communications
Conversation: face-to-face, e-mail, chat, telephone Entertainment: telling stories, jokes, horseplay, games Gossip!

A Communication Scenario
Suppose you are leading a group on a day trip. Suddenly a group member stumbles and falls. Another group member takes his arm and pulls him back up. A short while later, the man who fell complains of back pain. What kinds of formal and informal communications are likely to occur in the next half-hour? How about in the next 24 hours?

Assumptions of This Model

Person = resources. Your communication abilities and limits remain the same in all situations Medium just sort of sits there Message is a thing somewhere between sender and receiver. Communication shoots straight on through Setting/context is independent, not shaped by medium, message, sender, receiver, or resources

Factors That the Model May Neglect

Effectiveness of the medium Communication dynamic Games people play Communication culture, tradition, rules Multiple participants

Effectiveness of the Medium

Marshall McLuhan: The medium is the message: what you say might be more important than how you say it Choose a communication medium that will work with you, not against you.

The Communication Dynamic

Can people communicate only about common experiences? Do people co-create meaning?

Communication Games: Listening

Ideology: commitment to a belief system that is always partially false The blind eye & the deaf ear: you must be saying what I want you to be saying Self-centeredness / ulterior motives: what you say is only important if I can use it for my purposes

Ideology: Lets Speak the Real Truth

But would that be your real truth, or mine?

Reflection: A Kind of Listening

Listen to what the person has said Reflect (like a mirror) what the person seems to be saying Dont let your own views or feelings come into play Dont simply parrot the persons statement word-forword Give the person a sense that s/he has been heard and understood

Listening Practice: Reflection

Groups of 5-7 people Speaker: tell group your views on a controversial (e.g., political, religious, gender) topic Respondent: reflect the speakers views back to him/her Second respondent: same thing Speaker & others: give feedback on how well those two have reflected the speakers views without adding their own Repeat with a second speaker on another topic

Groups: Construct Your Own Model

Groups discuss what a good model of communication should include Groups decide whether to construct one model or to allow each member to draw his/her own (and then select the best) Non-author test-drives the chosen model (with feedback from group), then presents it to class

Communication Model Parts List

Informal Communication Channels
Ideology s: y Truth our Message lim Belief its, hab its, com Participants mu context n tingi/catio t e n sk ific s ec ills Sp Communication Dynamic The Medium

Res our ce

Formal Communication Channels

Processing / Meta-Analysis of Communication

Communication about this experience of communicating

Assignment
Read Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address (235 words). In one page or less, explain why people might consider it an example of effective communication. Due next week. Use as many of todays concepts as possible in your explanation.

Postscript
I used this PPT on February 8, 2006, as guest instructor in a session of R272, Recreation Activities and Leadership Methods, in the Dept. of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Studies at Indiana University This was my first hourlong, lecture-style college teaching experience I later received five feedback sheets received from students (attached) Video excerpts at http://youtu.be/1g3fRAfjtr4