naming communication

When I was a master's student in communication at Central Michigan University I taught an introductory course that surveyed the communication discipline, covering topics such as interpersonal, small group, organizational, and public communication. The first day one student said, "I don't know why I have to take a communication class. I've been communicating all my life." By the end of the semester, he realized that he hadn't always been communicating very well, but more importantly, he learned to be more aware of his communication with others. Studying interpersonal communication theories and concepts gives you the language to better identify and reflect on your own communication. Sarina found this out when she read the listening chapters and applied the concepts to her workplace communication.

Rabbit Tale's entry about harmful listening took me back to my In Pursuit of Awareness class I took as an undergraduate. The professor promoted a completely "open" class where students would self-disclose whatever they were thinking or feeling at the time. But being "open" is not always appropriate. And sometimes what we're thinking in a precise moment isn't what we'll be thinking at the next moment. So blurting out whatever can be harmful and having to listen to those unmonitored thoughts can prove difficult. All communicators have a responsibility to consider the other. Revealing feelings and difficult emotions can prove therapeutic, but in the process we don't want to traumatize listeners.

Alexb blogged about empathy, noting how crucial it is to effective interpersonal communication, especially listening. Yet the chapter on social cognition suggests that we all have different cognitive structures for organizing interpersonal information. How is empathy possible? Shared schemata that stem from similar cultural and social experiences provide one avenue for empathy. And while total empathy isn't possible, listeners can still attempt to consider others' perspectives. Beatles123's entry about exhibiting patience with listeners is related to this notion of listening. A good speaker recognizes and takes into account the listener's perspective.

Kcee noted that implicit personality theory suggests individuals make their assessments of other quite quickly. Sometimes this can be advantageous, but oftentimes we jump to conclusions and make hasty generalizations about others that later prove to be false.

The blog entries this week are demonstrating the importance of reflecting on communication practices in everyday life by naming them. Naming these practices makes us more aware of our communication and impact on others' communication.

Tomorrow ends week 2. The weekends are busy days for me as I read and re-read all the blog entries and comments, so I often don't blog on the weekends. But I'll be online, answering your emails and reading your blogs.

--Professor Cyborg