Speech 100
Interpersonal Communication

Week #1
A First Look at Interpersonal Communication

 

lst READING ASSIGNMENT:

Text: Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters, 
Julia T. Wood
Read the Introduction and Chapter 1:
A First Look at Interpersonal Communication (pages 1-45)

   Jane

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IMPORTANT: Your plan, which outlines the course goals, your learning objectives and outcomes for this course is due April 8th, the first Saturday we get together.   We will take time in class to go over the course goals and I will help you design a learning program that fits your specific goals, objectives and outcomes.  You can revise and update your plan as the course proceeds and you gain more familiarity with the course material. However, you must have an initial plan in place by the completion of Saturday, April 8th. Failure to do so will negatively impact on your grade by half a letter grade.

To help you begin thinking about your learning plan, here is a example of the learning objectives and outcomes that I would create for myself if I were a student in this class:

In RESPONSE TO THE FIRST COURSE GOAL:  LEARN THE THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

My personal goal:  to be understand the principles and theory behind nonviolent communication so that when situations arise that are difficult or stressful, I will have the tools and skills to effectively communicate my observations, needs, and feelings without blame, shame or judgment.

MEASURABLE OUTCOME:

1.  to demonstrate the principles of effective interpersonal communication through an effective oral presentation in class on nonviolent communication;

2.  to evaluate my skill level through the retaking of tests;

3.  to engage in peer assessment of my ability to understand and demonstrate my knowledge of this area of interpersonal communication;

4.  to ask for evaluative feedback from peers and friends.

(Your learning quiz must be completed each week. Your quiz must be submitted by midnight on Friday in order to receive your full points. Late quizzes will reflect negatively on your grade. I would like you to print out the quiz and email me your responses.  You can email them to me as a MS Word attachment.

1. Pick one of Abraham Maslow's needs and write an example of a time when you used communication to achieve that need.

2. Using Martin Buber’s understanding of communication, write about an example of communication you have had for one of his  three levels of communication.

3. Comment on the difference between the three models of communication (linear, interactive and transactional). In your response, note each system's strength and weakness.

4. Your text defines interpersonal communication as a selective, systemic, unique, and ongoing process of interaction between individuals who reflect and build personal knowledge of one another and create shared meanings. Define in your own words what each of these key words mean (selective, systemic, unique, ongoing, interactive, and shared meaning). 

5. Our text lists eight principles of interpersonal communication. Comment in a paragraph on one of these principles as you have come to understand and appreciate it through your own communication experiences.

6. What is dual perspective and why is it important in effective interpersonal communication?

7. Visit this website and write a paragraph about what you found at that site that interested you:

http://www.yforum.com/ This site provides an opportunity for people to ask others from different backgrounds the questions you’ve always wanted answered.

(Your communication journal is to be emailed to me weekly, no later than Friday by midnight of each week. You can email your journal as a MS Word attachment. Failure to turn in your journal on time will reflect on your grade.

I. I would like you to assess your communication skills by taking the following communication test. Please respond to each communication situation using the following scale to indicate how confident you are that you could communicate competently.

_____ 1. Someone asks you personal questions that you feel uncomfortable answering. You’d like to tell the person that you don’t want to answer, but you don’t want to hurt the person’s feelings.

_____ 2. You think a friend of yours is starting to drink more alcohol than is healthy. You want to bring up the topic with your friend, but you don’t want to create a barrier in the friendship.

_____ 3. You really care about the person you’ve been dating recently, but neither of you has ever put your feelings into words. You’d like to express how you feel, but aren’t sure how your partner will respond.

_____ 4. During a heated discussion about social issues, the person with whom you are talking says, "Why won’t you hear me out fairly??!!"

_____ 5. A friend shares his creative writing with you and asks if you think he has any talent. You don’t think the writing is very good, and you need to respond to his request for an opinion.

_____ 6. Your roommate’s habits are really getting on your nerves. You want to tell your roommate you’re bothered, but you don’t want to cause hurt.

_____ 7. A classmate asks you for notes for the classes he missed. You agree, but then discover he has missed nearly half of the classes and expects you to bail him out. You feel that’s exploitive.

_____ 8. You go to a part and discover you don’t know anyone there.

_____ 9. The person you have been dating declares "I love you." You care about the person but your feelings are not love, at least not yet. The person expects some response from you.

_____ 10. A person that you care about comes to you whenever he has problems he wants to discuss, and you give him attention and advice. When you want to talk about your problems, however, he doesn’t seem to have time. You want the friendship to continue, but you don’t like the feeling its one-way.

_____ TOTAL (Add up the numbers you placed in each blank., Make sure the total is between 10 and 50). A score of 40 to 50 indicates that you are very satisfied with your ability to communicate in a range of interpersonal situations. A score of 25 to 39 indicates that either that you are fairly satisfied with your ability to communicate in various situations, or that you are highly satisfied with your communication skills in some situations and relatively dissatisfied with your skills in other situations. A score of 24 or lower indicates that you are less satisfied with your interpersonal communication skills than you would like to be.

If your score indicates you are moderately satisfied or dissatisfied with your interpersonal communication skills, note whether your answers are extremes (1 and 5s) or tend to be more average. Extreme ratings indicate that you are very satisfied with your ability to interact in some situations and very dissatisfied with your ability to interact in others. You might want to consider improving your skills in specific situations that make you uneasy. If you have more average scores for most or all of the 10 items, then you might work on further enhancing skills that you already have.

lst DISCUSSION ROOM:

I will list a topic each week in the discussion room. You will need to make sure that you respond at least once each week to the topic.

For this first week, I will ask you to talk about yourself.   Who are you? If you were going to create a homepage for yourself, what would be on it?  What are the most important experiences of your life that have shaped you in powerful and unique ways.  Who is a part of your family?  What is your passion in life?  If you could do anything, what would it be?  This exercise is called "stepping stones" because it helps you (and others) learn about the most significant "steps" in your life.  Can you think of others that I haven't asked you?  

lst COMMUNITY GROUPS CHAT ROOM:

Your chat room experience will not be monitored by me. This is your time to develop effective interpersonal relationships with your community group. You will be assigned into a community group at your first class meeting which is SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 10 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. I would like you as a group to assign a time when you can all log on together. For the first chat room, I would suggest that you get to know each other in ways that feel safe and supportive. Where did you grow up? How long have you lived in Seattle? What process brought you to NSCC? Where do you plan to go from here after you graduate?

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