Understanding Communication: Process & Models

• Communication is the process of acting on information
• Human communication involves making sense of the world, sharing it with others, and creating meaning through verbal and nonverbal messages

Characteristics of Communication

• Communication is inescapable, irreversible, and complicated
• Communication is governed by rules
• Messages should be understood, achieve their intended effect, and be ethical

Communication Process

• Source (Participant)
• Receiver (Participant)
• Message (Verbal & Nonverbal)
• Channel (Face-to-face & Mediated)
• Noise
• Context and Occasion
• Organizational Culture

Models of Communication

• Action: A source sends a message to a receiver in a one-way system with delayed feedback
• Interaction: Participants share communication and discover meaning simultaneously
• Transaction: Communication participants share information and discover meaning simultaneously, influenced by other factors beyond the participant's actions

Communication Contexts

• Interpersonal Communication
• Group Communication
• Presentational Communication

Basic Communication Principles

• Be aware of your communication with yourself and others
• Effectively use and interpret verbal and nonverbal messages
• Listen and respond thoughtfully to others
• Appropriately adapt messages to others

Self-Awareness

• Self-awareness is key to self-knowledge, self-understanding, and self-disclosure
• It involves being aware of who you are, your feelings, and reactions

Abraham Maslow's Process of Becoming Self-Awareness

• Unconscious incompetence: Not knowing what you don't know
• Conscious incompetence: Knowing what you don't know
• Conscious competence: Being aware that you can do something but it is not yet integrated as a skill or habit
• Unconscious competence: Skills become second nature, and you do them without concentrating

Self-Concept

• Self-concept is your interior identity and subjective description of who you think you are, remaining relatively stable
• Self-image is your view of yourself in a particular situation
• Self is your central inner force and the sum of who you are

Self-Concept Components

• Attitudes: Learned predispositions to respond favorably or unfavorably
• Beliefs: Structuring your understanding of reality as true or false
• Values: Enduring concepts of good and bad, right or wrong

Willian James' Components of the Self

• Material Self: Reflected in tangible possessions
• Social Self: Developed through personal and social interactions
• Spiritual Self: Based on beliefs, sense of self in relation to the universe, values, and moral standards

Development of Self-Concept

• Communication with others, association with groups, roles assumed, and self-labels
• Identity is multidimensional, changing, and responsive to others
• Identity develops through past and present relationships
• Avowed Identity: Identity assigned to yourself
• Ascribed Identity: Identity assigned to you by others

Self-Esteem and Self-Concept Clarity

• Self-esteem is your assessment of your value based on your skills, abilities, talent, and appearance, which can fluctuate daily
• Self-concept clarity is the extent to which your beliefs about yourself are clearly and confidently identified and stable over time, reflecting a clear sense of who you are

Factors Influencing Self-Esteem

• Gender: Cultural construction including biological sex, psychological and emotional characteristics, attitudes about appropriate roles, and sexual orientation
• Social Comparison: Comparing oneself to others
• Self-Expectations: Goals you set for yourself, what you believe you ought to do/accomplish
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Predictions about your future are likely to come true if you believe them

Strategies for Enhancing Self-Esteem

• Engage in positive self-talk (focus on abilities and skills)
• Visualize (what you want to achieve)
• Reframe (redefine events from different perspectives)
• Develop honest relationships
• Surround yourself with positive people
• Lose your baggage