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Test 1 Basic Premises of Communication and a History Linear, Interactive, and Transactional -

Source Receiver Message Channel Feedback Noise Context/environment

Communication: A history - Communication, journalism, media studies, and PR are all relatively recent academic disciplines (early 20th century)

- Our “newness” results in many misconceptions about who we are and what we study

Boxing Plato’s shadow - In order to understand “who we are” and “what we do”, we have to start with the ancient Greeks

- Particularly Plato vs Sophists - Boxing Plato’s Shadow assets that our discipline continues to fight the perception that we’re “simply” Sophists—only focused on public speaking

Plato’s theory of truth - For Plato (who follows Socrates), absolute Truth exists but it is elusive - Truth may be determined by the those (primarily men at the time) engaged in deep intellectual thought

- The entire point of oratory was to discuss ideas to search for Truth

Sophists - Professional teachers who educated individuals for a fee - Plato didn't like them because he believed that Sophists weren’t interested in searching for the Truth

- He believed that Sophists were simply interested in making money to teach people how to speak publicly

Plato vs Sophists - Thus, Plato strongly opposed Sophists, who were professional teachers • Plato’s legacy (and the point of the book’s title) is that the Communication discipline battles •

the perception that what we do isn't “important” because we “only” teach people how to write and deliver speeches In other words, the commonly-understood perception of our discipline is that we’re “simply” Sophists

Communication as an academic discipline - By 1990, “communication” was taught as either • Study of spoken word (rhetoric and/or speechmaking) • Or the written word • Usually in English departments • No Journalism programs • PR not yet developed • No systematic study of media yet - By 1920s, communication started developing as an area of academic study - But it was situated in other academic disciplines such as sociology/anthropology, psychology, -

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political science As a result, communication study developed from these social scientific traditions Quantitative research methods Searching for laws of human behavior Major findings about Communication from a sociological perspective Sociological perspective of communication: humans are social beings; communication is a primary means through which we are social We construct our sense of self and society is through “symbolic interactionism” Our interactions are the symbolic means through which we construct self and society Psychologists also grew interested in understanding how we communicate with each other Considerable research about communication from a psychological perspective Early and strong focus on interpersonal communication behaviors Research on social psychology (how humans are affected by their social world) Effects of media on audience(s) Political scientists developed interests in the relationship between politics and communication Communication from a political science perspective Politics and mass communication research: • Considerable influence during the world wars • Impact of media on voter behavior • Impact of media on political campaigns By the 1960s, the study of human communication was well underway under other academic disciplines Academic study was influenced by 2 perspectives: • Rhetoric—which led to critical and qualitative methods • Social scientific—quantitive methods Huge academic shift occurred during the 1960s Subjects that were once considered “inappropriate” for academic study started getting attention

Communication Models and From Rhetoric to Public Speaking Why models? - We can think through the process - We can generate questions - We can make predictions

3 basic models of communication - There are 3 basic models of communication and each one assumes something different about the process • Psychological • World building/social constructionist • Pragmatic

Psychological model - Assumes (takes for granted) that communication is a behavioral process - Stimulus/response - The effects of communication patterns • ex. when someone smiles at us we feel good - So, according to the psychological model, communication is a psychological process • Encoding, decoding, message, feedback, noise are all psychological behaviors

World building model - Also called social constructionism - Unlike the psychological model, the world building perspective assumes (takes for granted) that the purpose of communication is to build community

- To construct our societies and the realities in which we live - With heady emphasis on shared meanings - James Carey: • Communication is “the symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed”

- What does symbolic mean? • Symbol may be broadly understood as written or spoken language, image, nonverbal behavior

• That represents something else - Such as abstraction (thought, idea, emotion, value, belief, process, etc)

- What is “reality”? Whose reality is p/m/r/t? • We live in different realities - US - South

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Auburn Economic Racial Gender So according to social constructionists— • Communication plays a fundamental role in the production and maintenance of shared meanings in the production of culture • “Most of what we know and believe about the world comes to us through communication rather than through direct experience”

Pragmatic model - This model focuses on the structure of communication; it assumes (takes for granted) that communication is methodical and rule based • Communication as a series of moves, turn-taking, patterned • Focus on understanding the repeated patterns of communication • “Interdependent behaviors that become patterned over time”

Aristotle says pro is.. -

“the faculty of observing in the particular case..the available means of persuasion” In this case, faculty means ability Persuasion means influence (as well as other things) Rhetoric is a way of learning to influence others

Rhetoric is common to all people - It is a mode of inquiry (a way of understanding the world) - Should not just serve rich people or only focus on legal rhetoric - Saw it as very useful to the public sphere

Rhetoric is useful -

We need persuasion to uphold truth and justice There are times when we must be persuaded to accept new knowledge We need to be able to analyze all sides of a question We need it to defend ourselves

Abilities for effective rhetoric - Inventio—the art of discovery (learning, knowledge, research) • The essential first step—in order to influence you must have knowledge of your subject - Dispositio—the art of organizing your arguments • The process of organizing arguments often leads to the need for more knowledge (further discovery and research)

- Elecutio—the art of presentation • The style, format, and strategy used

• Correctness • Clearness • Appropriateness

- Memoria—ability to remember your arguments • Also the need for a broad knowledge base that could be used to improvise, debate, respond to questions, and refute opposing arguments

- Pronuntiatio • Gestures, tone, vocals, word choice • Punctuation, grammar, formatting, and presentation in written rhetoric • Images, sounds, fonts, video, etc in visual communication

Public speaking today - For centuries, public speaking was known as rhetoric through the art of persuasion - We currently view persuasion as one of the avenues of public speaking - Others are to: • Inform • Entertain

Basic components of effective public speaking -

Organization Content Audience analysis/adaptation Delivery Credibility Time

Organization - There must be a beginning, a middle, and an end - The intro must garner the attention, introduce your topic and establish relevancy and credibility

- The body is the substance and should be broken into main ideas and transitionary statements - The conclusion is a wrap-up and chance to leave the audience with a memorable message

Content -

The major ideas or arguments of a speech Must be supported with one or all of Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, logos Accuracy and clarity are key What you say in your speech • Verbally • Nonverbally

Audience analysis/adaptation -

Not all arguments work on all people at all times Meaningful public speaking understands the importance of fitting arguments to audiences If you do not understand your audience, you have little chance of persuading them This is one reason why there are so many polls and surveys—folks want to find out what influences certain groups Types of audience • Hostile, agreeable, and on the fence

Delivery - Types • Manuscript • Memorized • Impromptu • Extemporaneous

Credibility -

Initial Derived Terminal Components of credibility • Authority • Knowledge • Goodwill • Trust

Time - Need to condense thoughts and ideas - Audiences are aware of the time restraints and don't respond favorably to having their time wasted

Persuasion Communication and Persuasion - Isocrates (Greek educator) asserted that the power to communicate with one another gives humans the ability to persuade one another

- So rhetoric is fundamentally about communication and persuasion

Effective persuasion - Three important concepts— • Target audience

• Credibility • Arguments

The target audience has the power - They will either be persuaded or they wont - The speaker must always understand and adapt the message to the targeted group - When audience members listen to a presentation they bring their prior attitudes, values, and beliefs with them

- The speaker must shift through all of these things to identify with the target audience

Attitudes - Opinions that link an individual to a topic; whether you favor or disfavor something; attitudes predispose a person to respond to a topic in a particular way • Cognitive dimensions: - what an individual knows about a topic • Affective dimensions: - what an individual feels in regard to a topic • Behavioral dimensions - what an individual does in regard to a topic

Values - General and enduring ideas about what is important • important: abundance, individuality, happiness, justice, etc • unimportant: dependence, altruism, caring for others - Stronger and more personal than attitudes but they are less numerous - Deeply help and closely tied to audience’s identity - You will be less likely to change peoples values, likely they will be offended if they try

Beliefs - Opinions about what is or is not the case; what we believe to be true without proof or -

evidence • Often religious, but not always Beliefs differ in nature and importance: • Core beliefs: fundamental beliefs that have been held for a long period of time • Peripheral beliefs: relatively inconsequential and less resistant beliefs Beliefs can change from hour to hour

Successful vs unsuccessful persuasion - If you're serious about wanting to influence someone, you must understand their a/v/b

Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos - Ethos—ethical appeal to convince the audience of the author’s credibility - Pathos—convince an audience by appealing to their emotions - Logos—persuasion based on facts and constructing logical arguments

Is an argument effective? - The Toulmin Model for Evaluating Arguments - Developed as a means of understanding the rhetoric we all employ in out everyday attempts to persuade

- Toulmin assented that an “argument is movement from accepted data, through a warrant, to a claim”

- Parts of an argument (preview): • Data (required) • Claim (required) • Warrant (required) • Backing (optional)—additional evidence beyond the data • Rebuttal/reservation (optional)—counterargument • Qualifier (optional)—strength of the claim

Toulmin model - Data—evidence to support claims • research, testimony, illustrative, examples, etc. - Claim—What the speaker wishes the audience to accept; the explicit appeal the speaker

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makes • An argument success if the audience accepts the claim and fails if the audience does not accept the claim • Claims may be facts, policies, or values • Claim of fact—prove or disprove something • Claim of value—something is good/bad or right/wrong • Claim of policy—what should be done with details Warrant—connecting link between data and the claim • The relationship or reasoning that leads the speaker (and audience) move from the evidence to the conclusion • Carries the data to the claim • Important because of shared meaning—making your message clear Backing—additional information may make the message more persuasive • An audience that shares the speaker’s values will accept the warrant without question • However, an audience that does not share the speaker’s values will need additional evidence to agree with the argument Qualifier—words or phrases that indicate the strength of the claim • Always, definitely, etc. indicate a strong claim • Sometimes, usually, maybe, do you think, indicate a weaker claim Rebuttal—counterargument • If an audience believes there is a situation or condition in which the claim does not hold true

• An affective rhetorician addresses the opposition (situation//condition) to support the claim • Builds credibility

What is missing? - Persuasion works in small doses • Seek baby steps • Smaller pieces of the pie that eventually get you to the end result - Target audience • You are not going to persuade everyone in the audience • Identify the portion on the fence (swing voters)

Fallacies: Errors in reasoning - Ad hominem—attack someone’s character rather than the merits of her/his arguments - Slippery slope—predicts one line of action will inevitably cause undesirable effects - Post hoc—doubtful cause (superstitions) • Since B followed A, A must have caused B

Language Four characteristics of spoken language -

It is symbolic A kind of knowledge Rule-governed and productive Affects how we see the world

Language is symbolic -

It “stands for” something else; it represents something In linguistic studies, the symbol is often referred to as the sign Sign = signifier + signified Signifier—“the form in which the idea is expressed” Signified—the meaning of the idea The relationship between the signifier and signified is entirely arbitrary and culturally determined

Language is a kind of knowledge - Is stored in out minds as a body of knowledge - Is accessed through • Speech (physical aspect) • Language (internal aspect)

Language is rule-governed and productive - Language enables communication - It is one of the codes through which we encode and decode messages - We learn the rules of language • How to make the sounds of our language • How to combine these sounds into words • How to order words into sentences • How to use sentences in interaction/communication

Language affects how we interpret the world around us - Linguists believe that we store memories as language - We communicate with ourselves through language (interpersonal communication) - The Sapir/Whorf hypothesis • Linguistic determinism: language determines thought - our thoughts and ideas are restricted by our language - we are confined to what our language allows us to see • Language affects how we perceive the world • “The ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built upon the language habits of the group”

• “The worlds in which different societies live are distinct, not merely the same worlds with different labels attached”

Language and social identity - Language is a way to create and maintain identity - Gendered language—differences in the ways women and men use language help structure us as feminine or masculine

- Feminine language— • talk is essential (the essence of) relationships • demonstrates equality • show support • “maintenance work”—invite others to participate in order to maintain conversation and relationships

• inclusivity (“tell me more,” “thats interesting”, interruptions) • personal language style (detail, self-disclosure, anecdotes) • Tentativeness (“I may be wrong, but…”); tag questions

- Masculine language— • Establish/defend personal status (exhibit knowledge or skill) • Accomplish instrumental objectives (problem solving, getting information, getting facts) • Conversational dominance (men tend to dominate conversations—talk more frequently, talk

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for longer periods) - Use more interruptions for dominance - Language tends to be more forceful and direct • Speak in more general terms, removed from personal experiences • Use minimal response cues, not highly responsive Language problems between men and women— • Showing support—

- Men show support by giving advice - Women show support by recognizing feelings • Troubles talk—talking about personal problems— - Men may want advice - Women may want support • Relating experiences— - Men tend to tell sequential stories leading to “the point” - Women tend to focus on detail, less linear explanation • Relationship language— - Men tend to believe the relationship is going well as long as nothing is being discussed - Women tend to believe the relationship is going well when it can be discussed

- Language is a way to communicate membership in a social group • Colloquialisms

Interpersonal Communication - Interpersonal communication is a special kind of dyadic communication, characterized by the development of personally negotiated rules, increased information exchange, and progressively deeper levels of knowledge.

Dyads - Dyadic—you + 1 other person - Face-to-face - Across distances • Phone • Skype • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc • Email - Interpersonal dyads can be: • romantic partners • parent/child • friends—deep bonds • acquaintances—small talk • co-workers—can develop into friendships • relatives • mentors • counselors - Why do we develop them? • We would fail to thrive as social human beings if we didn’t—true for introverts and extroverts

• They help us develop stable self-concepts • They offer us comfort and support

Characteristics of dyadic communication - Direct—we cannot hide - Personal—intimacy can evolve

- Immediate—feedback is immediately observed and reacted to - Spontaneous—not rehearsed - Informal—comfort

Rules that govern how we communicate with each other - Cultural-level (macro) • General rules • Apply to everyone in the culture - Sociological-level (middle) • Rules governed by group membership • Bro hug - Psychological-level (micro) • Individual rules with people we know well - Nicknames or affectionate names

Communicating with another person carries inherent tension/risks - Types of tensions that interpersonal dyads face: • Expressive-protective dialect—need to share personal information vs the need for privacy; everyone has personal secrets

• Autonomy-togetherness dialect—determining how interdependent the dyad wants to be; relationships, when do you become “together?”

• Novelty-predictability dialect—the more interpersonal dyads interact with one another, the more predictable one another’s behaviors become

Respecting identity and protecting face - Face is “the person we try to be when we are with other people” • “Positive face” is threatened when someone disagrees with us- impacts our need to be liked or agreed with

• “Negative face” is threatened when someone imposes on our autonomy (tries to change our behaviors)- imp...