Communication Can Be Unintentional

Some communication is intentional, such as IM-ing a friend to let her know you’ll be away from your computer and using a mutually understood code (BRB!). Other

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communication is spontaneous and therefore unintentional (Buck, 1988; Motley, 1990). For example, you communicate a message when you blush, even though blushing is an involuntary action. The distinction between the two types of communication can be described as the difference between giving information and giving off information (Goffman, 1967).

These distinctions are important: we tend to see involuntary messages as more honest and reliable because the person giving off the information doesn’t have the opportunity to censor it. However, most spontaneous messages are ambiguous: Are you blushing because you’re embarrassed? Because you’re angry? Because you’ve had a hot cup of tea? Because you just ran up six flights of stairs? To interpret information that someone else gives off, we generally attend to other surrounding cues, but even then, our final assessment can be questionable. The most successful communicators are sensitive to the fact that both intended and unintended messages exert an impact on the people around them.

Technology and You

Have you ever had an online communication—a Facebook comment, a blog post, a Twitter entry—misinterpreted by people you know (or even by strangers)? Did that misunderstanding affect the way you use these technological tools?