CHAPTER REVIEW

CHAPTER1 REVIEW

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Chapter Recap

CHAPTER RECAP

  • Communication is the process through which people use messages to generate meanings within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media.

  • You can use communication to help you achieve three types of goals: self-presentation, instrumental, and relationship. Various communication models (linear, interactive, and transactional) help you understand how this communication takes place.

  • Although the field of communication began with the study of rhetoric in ancient Greece, today it is composed of four main types: mediated, interpersonal, small group, and public communication.

  • Communication competence determines the quality of your communication and is a combination of appropriateness, effectiveness, and ethics.

  • There are two key axioms to keep in mind when building your communication skills: the communication choices you make are connected to the outcomes that follow, and different types of communication are connected to each other in fundamental ways.

image LaunchPad for Choices & Connections offers unique video scenarios and encourages self-assessment through adaptive quizzing.

image LearningCurve adaptive quizzes

image How to Communicate video scenarios

image Video clips that illustrate key concepts

KEY TERMS

Communication, p. 5

Message, p. 6

Interaction, p. 6

Contexts, p. 6

image Channel, p. 6

Media, p. 6

Self-presentation goals, p. 6

Instrumental goals, p. 7

Relationship goals, p. 7

image Linear communication model, p. 7

Sender, p. 8

Receiver, p. 8

image Noise, p. 8

Interactive communication model, p. 9

Feedback, p. 9

Fields of experience, p. 9

image Transactional communication model, p. 10

Rhetoric, p. 13

Mediated communication, p. 16

Interpersonal communication, p. 16

Small group communication, p. 16

Public communication, p. 16

Communication competence, p. 19

Appropriateness, p. 19

Self-monitoring, p. 19

Effectiveness, p. 21

Ethics, p. 21

Communication skills, p. 22

ACTIVITIES

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  1. Tracking Your Media Meter

    For more activities, visit LaunchPad for Choices & Connections at macmillanhighered.com/
    choicesconnections2e
    .

    Question

    As a way to compare how you use different communication media, create a log of your communication patterns across various media for just one day. Track how often you text, tweet, e-mail, post, call, talk face-to-face, and so on. For each communication encounter, include a brief note regarding what it was about. Then, analyze your log based on the following questions: Which communication media did you use most often? Why? What guided your decision in choosing certain media over others? Do certain media seem more intimate or less personal than others? Were some more enjoyable or more demanding? How do you think your choice of communication media influenced the outcomes you experienced?

    r7CokDU8ZLs=
    1. As a way to compare how you use different communication media, create a log of your communication patterns across various media for just one day. Track how often you text, tweet, e-mail, post, call, talk face-to-face, and so on. For each communication encounter, include a brief note regarding what it was about. Then, analyze your log based on the following questions: Which communication media did you use most often? Why? What guided your decision in choosing certain media over others? Do certain media seem more intimate or less personal than others? Were some more enjoyable or more demanding? How do you think your choice of communication media influenced the outcomes you experienced?
  2. Exploring Competent Communication

    Question

    Call to mind a recent communication encounter that you found difficult or problematic. This could be a conflict, an awkward interaction, or an instance in which you regretted what you said or someone misinterpreted you. With a partner, recall exactly what you said and what happened as a result. Now, revisit the components of competence discussed on pages 19–21. What aspects of your communication were appropriate, effective, or ethical? Which were not? What could you have done to be more competent in the situation? How would that have changed the outcomes you experienced? What does this tell you about the benefits or limits of competent communication?

    r7CokDU8ZLs=
    2. Call to mind a recent communication encounter that you found difficult or problematic. This could be a conflict, an awkward interaction, or an instance in which you regretted what you said or someone misinterpreted you. With a partner, recall exactly what you said and what happened as a result. Now, revisit the components of competence discussed on pages 19–21. What aspects of your communication were appropriate, effective, or ethical? Which were not? What could you have done to be more competent in the situation? How would that have changed the outcomes you experienced? What does this tell you about the benefits or limits of competent communication?