Good essay on lesson 1 short answer assignment

Communication

Communication

Question 1

Self-concept and self-image are almost the same thing. Self- concept refers to one’s belief about oneself while self-image is what one imagines about one-self . For instance, my concept tells I am an intelligent person, as I have always scored above average grades throughout my school. It tells me I am an obedient person, as I always listen to my parents and look forward to them. On the other hand, my self-image is how attractive and good-looking I think I am. Such qualities are judgmental. Similarly, self-esteem and self-concept can also be distinguished in a way that self-esteem refers to one’s confidence about him while self-concept is merely one’s personal identity. For instance, I have very high self-esteem, as I am very confident about myself.

Question 2

Clara is talking to a friend on the phone, and there is some network problem. This will be interference in the channel (pathway through which communication is conducted). Elena is delivering a speech in front of her class. Few of her classmates were giggling at her. This made Elena angry, and she lost her temper. It is an example of interference in the sender. James is talking to her mother while she is occupied with the thought of planning dinner at night. This is an example of interference in the receiver. An example of interference is context is when the listener misunderstood the message delivered by sender. Such interference can be delivered by the sender’s careful selection of words.

Question 3

For Anticipatory Metacommunication, I would rank myself as poor. I possess a very bad quality of being impatient. I do not prepare myself before initiating conversation. However, I am very good at handling a conversation. I always speak in accordance to the situation and people involved in the communication process. While delivering a speech, I always maintain eye contact with the audience to have an idea of their reviews. Due to all this, I rank myself as good on the scale in case of Adaptive Metacommunication. This result in an effective communication. However, still elements are missing due to my poor Anticipatory Metacommunication. Similarly, I am good in Reflective Metacommunication. However, I still need to improve in this part as well to make my future communications even better.

Question 4

In business organizations and companies, DECIDE is always used to make important decisions. Therefore, it is essential for all it employers to possess the skill of anticipatory metacommunication. For instance, an example is to decide what deal should be signed with another company. For this purpose, much time has to be spend to carefully plan the communication. On the other hand, while conducting informal conversations with friends and family, there is no need of planning the communication. It does not involve any specific steps such as DECIDE. However, other important communication rules and ethics should be given considerate significance.

Question 5

The receiver, and hence the audience is considered the central point of communication decision-making process. This is because the origin, type, and channel of communication, all depends on the audience. For instance, it will be complete inappropriate to use advanced language and serious while communicating with a 10 years old child. Similarly, it is important to consider the social status and education level of the receiver as well to make sure that the message is well delivered. This step of DECIDE is also often called the ethics of communication, as well. It enables the completion of effective communication.

References

Steinberg, S. (2007). An Introduction to Communication Studies. Cape Town: Juta and Company, Ltd.