From Skate’s opening introduction, his observation seems as though it will be social. The situational small talk between Katie and Rick seemed to revolve around food; after all, Katie and Rick cook dinner together almost everyday of the week and it seems as though they connect in some fashion through food. They also discussed things that happened throughout the day. Situational small talk is the use of immediate surroundings as a base for small talk. By talking about the happenings throughout the day, (e. G.
Rick being stuck in traffic for an hour and listening to news radio) these events were used to branch off to other orally topics such as the Osama Bin Laden killing. Transitions are a bridge for moving conversations to another topic. There was no clear observation of Katie or Rick using free information. Free information is extra information not pertinent to the current conversations but may be used by a partner to effect transitions. Questions are ways to form transitions; however, during the observation, questions weren’t noticed as a means to form transitions.
Katie and Rick’s dyad came to an end by way of a phone call. The textbook model says that conversation should end in one of four ways- Legitimate paving, setting a time to continue, summarizing, or complimenting your partner. In the observation, Katie received a call from her ailing father and the observation came to a close. Depth is the measure of non-revealing to more personal messages. In the observation, Katie and Rick shared fairly deep communication that wouldn’t be shared with just anyone. Katie expressed sincere worries about her day while Rick talked about his dog on the verge of dying.
The breadth of their dialogue was broad, from small talk about food to worry over fairly serious topics. Perception Checking Problems in communication come about when people confuse factual statements with inferential statements and reach a conclusion based off interpretation. In order to avoid this, the text book model has process known as perception checking which allows the receiver of information to clearly understand the inferences he’s being given. In the observation of Katie and Rick’s dyad, there were no owned observations, owned alternative inferences or Open-ended questions by either party.
Owned observations are necessary because by using the word “I” one is not accusing the message sender of any wrong doing. Owned alternative inferences allow the message receiver to express how he took the signals/words given by the sender. An open-ended question gives the message sender a chance to clarify what her signals meant. In the observation, there didn’t seem to be any fact/inference confusion; nevertheless, Rick or Katie could have still made owned observations and owned alternative inferences along with open-ended questions to better understand where one another were coming from.
While speaking to Rick, Katie did show selectivity in attention and retention. She was certain the looks her boss gave her in the morning were based on vents that happened the day before; all day she was worried the boss would discipline her. This carried over into her dyad with Rick. Selectivity in attention is the thing we focus on, while everything else is background noise; retention is simply the things we choose to remember. Selectivity in exposure by definition is who one chooses to surround himself with based on sharing similar held views or beliefs.
Rick is an ordained minister and typically surrounds himself with Christians. Positive Pygmalion Effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If Katie keeps on with her assumption that her boss is owing to come in and discipline her, she will act in accordance with that. Eventually, the boss will come and discipline her, probably not for her original reason, but maybe because she lost focus on everything else. Listening In the observation, Katie did most of the speaking while Rick did most of the listening.
Katie went on and on about her rough day at the office; Rick validated her complaints by saying “yeah” after every other sentence. There was an attempt at a paraphrase but it didn’t come out as such; more of a repeat of what was already mentioned as Rick used the same words Katie had just said. Paraphrasing is an important aspect in listening because it’s a fail safe to misinterpretation (on the listeners part) and it allows the speaker to know they are being heard. The listener should use their own words to know what they are interpreting is clearly understood.
Empathy (in listening) is the response style one uses to show they identify with the speaker while open-ended questions are used to get more information from the speaker. There were no open-ended questions at any point during the observation but both Katie and Rick showed a slight degree of empathy in their listening. The observer could feel the love and care be;en Katie and Rick; however, under the circumstances (preparing dinner) the characteristics of empathy were limited to “l see. ” Rick seemed to prefer using “really? ” as a close-ended question.
At one point during the dyad, Rick brought up his concern that their dog was getting old and doesn’t like to move much anymore. Katie was quick to offer advice by telling him he should consider putting the dog to sleep. Her advice seemed not to affect Rick, probably because he agreed. Giving advice in any dyad, according to the textbook model, is equivalent to relationship suicide. However, in this case, giving advice seemed to be a moot point. Climate Supportive Description is a means of offering one’s thoughts and feelings without judging.
There was no use of description in my observation of Katie and Rick; however, Rick would have come off as more supportive had he told Katie “l don’t believe your boss is upset at you; focus on your work and don’t worry about things you can’t control. ” According to the textbook, problem- orientation in communication is finding a solution that satisfies both of their own needs. This was witnessed throughout the observation; both Katie and Rick had joined forces to prepare dinner for one another.
Being that both rarely see one another throughout the day and have little time later in the day with their “after work” church activities, both resolved to spend time together making dinner every night. Empathy means searching ones own experience to a similar one my partner is sharing and having a willingness to connect ones emotions with said partner. With regard to empathy as it relates to climate, neither Katie nor Rick gave much; however, their behavior shouldn’t be considered neutrality as both did give something.
Katie had a olden opportunity to connect her feelings with Rick when he mentioned his dog being close to dying, but instead, chose to give advice. Both Katie and Rick were open and honest throughout the dialogue. Spontaneity is being honest as opposed to being manipulative. There were no suggestions that Katie or Rick were scheming; the content of their dialogue seemed to be straightforward and sincere. Katie and Rick’s dyad was on a level playing field; neither Katie nor Rick expressed superiority in their communication.
According to the textbook model, equality can be described as someone avian greater talent in certain areas, but seeing other human beings as having just as much worth. Provisional behavior is open and tentative; one puts off decision making to complex problems. When Katie asked Rick what he thought about having sushi (for the first time) the following weekend, he told her he’d give her a response after he looked into IL When compared with the textbook model, this would be identified as supportive communication on Rick’s part.
Language Skills Precise language, by textbook definition, accurately expresses desired meaning and is necessary for communicating shades of meaning. Specific language is using choice words to paint the desired picture or put a sharp focus on something in particular. In the observation, Katie and Rick used precise language to communicate with one another. Katie didn’t miss a beat in talking about her day at the office and in turn, it is believed this helped Rick become a better listener.
She could have done better expressing shades of meaning as there was some lingo about her job the common person couldn’t possibly know. In expressing his concerns over the dog, Rick did well using specific language by telling Katie he’d have to start “digging a grave for the Koch soon. ” In the textbook model for gender differences, it is said communication is different for men and women in that for women it’s used to establish and maintain relationships, while for men it’s used as a means to exert control and preserve independence.
It is also noted that women use intensifiers more often than men. In this observation, this would be true; Katie used a lot more emotional words to express her day at the office than Rick did to speak of his aging dog. Though they have a high context relationship, the ways in which Katie and Rick communicated during the observation was more explicit than implicit. This could likely be attributed to both being products of western society.
With regard to cultural differences, the textbook model states that eastern societies are high context cultures where people have close connections over long periods of time and are not very explicit because members already know how to behave and act with one another. In contrast, western societies (e. G. American culture) are said to be low context; this means people in western cultures have more relationships for shorter periods of time; we tend to be movers and shakers in the western oral. Non Verbal Throughout most of the observation, Katie and Rick did not face one another.
Their dyadic interaction was observed during a time both were preoccupied preparing dinner. They were in close proximity to one another, still not giving one hundred percent to each other in terms of body language. In order to show your partner they have your full attention, textbook nonverbal mannerisms say one should stand/sit squarely facing the person being communicated with. An open posture means the communicators are not guarded and have nothing to hide while maintaining eye contact and meaning slightly forward in the direction of your partner is an indication that one is interested.
Aside from maintaining an unguarded open posture, it would seem Katie and Rick did not keep with the textbook example of positive nonverbal communication. They did not maintain eye contact or lean forward. Nevertheless, their shared interest in the dyad was unmistakable. It was noted that Katie and Rick, in the midst of their preparing dinner/dialogue, violated one another’s personal space. Not in a malicious or offensive manner, but rather in a comfortable manner. Katie brushed up against Rick t one point, displaying a playful sign of love.
