Reflect & Relate: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication

Over the course of seven weeks, I will be posting once or twice weekly on my interpersonal communication encounters.  I am taking an Interpersonal Communication class through a college (name will not be stated for privacy issues) and will, each week, be following through chapters, giving examples from the chapters, personal experience, and so forth.  The book is titled Reflect & Relate: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication by Steven McCornack.

So, let's start.  In Chapter 1, the definition of communication is defined as "the process through with people use messages to generate meanings within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media" [2010].  We use communication every day, no matter what.  A smile, a wave, voice, singing, poetry, text, e-mail, everything is communication.  The better you communicate, the better the relationship.  For instance, this morning my fiance said he had to go somewhere. I sighed and got up off of the couch and, needless to say, it turned ugly.  My sigh was a hint that I didn't want to do anything.  I had just got up.  Perhaps I should have just said, "Can we go in 30 minutes," instead of the sigh.  But, each communication action has a response; whether good or bad.  I guess you can say this was an interactive communication model ("a depiction of communication messages that are exchanged back and forth between a sender and receiver and are influenced by feedback and the fields of experience of both communicators" [2010]).  In order to understand the different types of communication models, I will give an example of each below:

Linear Model of Communication 

Messages Communicated Through Channels

Sender  -----Noise----->    Receiver

Interactive Model of Communication

Field of Experience          Messages communicated through channels        Field of Experience

Sender                                           -----Noise----->                                                Receiver

                                                      <---Feedback---

Transactional Model of Communication

Field of Experience         Messages exchanged through channels,              Field of Experience

                                              jointly creating meaning

Communicator                    <--------------Noise-------------->                                Communicator

The reason I'm saying that what was said this morning was using the interactive model was because I made a noise, he gave a response.  If I would have asked him to wait thirty minutes or so, it could have given a negative or positive response, such as him sighing, saying, "I don't want to wait." 

That's all for today, folks.  Hope you enjoyed the entry.

Sincerely,

Nichole