-You are "sending" a message that explains the interpersonal communication model as if you (as an adult) are talking to a fourth grade student. (Your partner will "act" as the fourth grade student, approximately nine years old.)
-You are "sending" a message that explains the importance of the abstraction ladder to a co-worker. (Your partner will "act" as the co-worker.)
-You are "sending" a message explaining the importance of interpersonal communication to the President of a college, or the CEO of a large corporation. (Your partner will "act" as this executive.)
Write the answers to the following questions for Assignment 4A, if that is the assignment choice you selected, based on your completion of the above activity, and submit your answers to your instructor.
1. What kinds of decisions regarding encoding and language adaptation did you make? Why?
2. What kind of language choices did you make when speaking in each dyad? Discuss specific words and phrases that you used that were especially appropriate for each situation? Were adaptations made to accommodate gender and/or culture? Did you use denotation, connotation, direct language, facts, inferences? Why or why not?
3. When you were actually communicating in each dyad, did you make changes from your planned messages? Why? Were these changes consciously decided? Give a specific example.
4. You were the sender/source in these dyads. How was the concept "meanings are in people" reflected in your messages? Give a specific example.
5. Describe a situation you were recently in where you changed your language because of the context or the receiver/listener? What was your encoding and language adaptation? Were you aware of the language adaptation that you were making? How would it help us be better communicators if we were more aware of language adaptation? Was gender or culture a factor in your language adaptation?
3 answers
In each scenario, you must have a partner. For the first one, imagine that your partner is in 4th grade. Then explain the interpersonal communication model to the child. Use language and examples that the child will understand.
Do the same for the other two scenarios. One is to explain the abstraction ladder to a coworker. The other is to explain the importance of interpersonal communication to a college or business executive.
After you've completed these dyads, answer the five questions.