Chapter 4 The Competent Communicator

1. Chapter 4 The Competent Communicator

2. Chapter 4 The competent communicator • Objectives: • Define competent communication • Describe the five communication acts • Provide examplesof speaking and listening for each of the five communication acts • Explain the four competency steps and describe how a competent communicator uses each of them.

3. Competent Communication

4. Communicating competently… Competent • Everyone can talk and hear. • Good communication takes effort. • Competent means “well qualified and capable.” • Competent communicators have knowledge and skills in communication. • They develop a number of ways to deal with new communication situations. • They follow certain steps in order to reach their communication goals. Communicators Competent communicators always seem to know what to say or do in any situation. They also know how to improve their knowledge and communication skills.

5. What are the reasons we communicate? • To get information • To tell someone something • To find out how to do something • To learn things I didn’t know before • To persuade someone to do or believe something • To show someone I care about them • To make up my mind on a debatable subject • To enjoy myself by talking with others • To test new ideas information reflection persuasion emotions deliberation

6. Five Communication Acts

7. Communication Acts • Communication acts describe the major reasons for communicating. • The five acts are: • Sharing information • Discussing feelings • Managing persuasion • Following social rituals • Using imagination

11. Advertising Inspiration Motivation Persuasion Examples

12. Journal Entry • Write about five persuasive situations that you have observed or experienced. • How did you act (or react) in the situations and how, if at all different, might a ‘competent communicator’ act in these situations? (ref. pg. 77)

14. Social Rituals • Making and acknowledging introductions • Making and receiving telephone calls • Asking Questions • Interrupting, apologizing, greetings, etc. • Making conversation

15. Social Ritual Examples • Introducing a stranger… • Asking a question in class… • Ending a friendly conversation… • Calling a friend on the phone… • Asking the time of day… • Asking someone to dance… • What other examples can you think of?

16. Brains Origins of Small Talk Job Interview Social Ritual Examples

17. Journal Entry • Choose a social ritual and observe someone engaging in it. • Predict what you expect to see. • Afterwards, desribe what happened and note anything you noticed that was surprising or unusual. (ref. pg. 80)

19. New mouse Imagination Examples

20. Journal Entry • When do you find yourself situations involving dramatic imagination? Make a list of several… (ref. pg. 84)

22. Listening and Speaking Examples What type of communication act or acts are exhibited in these movie clips? Pursuit of Happyness Armegeaddan

23. Four Competency Steps

24. 1. Thinking of Strategies • Communication strategies are the verbal and nonverbal messages created to reach a specific goal. • Experience gives your more strategies to cope with communication difficulties. • The competent communicator thinks up a number of possible ways to deal with a situation.

25. Strategies you’ve used? • To gain a later curfew? • Did your strategy leave both you and your parents satisfied?

26. 2. Selecting a Strategy • Once you’ve thought of a few ways to handle the problem or situation, consider the specifics… • Think about the who, what, where, and when.

27. 2. Selecting a Strategy

28. Journal Entry • Examine the situations on page 89 “Interact” and think of the who, what, when and where that would affect the communication strategies.

29. 3. Acting on the Strategy • Now what? • Ever felt like you knew exactly what to say or do but did nothing? • Many of us think of pretty good strategies but are reluctant to finish. • Selecting the strategy doesn’t do much good until you act on it. • It’s one to plan to tell your friend that they hurt your feelings and another to actually say, “You hurt my feelings” or “I want you to stop teasing me.”

30. Three-step skill called, “Peer Pressure Reversal” will get you out of tough situations. Being a Competent Communicator

31. Preparing to be a Competent Communicator • Check out the scene. • First, checking out the scene involves looking and listening for anything unusual or strange in the way your friends are talking or acting. Are they in an ‘off-limits’ place, or are they trying to bribe you into doing something wrong? • Second, ask yourself: “Is this trouble?” If the situation would break a law or get someone in charge mad, you are facing a trouble situation.

32. Preparing to be a Competent Communicator • Make a good decision. • To make a good decision, you need to think about two things. • First, weigh both sides. Your friend(s) will tell you about the positive consequences: you must rely on yourself to consider the negative consequences. The risks involved ar usually not worth it. • Second, you must make a firm decision so that the pressure won’t cause you to act weak. If you take a risk, be prepared to accept the consequences. If you decide against the trouble, you might just comvince your friend(s) not to take the risk either.

33. Preparing to be a Competent Communicator • Act to avoid trouble. • There are many ways to refuse a friend’s suggestion including saying no politely and firmly. leaving, or giving a true excuse. • You can suggest a better idea and walk toward it and your frineds will often follow you! • Some people can say “No” in joking ways, such as “I wish I could, but it’s my night to walk the goldfish.” • And if a friend dares you, learn to return the challenge, “Are you scared to do it by yourself?” • Remember to stay in control, look the person in the eyes when talking to him or her, and get out of the trouble in 30 seconds or less.

34. Journal Entry • How often have you planned to do something but never followed through? • Some examples: • Volunteer in class (answer a question, add to a discussion, etc.) • Ask a salesclerk for more information • Tell your parents how wonderful they are • Compliment your friend • Thank a teacher for help • Apologize for talking badly about someone • Competent communicators learn to follow through with their plans. Being Bullied

35. 4. Evaluating the Strategy’s Effect • The final step is to make judgment – to decide whether the strategy worked well. • Evaluate on the terms of: • Effects on you • Effects on others • The result • And the conclusion Pursuing Happyness

36. Evaluating • For example, if you had three different strategies for an apology and chose one, did both you and the person you apologized to feel good whe you were done? • Or, if you chose a joke to introduce your speech, did the class laugh? • Look at the results and decide if the strategy would work in a similar situation or would you have to do something different. • Consider your beliefs about right and wrong when choosing, using, and evaluating a strategy. Failure brings success!

37. Chapter 4 Review Think about it Put it in writing Page 96 1 (parent or grandparent) & 2 • Page 95 • 1-4 Try it out • Page 95-96 • 1-3