Perceiving and Communicating with Others

1. 3 Perceiving and Communicating with Others

2. Perceiving and Communicating with Others • Communications in a Changing World • Factors that Influence Perception • Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions • Communicating Responsibly: Perception Guidelines

3. Communications in a Changing World • Our perceptions, the process of assigning meaning to sensory information and experiences, of others guide the way we talk to and about them • The power that perceptions have in guiding communication makes them particularly important to understand and manage

4. Factors that Influence Perception • Physical Factors • Physical characteristics such as age, height, and ability influence our attitudes and behaviors, and they play a role in how we perceive others and communicate with them • Physical needs also influence our perceptions • There are physical limits to the amount and type of information we perceive

5. Factors that Influence Perception • Personality • Our personality affects how we perceive others • Culture • We process perceptions through the filters of the cultures to which we belong

6. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions Figure 3-1. Steps in the Process of Perception

7. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions • Selecting • Selection occurs when we focus on some sensory stimuli rather than others

8. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions Figure 3-3. What do you see in this image?

9. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions • Organizing Perceptions • Organization occurs when we place stimuli in a category or mental box to give them meaning and aid our retention • Understanding the process of organizing perception can unpack hidden assumptions and expectations about our interactions with others

10. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions Figure 3-4A. What do you see in the inkblot?

11. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions Figure 3-4B. What categories can you use to make sense of this image?

12. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions • Organizing Perceptions • Stereotypes are generalizations about people based on their group affiliation, rather than their individual characteristics • Scripts are guides to actions and expectations based on the way we have categorized our perceptions

13. Steps in the Process of Forming Perceptions • Interpreting Perceptions • Interpretation is the stage in the perception process in which we determine the meaning of an event or interaction • Context can often help us to interpret the meaning of someone’s statements or actions • Closure allows us to draw conclusions based on unfinished, incomplete, or limited information

14. Communicating Responsibly: Perception Guidelines • Own Your Perceptions • Recognize why your perceptions might be different than those of the person you are talking to • Realize that others might not share your perceptions

15. Communicating Responsibly: Perception Guidelines • User Perception Checks • A perception check is a tool that gauges the accuracy of your perceptions by engaging in conversations with others • Describe the behavior you’ve observed • Acknowledge that there is more than one way to interpret the behavior • Ask for clarification

16. Summary • Our perceptions form the basis of interpretation about ourselves and others, and we communicate based on those interpretations • Perception is also affected by the cultural context of interaction

17. Summary • Perceptions are the basis for decisions about how to communicate appropriately and effectively, because how we perceive people or events will influence our responses to them