Verbal Communication - Meaning

Moving from perception to meaning isn't as big a jump as it may seem. Our meaning for words or our connotations are very much shaped by our way of seeing the world. In most intro communication text the section on verbal communication is really a mishmash of concepts drawn from many areas but in most cases the basis for these concepts is symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism draws from the work of the sociologist George Herbert Mead and was articulated by Herbert Blummer. In your readings you may note that in communication we draw heavily from sociology and psychology.

Meaning is studied in many disciplines but perhaps the area most associated with the study of meaning is semantics. Semanticists can be found in philosophy, linguistics and other areas of study. The philosophy of language is another area of study that is concerned with meaning. Some of the most famous work with how we determine meaning is the work in transformational/generative grammar done by Noam Chomsky. While each of these areas is worth considerable study a more accessible look at how we determine meaning was developed by two communication scholars, Pearce and Cronen. Their concept of the Coordinated Mangement of Meaning pulls together parts of other approaches into a rules based formulation.

In communicating the speaker (source) needs to keep in mind that others don't always share our meaning for words. The meaning of words change over time and vary by context. Don't get stuck in an egocentric view of the world.

Accuracy of perception

Most communication textbooks (including Verderber) include a chapter on perception. For effective communication accuracy of perception is very important. One of the hardest things for many of us to do is to question our perception of the world. I do a simple exercise in class in which I ask students what do they mean by "plenty of gas". The replies range from a full tank to the red light hasn't come on yet. I also have them stand up and ask who is tall and who is short. Both of these demonstrations point out that perception is based upon our view of the world rather than some objective reality.

Our perceptions shape our world and affect how we communicate with others. What we think we see is what we report to others. The awareness that others don't always see the same world that we do is an essential step to effective communication.

One source of information on accuracy of perception is the study of eyewitnesses in court cases. Below are listed some articles that may make you question your own perceptions.

• Eyewitness Identification: Cognitive Aspects
• Errors in Eyewitness Identification Procedures by Marc Green
• Confidence and Accuracy of Eyewitness Identification from Lineups by R.C.L. Lindsay
  

Self-esteem

In the study of perception and especially self-perception the concept of self-esteem always comes up. Going to any bookstore will turn up untold numbers of self-help books that promise to improve self-esteem. High self-esteem has often been paired with the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy and therefore linked to high performance. The message these self-help books are selling is that all it takes to do better is too like yourself better.

Does this idea they are selling make sense? Is this idea supported by research? Here are some articles that provide some insight into those questions. Does High Self-esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness or Healthier Lifestyles? by Roy F. Baumeister, et al, The Self-esteem Fraud by Nina H. Shokraii and The Trouble with Self-esteem by Dr. Michael R. Edelstein.

Pragmatics of Human Communication

Perhaps my favorite all time communication text book was one that I was introduced to my freshman year at MSU. The book was not used in the class that I took but in a section of Com 100 taken by several of my friends. The class was taught by Ed Wotring and Ed Millar two graduate students in communication. Ed Wotring ended up being my major professor at Florida State when I was in graduate school.

The book was Pragmatics of Human Communication by Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson. This book is still in print. I highly recommend it to anyone studying communication. Except for some of the information on schizophrenia which could stand some updating based upon more recent advances in medical science, the text stands up extremely well. The Verderber book which we use in class comments on some of the Axioms of Communication from pragmatics in the first chapter. I don't completely agree with the way that Verderber interprets Watzlawick, et al.

Here is an interesting site related to the book: Pragmatics of Human Communication.

Welcome to Berfunkle

This blog is to accompany the course I teach in Fundamentals of Speech Communication (Com 100) at Volunteer State Community College. The blog is titled Berfunkle after short film that I saw in the Communication 100 class I had as an undergraduate at Michigan State University. That class contained no public speaking and as the primary text we used David K. Berlo's book The Process of Communication. Berlo's book is no longer being published but can be found used. One of the many highlights of the book is the SMCR model of communication.

The film Berfunkle was about a character who went around saying nothing but the word "berfunkle" and the problems in communication created by that behavior. (if my memory serves me correctly). The film is really about the concept of creating shared meaning and the idea that words mean whatever we decide they mean.