Preparing for Speech, Context of Communication, Responsibility of Communicator and the Audience - Assignment Example

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL QUESTION 1 1. Environmental cues that may influence my communication expectations are dressing code, physical distance between the people involved in communication and the physical place where communication is taking place. These factors affect the level of intimacy in a conversation in addition to the scale of formality in communication. For instance, people who are closer to each other are likely to engage in an intimate conversation while formal dress indicates a professional and formal kind of conversation. 2. Context takes into account factors like individual expectations, scene and setting. In different cultures, context plays an important role in communication. A good example is a wedding ceremony context. Since it is a formal gathering, there are some clearly-cut communication rules that must be adhered to that vary from one community to another. For instance, in a wedding ceremony one community will require that the bride first dances with the bridegroom whereas in another instance the first person to dance with the bride is the bride’s father. Another example is the context of a formal meeting where those who hold the most important positions might be required to speak first or last depending on the prevailing culture. QUESTION 2 1. My first speech was delivered last year as a 20 minute presentation in class. Weeks prior to the allotted date experienced a lot of anxiety, fear in addition to anticipation. I feared making mistakes before my classmates and lose the little respect or dignity they had for me. On the other hand, the expectancy was quite nerve wracking. My anxiety was accelerated by the fact that I had little social exposure as a child due to my overprotecting parents. When called upon to present, I started shaking profusely and was noticeably nervous. During the presentation I started by mispronouncing a few words like good morning and generally the first few slides were done quite horribly. Fortunately, my glibness improved with time though I avoided eye contact most of the time. I learnt a lot from this experience about the negative impact of disquieting about other’s reactions and opinions to your speech may worsen your presentation skills and add on your nervousness and anxiety.2 2. Songs since songs appeal most to young minds.3. 3. A song because I am also young and I love songs. QUESTION 3 1. There was one time I was sharing a stirring issue with my best friend and I felt extremely offended. My perception was triggered by my friend’s unlikely conduct. First, he was not ready to listen to me or pay attention to what I was saying thus he kept on either asking inappropriate question or answering my questions irrelevantly. Next, he kept on interrupting my speech from time to time. 2. When someone lost my trust they are not able to get it back. 3. Both the communicator and the audience have responsibility for each other. It is the duty of the communicator to analyze the audience’s feedback in order to assess the reception of their message. O the other hand, in order for the audience to benefit fully from the communicator, they have to employ appropriate listening skills such as avoiding distraction and avoiding distractions. An audience that is able to identify the speaker’s signposting style and keenly observe the communicator’s non verbal cues is likely to benefit most from the communication process. Active listening on the side of the audience therefore encourages the speaker since he gets a positive feedback. Conversely, the communication skills employed by the communicator determine whether the audience is going to pay attention or not. It is the role of the communicator to prepare adequately and be guided by ethics in order to meet the audience’s expectations. QUESTION 4 1. There are quite a number of words that have been borrowed from other languages that make up English lexicography. For instance the word tycoon as used in English has a Japanese origin and chimpanzee was borrowed from Africa-Congo. However, metropolis has Egyptian origin. 2. Thought affects the meaning of linguistic items. In my opinion the relationship between a word and its meaning is quite arbitrary. Therefore, there is no good reason as to why the word table refers to the thing called table. The word table is mentioned it is the thought that gives in meaning thus thought refers to the thing itself. Our thoughts prior to utterance also determine our linguistic choices. QUESTION 5 1. Communication examples It is lunch time and you are taking a glass of juice when a colleague walks in and you say to him ‘You can join me,’ the primary message in this context is ‘You can join me’. On the other hand, the auxiliary message is the implication made by tonal inflection which your colleague may interpret the message as ‘I am not happy about your interruption’. . You are having a conversation with your boyfriend and he ends up saying, “I love you’ as he is avoiding your eyes. The primary message is ‘I love you” and the auxiliary message is ‘I do not need you anymore’.. You walk into a reception office and the secretary tells you as she is looking at her computer screen. The primary message is ‘We will contact you later,’ and the auxiliary message is ‘Stop disturbing me I am too busy’. 2. Our own perceptions are inextricably entangled with our communication. Understanding the relationship between self concept and communication can assist in improving competency in communication. Building a mental register of our talents and strong points and forming rational objective statements can motivate us to communicate competently. Defensive and non defensive messages are as a result of self concept. People who have good language mastery are highly motivated and believe in themselves. In addition to this communication assists and individual in understanding herself and others better. Communication can also play a significant role in helping a person to develop his career. 3. Analysis of an Article David Brooks: In Praise of small miracles. New York times December 11th 2014 The heading implied above serves a good attention statement since it is formatted in bold and a large font size. The introduction outlines the issue of saving in an interesting manner by giving an example of Kenyans. The introduction therefore creates suspense and arouses the reader’s curiosity. The body expounds on the introduction by providing details explanations and examples of policies and human characteristics. The conclusion conveys a sense of accomplishment on the side of the speaker. The residual messages track back to the attention statement. QUESTION 4 1. Words whose denotative and denotative meanings differ include ‘home’, ‘dog’ and ‘politician’. Sentential examples 1. i) The visitors arrived at our home three days ago. (denotative ‘home’ refers to a place) ii) The best place to die is home. (Connotative ‘home ‘symbolizes comfort ) 2. i) The dog that bit my younger brother was killed. (Denotative dog refers to an animal) ii) Children under age five are like dogs.(connotative dogs refers to shameless individuals) 3. I) politicians are thought to be intelligent. (denotative politicians refers to people engaged in politics) ii) Mary is almost becoming a politician of late. (connotative politician stands for wickedness) QUESTION 5 1. Common clichés Time will tell, as old as the hills, opposites attract; every cloud has a lining of silver and fall head over heels. These clichés can be traced back to the old day. They were labeled clichés after being overused resulting in the loss of their meaning. 2. Doublespeak involves use of unclear and mystifying language in a deliberate manner with the main objective to camouflage the truth. The use of double speak is no justifiable since it hinders the purpose of language which is communication. Doublespeak therefore should not be used intentionally because in causes misunderstanding and in some cases it may be unethical to use it. QUESTION 6 1. Analysis of an Article Online trail leads to arrest of Indian man as man behind posts backing Islamic state by Gardiner Harris New York Times December 13TH 2014 The visual image used in the article repeats the massage being conveyed. It also serves significantly to attract the attention of the audience. 2. Some of the signposts used in the presentation include firstly, secondly thirdly and lastly. They help the speaker on organizing his ideas logically and the audience to understand the flow of the presentation and identify the main points. QUESTION 7 1. The jargon used in fashion design Couture and high fashion The author assists the reader to understand these words by either offering explanation or relevant contexts. 2. Jargon in my chosen field i) Lead time- refers to needed preparations before seeing results ii) Macro environment- these are external factors that impact on the operations of a business firm. iii) Marketing clatter- An elevated volume of messages exposed to the consumer daily. iv) Marketing Mix- refers to the toolkit used in marketing v) metrics- these are those measurements in form of graphs and figures. vi) PEST Analysis-a technique of assessing macro environmental factors. vii) Pull-strategy- a strategy of promotion that encourages the consumers to look for a product viii) Positioning- crafting a product image and passing the image to the consumer. ix) Prospect- a potential customer of your brand. x) Segment- a population group with analogous service and product necessities. QUESTION 8 1. Ten years ago I was a poor public speaker. I was nervous, disorganized and unprepared. As a speaker I suffered from extreme shyness as well as stage fright due to inadequate preparation and prior anticipation. On the contrary, five years ago was a better pubic speaker. This can be attributed to high self esteem hence a strong belief that everything is possible. In terms of courage and stage fright management I could handle the in an average manner. Presently I can describe my public speaking skills as good. I credit my speaking skills to my course sine I have learnt a lot concerning public speaking. Most importantly through this course I have been able to master the art of public speaking by putting the theoretical class knowledge into practice. 2. Self concept affects communication either written or oral. Several elements of self concept have a direct influence on communication. During the process of communication, we are rich in expectations, hopes, doubts and fears. Where we put our emphasis, the point we center on and the manner in which we perceive our ability directly impacts on our communication interactions. Make a list of at least three of your strongly held beliefs. What are those beliefs based on? List some facts, respected authorities, or other evidence that support them. 3. The self fulfilling prophecy contends that positive motivation results in improvement in communication skills. In opposition negative stimuli is likely to negatively impact on a person’s communication ability. When people send encouraging messages to you, it impacts on the manner in which you view yourself and your ability. Positive reinforcement thus plays a significant role in the development of language skills. QUESTION 9 1. Tessellation comprises repeated tailings used by M.C Escher’s art works. The work is complex to comprehend hence deceptive. It is therefore normal for the viewer to misinterpret it. 2. The process of perception affects the way we choose, organize, and understand words and ideas. Perception can either limit or expand on our view depending on our preconceived perceptions. 3. It was after supper when my father asked to see me before I could go to bed. I felt so anxious for I did not know what he had for me. I concluded that he wanted to remind of my poor performance in college. To my surprise, my dad had secured a brand new car for me as my birthday present. QUESTION 10 1. One evening as I was revising for my final exams, m little sister dashed into my room and shouted, “You won’t take supper today!” I interpreted this as there was no food that day. Conversely, she had meant that supper was ready. This misunderstanding resulted from a lot of anxiety and anticipation caused by the imminent exams. If only I was not anxious about the exams I could have thought otherwise. 2. I remember there is a time I had a friend from South Africa. One day he visited our home and after chatting for a while I told him it’s was supper time. Immediately he bid me goodbye and left hurriedly. He misunderstood me since I was only inviting him for supper and he interpreted it to mean he had overstayed his visit. The misunderstanding was due to preconceived ideas and cultural differences. Read More