Behavioral Communication and Relationship

management
Module-1-
scope-process-guidelines for developing human communication skills-
relevance of BC in Relationship management;

SCOPE OF BEHAVIORAL COMMUNICATION

The need to communicate is part of mans inherent being. Since the beginning of time the human
race has communicated using different techniques and methods. Circumstances and available
technology have dictated the method and means of communications. Many early forms of
communication were writing, depicted on cave walls. Then communication advanced by the
development of language and the use of symbols. Papers were used to record communication for
later use. Smoke signals ; the drums , the towers, wall are indications of the desire to
communicate beyond the immediate physical boundaries of space. Story tellers around the camp-
fire are a good example of communication, using animation, gestures and sound to communicate
their message to other members
.In 1948, a model of communication was proposed by Claude Shannon. Shannon worked for the
Bell Telephone Company in America, and was concerned with the transmission of speech across
a telephone line. Warren Weaver, in association with Shannon, wrote a preface to this model and
it was published as a book in 1949. Weaver saw the applicability of Shannon's model of
communication to a much wider sphere than just telephony, and it has served as a basis for
explaining communication since that time.
Now, we are living in the era of e-communication ,ie –one world one chip. But, the scope of BC
IS UNLIMITED AND IT IS PART AND PARCEL OF LIFE TO MAINTAIN IPR.

What is Communication?

Any communication
involves a particle which
can be in one of four
categories: an object. . .
How does one talk so that another person listens and understands? How
does one listen? How does one know if he has been heard and
understood?
These are all points about communication that have never before been analyzed or
explained.
People have known that communication is an important part of life but until now no one
has ever been able to tell anyone how to communicate.

. . . a written message. . .
The subject of communication had received emphasis upon written message in the
language of the individuals. Any attention given to it was mechanical.
To master Behavioral communication, one must understand it and predict the
consequential reciprocation.
In Scientology, communication has been defined – an accomplishment that has led to a
much deeper understanding of life itself.

. . . a spoken word. . .
Communication, in essence, is the shift of a particle from one part of space to another
part of space. A particle is the thing being communicated. It can be an object, a written
message, a spoken word or an idea. .
This simple view of communication leads to the full definition:

. . . or an idea.
Communication is the consideration and action of impelling an impulse or particle from
source-point across a distance to receipt-point, with the intention of bringing into being
at the receipt-point a duplication and understanding of that which emanated from the
source-point.
Duplication is the act of reproducing something exactly. Emanated means “came forth.”
The formula of communication is cause, distance, effect, with intention, attention
and duplication with understanding.
The definition and formula of communication open the door to understand the need for
the BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS by dissecting communication into its component parts.
we can view the function of each and thus more clearly understand the whole.

Any successful communication contains all

the elements shown here.
Any failure to communicate can be
analyzed against these Components
to isolate what went wrong.

Definitions

Theo Haimann
Communication is the process of passing information and understanding from
one person to another –It is the process of imparting ideas and making oneself
understood by others.

Newman and Summer

Communication is the transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feelings, or
source of actions.

Process of Behavioral Communication

Behavioral Communication is a process of exchange of ideas, facts, opinions and the

manner by which the receiver of message shares meaning and understanding with one
another. It is the whole sequence of transmission and interchange of facts, ideas,
feelings etc. The process is a course of action. Communication as an organization
process affects all. It enables us to transfer information from one person to another,
from one department to another and from one small or big group to another group, from
outside to the organization, no matter whether the organization be individual, firm,
society or body corporate. The ultimate object is that information transferred must be
understandable to the receiver.

In organizational process a group of individuals and group activities are involved. Every
information-transmission involves a reader or a listener who responds to the message.
This organizational process is also the means of preparing information and circulating it
to the others in the organization.
In the process, the transmitter uses a set of media to convey ideas, opinions ,facts
,feelings to another. The media may be written media, or oral media, visual and audio-
visual media, visual communication media carry slides, neon-hoardings, posters,LCD-
projections, Television, film etc.
.
Communication is a process that uses a set of media to transmit ideas, facts, feelings
from one person to another. Media challenge the communication to select them with an
awareness of their purpose to the listener or reader. So, a good communicator must
understand the receiving and understanding capabilities of the recipient not only to the
transmitting message but also to their effect.

According to Freud Luthans, communication process is the classical

organizational structure consists of:
i. Instructions and commands are communicated down to the chain of
command from one person to another directly below him in the hierarchy.

ii. Report, enquiries and requests are communicated up the chain of command,
and only to the one person directly above the communication in the hierarchy.
iii. Subgroups do not communicate directly with other subgroups at their level on
the chart, but instead communicate up the chain of command until the
message arrives at an office where both the subgroups share a supervisor,
and then down the chain of command to the recipient subgroups.

iv. The staff plays the role of communication to collect and disseminate non-
authoritative information in its role as an extension of the boss. Even in the
modern business society, there are organizations which share this traditional
view of communication.

v. The ultimate purpose of communication is to reach the receiver. The process

of communication is not complete unless the response is known from the
receiver. It is necessary to ascertain whether the receiver accepted message
or rejected or seeking clarifications, modification or offering suggestions. This
is possible with feedback, which means interaction or interface between the
sender and receiver of the message. Communication is a transmission and
exchange for it to be successful information must flow back to the originator
or transmitter. Knowing the reaction of the receiver is the feedback. This
enables the communication to change the messages to make it complete and
effective. Thus feedback is an important component of communication –
process to make communication-process a complete cycle in nature.
PROCESS-MODELS OF BC

THE SHANNON/ WEAVER MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

As was said earlier, communication might be thought of as the glue that holds a
system together. Communication occurs when one part of the system becomes a
transmitter and creates or produces a relationship, called the signal, that travels
through space and time to make contact with a second part part of the system,
the receiver. These terms are taken from the model of communication that was
first introduced by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver in the late 1940s. The
diagram shows a simple version of the model.

.
A focus on the the transmitter, for example, might produce questions such as:
where do messages come from? And how are they prepared for transmission?

A focus on the the signal might suggest questions such as: what is a signal,
exactly? How do signals move from place to place?

Or, a focus on the receiver might suggest questions such as: does the receiver
receive precisely the same signal that the transmitter transmitted? How does the
reception of a message affect the receiver? Must the receiver be affected at all?

These questions lead to additional insights into the nature of the Behavioral
communication process.

Clearly, the signal is generated by the transmitter and "noticed" by the receiver,
therefore, it must be something physical. Further thought suggests that the signal
represents a pattern, or a disturbance, in some substance that forms part of the
environment of both transmitter and receiver. The transmitter and receiver are
immersed in this substance, which is usually called the medium of
communication. The transmitter creates a signal by shaping, changing or
disturbing the medium, and the receiver notices the signal by recognizing these
changes.

For example ,
In human speech the medium is the air. Signals are patterns or "waves"
formed in the air by the vocal cords of the transmitter and noticed by the
ear of the receiver.

In dolphin communication the medium is water. The signals are patterns or

"waves" formed in the water by one dolphin and noticed by another.

In computer communication the medium is an electric current. Signals are

patterns in a flow of electrons that are produced within the transmitting computer
and detected by the receiving computer.

When communication is observed, it is often the case that the signal captured by
the receiver is not identical to the signal generated by the transmitter.
Sometimes, and somehow, the signal changes as it travels from one to the other.
This behavior is explained by noticing that there are ways that the signal
might be interfered with as it travels through the medium. The
Shannon/Weaver Model illustrates this by adding a term called noise.

And, in order to emphasize path of the signal, this more complex version of the
model also specifies that a certain part of the medium, called the channel,
directly connects the transmitter and receiver. In a perfect communication
process, the signal would travel along the channel with no interference at all,
even though other signals might be moving through the same medium outside of
the channel. In the real world, however, most signals are subject to varying
amounts of noise.
Here are some examples of how signals flow from transmitter to receiver via well-
defined channels, and of how noise sometimes gets into the flow.
• A telephone cable package consists of bundles of single, insulated wires
wrapped together and coated with plastic or similar substances. Each wire
in the bundle is a channel, capable of carrying one signal. The bundles of
wire group these channels together so that many signals may travel in the
same direction. The cable is insulated to prevent noise, however, you may
be talking to someone one day when a lightening flash from a nearby
thunderstorm generates an electrical charge that interferes with the signal
and adds static, or noise, to your phone call.
 • In a lecture hall you might notice that only the professor speaks. The
fact that all but one person are quiet, creates a "silent" channel that
allows the sound of the professor's voice to flow unimpeded to the
ears of the students. However, in the midst of a particularly
uninteresting lecture, some students might begin to whisper among
themselves. As these sounds creep into the channel and combine
with the professor's sound waves, the lecture becomes garbled and
"noisy" to students in the back of the room.
• In a print medium, such as this book, the signals are patterns of ink
pressed to a white piece of paper. A channel is formed by forcing the print
to take on certain forms such as sentences, paragraphs, pages and
chapters. Furthermore, only certain patterns of ink are acceptable. This
channel, known as "spelling," may be enforced by a computer program
that checks each word to make sure that it is acceptable. Nonetheless,
noise creeps in.

A Communication process -Model

There is always a sender and a receiver in communication. At least there is an intended

receiver. In the diagram above A is the sender, B is the receiver.

A and B have different personal realities. They each have their own world formed by
their experiences, their perceptions, their ideas, etc. They will perceive, experience, and
interpret things differently. The same event will always be perceived a little different by
each of two people.

For the consideration to communicate to appear at all there must be some kind of
shared space. The participants must have some kind of concept of each other's location
and of a possible channel of communication existing between them. They must agree
sufficiently on these to agree that communication is taking place.

The sender will have some kind of meaning she wishes to convey to the receiver. It
might not be conscious knowledge, it might be a sub-conscious wish for communication.
What is desired to be communicated would be some kind of idea, perception, feeling, or
datum. It will be a part of her reality that she wishes to send to somebody else.
Something will be transmitted across a distance in the shared space. We can regard it
as an object, a particle, or as a wave, or flow. It might be sound vibrations, rays of light,
words, pieces of paper, cannon balls, body language, telepathy, or whatever.
Between humans there will be several layers of the message being sent. There will
often be a verbal portion, something that is being expressed in language, spoken or
written. And there is also a non-verbal portion, covering everything else, most notably
body language. Sometimes the verbal and non-verbal messages don't agree with each
other, they are incongruent. If they do agree we say that they are congruent.
Based on what the receiver perceives, and based on her interpretation of the verbal and
non-verbal input, she will form a concept in her reality of what the meaning of the
message is. It will mean something to her. It might or might not be what was intended
by the sender.

In successful communication the perceived message will approximate the intended

message to the sender's satisfaction. However, the sender will only know that if she
receives a message back that is congruent with what she had in mind.

One can never take for granted that the receiver has the same reality as the sender.
One can never take for granted that the receiver will interpret the message the same
way as the sender intended it.

Communication is not an absolute finite thing. Particularly, communication with

language is always vague and misleading to some extent.

If A says a word, like for example "trust", she has a certain meaning attached to it in her
reality. She has had certain experiences with the subject matter, she has made certain
conclusions about it, and she has certain perceptual filters concerning it. The meaning
of the word is all the stuff it is associated with in her reality. However, because words
also have nice, finite dictionary definitions it might appear as if the word is something
very precise.

What travels across the communication channel is NOT all the associations that A
made about the word, and NOT the intentions she had with using it. What crosses the
distance is symbols.
When B hears the word or sentence she will interpret it based on her experiences,
perceptions, and opinions. She might supplement the verbal information with non-verbal
information such as body language. She might also hallucinate what it is supposed to
mean. In one way or another she arrives at the meaning she assigns to it.

There is wide agreement, at least within a particular culture, on what common physical
objects are. When you say "car" or "refrigerator" most people will have an
understanding very close to yours. But if you say words for abstract qualities, like "trust",
"love", "right", "wrong", and so forth, then there is wide variance on what people mean.

To have effective communication one needs to take all the factors into consideration.
The different realities, the space the communication takes place in, verbal as well as
non-verbal messages, the intended meaning versus the perceived meaning.

Exercises
- Notice some occurrences of non-verbal communication around you.

- Notice in an actual conversations between two other people how they

exchange symbols, but each maintain different associations to those
symbols.
 TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS

The list below represents some of the most common communication types you'll use.
Typically, each of these is distinguished by its content and organization. However, you'll
find variations on these types in both academia and in industry. For example, one
instructor might identify the written results of a lab test as a Lab Report, while another
instructor might call it a Project Report. Always check with your instructor or company
policy to know what type is expected and what to include. To read more about each
type, choose any of the items below:

 Graphics  Presentations
 JOURNAL OF SUCESS  Project Notebooks
 Letters, Memos, E-mail  Proposals
 Narrative Writing  Engineering Reports
 Operating Manuals  Standards
 Poster Sessions
Graphics

Graphics provide illustrated information to readers. In general, graphics are designed to

make it easier for readers to understand your ideas. Deciding when to insert a graphic
depends on the information you need to convey. For example, as you're writing, you find
yourself struggling to describe a complex concept. Fitting your description within a few
paragraphs is impossible, so you decide to create a graphic. Often, graphics are useful
when concepts, designs, or processes are too complex or cumbersome to describe in
written or oral form.
Presentations
MBA Students give Presentations when they work on projects. Often, professional
Presentations require you to verbally and graphically present preliminary designs to
colleagues. On the other hand, if you attend technical meetings or academic
conferences, you'll discover the use of Poster Sessions to present research and other
technical information

JOURNAL OF SUCCESS

It is an important part of every MBA student to participate in a "hands-on"

experience that no textbook or lecture can provide. Writing a journal of sucess
requires you to reflect on these experiences.

Project Notebooks
As a MBA student , you should always keep a Project Notebook, containing notes
of all your work. The Project Notebook provides a convenient place to keep track
both of what you think about and the work you do on lengthy projects.

Letters, Memos, E-mail

You might assume that as MBA, you won't have to write business letters, memos or e-
mail. This assumption is wrong! Any college instructor will tell you that these skills are
necessary in industry. Every project you work on will demand that you communicate
with other engineers and clients about your ideas and research.

Proposals
Engineers write Proposals to present a topic to be researched or to suggest a plan of
action. Typically, consulting engineers send Proposals to other companies in order to
get work. The Proposal then works to convince its recipient that a particular engineer or
firm is the right choice for the job.

Narrative Writing
As an engineer, much of the writing you do is not specifically essay or creative writing,
such as the writing you might do for a composition or poetry class. However, Narrative
Writing is useful for explaining concepts or depicting situations that might otherwise be
difficult to understand.

Engineering Reports
Just about every engineering project requires engineers to produce numerous reports.
Some situations require only one report while others demand several reports to
communicate work progress. The number of reports written typically depends on the
type of project and who funds the project.

Operating Manuals
Operating Manuals depict how to use equipment. These manuals typically list the
specific steps necessary for safety and proper use. At times, engineers write Operating
Manuals for the equipment or machinery they design or build. Other times, companies
hire technical writers to produce these documents.

Standards
When engineers develop designs for their projects, they consider many issues. In particular,
electrical engineers follow a strict set of restrictions known as Standards. These Standards
help them create designs that conform to safety regulations. For instance, IEEE develops
Standards affecting electrical engineering, radio, and electronics. To visit the IEEE site, click
on the Visit Site icon. If you visit the site, you will leave the Writing Center. You can return by
using your browser's "Back" button. Poster Sessions
As an engineer, you'll participate in Poster Sessions during conferences and group
meetings. A Poster Session allows you to display and discuss your work on a project or
the results of your research. These sessions are popular in both academia and industry.
To read more, choose the item below. Use your browser's "Back" button to return to this
unit

ASPECTS OF INTERPERSONAL COMUNICATIONS& RELATIONSHIP

The following table lists the more common layers that form the basis of modern courses
in communications.
Communication
Explanation
Type
Communication one has with oneself, thoughts,
Intra Personal
daydreaming
Inter Personal Communication one has with another person
Communication one has with a group of people (group
Group
discussion, party)
Communication within or between organizations
Organizational
(newsletters, memos)
National Communication within or between nations (trade, war)
Communication on a global scale that affects all people
Global
on the planet (greenhouse effect)

.
Objectives

1. Human Relations
Communication’s job is to help and promote human relations, making use
among their things, medium or media. There can be no mutual
 understanding without communication and mutual understanding in
human relations is possible only through communication
2. Empathy
Empathy is feeling with the other person, expressed by speech. Sympathy
is feeling sorry for him expressed by words.
3. Persuasion
Persuasion is a process convincing and motivating to get things done.
Speech is one of the methods to persuade a person. A sense of human
interest in the person who is being persuaded will make him understand
and appreciate the cause and effect of his action.
4. Dialogue
Dialogue is a process of conversation or speech with purpose. It involves
exchange of ideas. It is for influencing behaviour. Conciliation and
compromise are generally involved. Dialogue is a democratic, civilized and
constructive weapon. It takes the form of discussion, criticism and
deliberation. Other’s view points should be considered and there is no
place for monopoly of the conversation in dialogue.
5. Information
In the new Information order of the world, information transmission is the
process of getting things done. In complex business organizations,
effective decisions depend upon collection, storage and supply of
information. It is a continuous process in organizations.
6. To Influence
The object of transmitting information is to change the behaviour of the
recipient. Communication is aimed to influence, to persuade, to motivate
or activate towards the desired goals.
7. Understanding
The main cause for conflict in interpersonal situation is the lack of mutual
understanding the problems of people. Possibly the most important
managerial function to bridge the gap in communication; without it mutual
understanding cannot be achieved.
8. To Discourage Mis-information
The object of communication is not only to pass and exchange policies,
rules, orders, procedures and objectives but also to avoid distortions in
communication. Communication is used to discourage the spread of mis-
information, rumours, gossip and release the emotional tensions of the
workers.
9. Suggestions and Compliants
Another objective is to encourage ideas, suggestions from subordinates
for an improvement in the product and work conditions for reduction in the
time or cost involved and for the avoidance of the waste of raw material.
10. Free Exchange
The two way communication model ensures free exchange of information
and ideas improvement in the product and work conditions for reduction in
the cost or time involved and for the avoidance of the waste of raw
material.
 11. Better Relations
Communication improves employee and managemant relations by
keeping both in contact with each other. House journal and other labour
union publications promote good understanding by mutual exchange of
ideas.
12. Fostering Attitude
Motivation, Co – operation and job satisfaction are more essential to
achieve organizational objective. The purpose of communication is to
foster an attitude which is necessary for motivation, co-operation and job
satisfaction.

Four Principles of Interpersonal Communication

These principles underlie the workings in real life of interpersonal communication. They
are basic to communication. We can't ignore them
.
1.Interpersonal communication is inescapable

We can't not communicate. The very attempt not to communicate communicates

something. Through not only words, but through tone of voice and through gesture,
posture, facial expression, etc., we constantly communicate to those around us.
Through these channels, we constantly receive communication from others. Even when
you sleep, you communicate. Remember a basic principle of communication in general:
people are not mind readers. Another way to put this is: people judge you by your
behavior, not your intent.

2.Interpersonal communication is irreversible

You can't really take back something once it has been said. The effect must inevitably
remain. Despite the instructions from a judge to a jury to "disregard that last statement
the witness made," the lawyer knows that it can't help but make an impression on the
jury. A Russian proverb says, "Once a word goes out of your mouth, you can never
swallow it again."

3.Interpersonal communication is complicated

No form of communication is simple. Because of the number of variables involved, even
simple requests are extremely complex. Theorists note that whenever we communicate
there are really at least six "people" involved: 1) who you think you are; 2) who you think
the other person is; 30 who you think the other person thinks you are; 4) who the other
person thinks /she is; 5) who the other person thinks you are; and 6) who the other
person thinks you think s/he is.

We don't actually swap ideas, we swap symbols that stand for ideas. This also
complicates communication. Words (symbols) do not have inherent meaning; we simply
use them in certain ways, and no two people use the same word exactly alike.

Wiio's Laws--and Some Others (Espoo, Finland: Welin-Goos, 1978):

If communication can fail, it will.
If a message can be understood in different ways, it will be understood in just that way
which does the most harm.
There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your
message.
The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.
These tongue-in-cheek maxims are not real principles; they simply humorously remind
us of the difficulty of accurate communication.

4. inter personal communication is contextual

In other words, communication does not happen in isolation. There is:

Psychological context, which is who you are and what you bring to the interaction. Your
needs, desires, values, personality, etc., all form the psychological context. ("You" here
refers to both participants in the interaction.)
Relational context, which concerns your reactions to the other person--the "mix."
Situational context deals with the psycho-social "where" you are communicating. An
interaction that takes place in a classroom will be very different from one that takes
place in a bar.
Environmental context deals with the physical "where" you are communicating.
Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day, all are examples of
factors in the environmental context.
Cultural context includes all the learned behaviors and rules that affect the interaction. If
you come from a culture (foreign or within your own country) where it is considered rude
to make long, direct eye contact, you will out of politeness avoid eye contact. If the other
person comes from a culture where long, direct eye contact signals trustworthiness,
then we have in the cultural context a basis for misunderstanding.
 Intrapersonnal Communication
In the field of communication studies there is a widely held belief in intrapersonal
communication as a unique process of message exchange and information
transformation within the individual. Of all the commonly acknowledged forms of
communication--interpersonal, small-group, organizational, non-verbal and mass
communication--intrapersonal communication (hereafter cited as IaC) is the youngest
and least developed notion, and the one about which the least has been published. For
all that, however, it is regularly mentioned and defended in the literature as an important
component in the spectrum of communication types. Indeed, one of the strongest
claims made repeatedly is that IaC is the basis and foundation of all other forms of
communication. Quite simply, IaC has become an accepted model in communication
theory, especially in the areas of speech and interpersonal communication.
Recently, questions have been raised (Cunningham, l989) about
difficulties just in trying to define IaC. For the most part, however, it remains an
uncontested model. Its theorists assume that IaC, either as a reality or as a powerful
model, comprises a range of functions, and that it augments our understanding of both
what communication is and what it means to be a human being. Many IaC theorists
refer to the work of psychologists and neurophysiologists to reinforce their point that IaC
comprises a number of intrapersonal processes. At first glance, that kind of referencing
seems to lend scientific credence to Iac, but some weighty assumptions have been
made. In most cases the scientific authorities alluded to are usually not talking about a
form of communication, but, more conservatively, about inner processing in general:
cognitive, perceptual and motivational episodes. To call these psychophysiological
processes `communication' is to exercise a transformation that exceeds the interests
and insights of the allegedly supporting authorities. The fact that relatively few papers
written on IaC have explicitly employed it as an investigative tool suggests that its
empirical utility and scientific status are even more problematic. It is significant,
perhaps, that the index of the International Encyclopedia of Communications (l989)
contains no entry for IaC, nor does any listing for it appear in any of the dictionaries or
encyclopedias of related scientific disciplines, such as The International Encyclopedia
of Social Sciences or The International Encyclopedia of Psychiatry, Psychology,
Psychoanalysis and Neurology.

Now, an essential requirement in the life of any theory is those reflective

moments in which its adherents adjudicate competing interpretations and respond
unflinchingly to challenges directed against the model itself. Just as the phenomenon of
mass communication has been exposed to a declension of competing interpretations in
the course of efforts to understand what it is, how it works and what kinds of effects it
generates, there is a corresponding need for the same kind of interpretative exercises
vis-a-vis IaC. The timing is propitious: The recent publication of Intrapersonal
Communication Processes (Roberts & Watson, 1989), a compendium of 26 original
studies, marks a point of critical mass at which the literature is now sufficiently ample
and sophisticated to invite serious reflective analysis of the IaC construct. Unless and
until IaC is prepared to withstand this sort of assessment, its theoretical probity remains
untested, and its utility uncertain at best.

what theorists say about IaC in order to see whether it really has any distinctive value
in communication theory. The essay comprises both a review of IaC descriptions and
evaluation. Within the latter, an effort is made to unearth and assess the kinds of
reasoning and motivation that have prompted communication theorists to posit IaC.
Altogether, the procedure involves four steps:
1. a brief description of the settings in which IaC is mentioned, used and
defended;
2. a representative inventory of the operations and properties commonly
attributed to IaC;
3. a sequence of criticisms that probe the soundness of the IaC construct;
4. a number of inquiries that must be answered if the concept of IaC is to
remain on the books.

THE PUBLIC FACE OF INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION.

IaC has emerged in three areas of communication literature: in lexicons; in

introductory speech and mass communication textbooks; in conference papers and in
theoretical writings of a more advanced nature.
Blake and Haroldsen in A Taxonomy of Concepts in Communication (l975)
give a full-page entry in which we are told that IaC is a "distinct concept" (p. 25). It has
also been itemized in Key Concepts in Communication by O'Sullivan, Hartley,
Saunders and Fiske (1983). Watson and Hill in A Dictionary of Communication and
Media Studies (l989) conclude that "it is what makes us unique" (p. 91).
The term appears with mounting frequency in other sectors of the
literature. A number of mass communication textbooks state or assume that IaC is a
genuine part of the communication spectrum, but in most cases treatment amounts to
little more than a mention or a sentence. A few (e.g., Bittner, 1980, pp.8-9) give longer
treatment. Introductory speech texts and a number of theory-level sources are much
more ample. For example, Applbaum et al. (1973, pp.12-31) devote an entire chapter
to it. One of the earliest elaborations of the IaC construct was an influential journal
article by Barker and Wiseman (1966). In 1980, Barker and Edwards published a 52-
page instructional booklet entitled Intrapersonal Communication. Their work was
updated in 1987 with co-author Charles Roberts under the title Intrapersonal
Communication Processes (Roberts, Edwards, & Barker, 1987).
The widening recognition accorded to IaC has been enhanced by its
recurrence in the conference forum. In the last decade or so, the Speech
Communication Association has regularly scheduled multiple sessions and seminars
dedicated to this model. In 1986, that recognition was formalized by the establishment
of the Commission on Intrapersonal Communication Processes within the SCA. Each
year a dozen or more presentations dealing with IaC and its applications are now listed
in its conference program. To date, half or more of the material written about IaC is in
the form of unpublished conference papers. For that very reason it is of limited value.
Accordingly, the publication of a collection of 26 papers in Intrapersonal Communication
Processes: Original Essays (Roberts & Watson, 1989) marks the first point at which the
published literature is now sufficiently ample and complex to invite a review and
assessment of this concept.

OPERATIONS AND PROPERTIES OF INTRAPERSONAL

COMMUNICATION
Collectively, the literature makes a surprising number of claims about IaC.
Many of these claims identify functions, events or operations such as inner dialogue,
reasoning or the processing of information. Other claims have more to do with the
characteristics or properties of IaC. For example, some believe that IaC is the
foundation of all communication, and that it is an important source of self-knowledge.
Accordingly, as a first step in understanding what IaC is supposed to be, it is important
to provide a catalog of these operations and characteristics.
In the inventory that follows, both functions and properties commonly
attributed to IaC have been identified and assembled into numbered classes.i These
classifications do not pretend to be complete, but they are representative.

Operations
1. Talking to oneself, the process of communicating with(in) oneself, of inner
speech, or a self-contained communication system within the person is often
mentioned

2. An internal dialogue or interchange of meanings between parts of the person,

such as consciousness and the unconscious, or between the "I"--that "part of
ourselves that is fundamentally idiosyncratic and personal"--and the "Me"--
that "part of ourselves that is social product" is also mentioned. A related
operation is the transfer of messages between the brain and an individual's
other parts
3. A process whereby a person transacts with the environment or adapts to the
environment; a process of manipulating cues (stimuli) impinging upon us from
without or even from within

4. Perception is another operation, a process whereby the individual receives,

stores, and retrieves information or symbolic abstractions

5. An interactive process whereby the "raw data" of perception are endowed

with meaning or transformed into information of a more conceptual nature

6. Data processing functions are described as well. Given the functions

recorded in #4 and #5 above, it is not surprising that some authors choose to
think of IaC in metaphorical terms as a "data processing center". Where that
metaphor is not explicitly invoked, the recurrent use of the data and
information-processing idioms encourages that and other sorts of
biomechanical interpretations
7. Feedback is sometimes identified, but more often than not is only implicit in
some of the operations identified in #3-#6 above.
8. Though individual accounts may stress this or that aspect, the literature
attributes a wide assortment of mentalistic operations to IaC--that is, a range
of epistemic functions that do not seem to be reducible to purely material
changes or elements. These include the following:

9. the assignment of meaning to, or interpretations of, perceptions, events and

experiences

10. thinking and understanding

11. problem solving, conflict resolution, applied thinking, evaluation, planning,

decision making
12. memory

13. introspection; awareness, self-consciousness and self-knowledge; reflection;

metacognition

14. dreaming;

15. imaging;

16. feeling;

17. IaC comprises or is allied to a number of dispositions and emotional states

that, in turn, affect overt behavior and speech. These inner states range
anywhere from willingness to communicate to unconsciousness and
mindlessness.
18. In a move that is highly reminiscent of Immanuel Kant's intuition of time,
Bruneau (1989) suggests that IaC is that whereby we experience time in all
its modalities. IaC, he writes, is "basically and essentially temporalities
concerning internal time dimensions, cycles, periods, rhythms and kinds of
sequential phenomena" (p. 79).

19. IaC crops up as an easily recognizable synonym in the literature of

persuasion. More precisely, "self-persuasion" is taken to be an internal
process involving the production and intransitive movement of messages
within the individual. Thus, Burks (1970) writes that there is "no intrinsic
difference in the persuasion of another and the persuasion of self" (p.

20. The self-persuasion paradigm, we are told (Smith, 1982),

21. entails no external producer of messages. Rather people generate their own
original meanings, containing reasons for changing beliefs or behaviors....the
process of actively thinking about an issue regarding the self or the
environment usually results in a number of self-generated persuasive
messages. (p. 18)
22. Self-persuasion, or the "active participation paradigm" as it is also called, has
attracted the interest of communication scholars because it represents an
area in which the individual is no longer interpreted as a passive recipient of
externally induced messages or influences. Rather the individual is now seen
as playing a more active participatory role in the modification of one's own
attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Agency and initiation, not passivity, are the
key notes. Much of this clearly coincides with, and recapitulates, the
internalized message-production factor in IaC theory.

Properties and Characteristics

1. IaC is exclusively a neurophysiological activity, and it can be "defined"

through experimental procedures in purely neurophysiological terms (Brooks,
1978, p. 13; Roberts, 1985, 1986; Vinson, 1985). It is something that is
"mainly a concern of the psychologist and neurologist" (Merrill & Lowenstein,
1979, p. 8). Roberts (1986) states that "all of the communication within the
individual is physiological" (p. 6). Some argue, with less desire for precision,
that IaC can be viewed as a mental process, a physical state, and as a
biological-psychological system (e.g., Stacks & Sellers, 1989).

2. IaC is virtually a continuous process in our waking state

3. From the earliest days of this theory, the relationship of IaC to language and
symbols has been problematic (Barker & Wiseman, 1966, p. 178) Though
Budd and Ruben (1979) raise the possibility that "language may not be a
requirement for Intrapersonal Communication" (p. 111), the consensus
among most is that language (or some form of encoding/decoding) plays a
"decisive role" and an "important part" (Applbaum et al., 1973, p. 27; Linkugel
 & Buehler, 1975, p. 17; O'Sullivan et al., 1983; Roberts et al., 1987; Rogers,
1984, p. 7; Stacks & Sellers, 1989, pp. 245, 255-263; Whetmore, 1985, p.5).

4. IaC is essential both to the reality of, and to our understanding of, all
communication. "[A]ll communication is to some extent intrapersonal
communication" (Blake & Haroldsen, 1975, p. 25). IaC is the basis or
foundation of all communication Barker and Edwards (1980, p.20) are not
alone when they say that interpersonal communication cannot occur without
IaC going on simultaneously. Littlejohn (1983) says that it is "so pervasive
that it cuts across all other contexts, making it a universal theme" (p. 8).
Larson (1983) enthusiastically universalizes the significance and import of
self-persuasion in a manner which parallels the claims made for IaC: "In one
sense", he writes, "all persuasion is self-persuasion--we are rarely persuaded
unless we participate in the process" (p. 6).

5. IaC, or knowledge of IaC adds to our knowledge of ourselves and to our

understanding of the process of communication with others (Applbaum et al.,
1973, p. 13; Apple, 1989; Emmert, 1989; Hikins, 1989, pp. 32) It is a source
of personal development and self-discovery, of self-understanding, of our
view of ourselves---both as a part of and apart from our environment
6. IaC has therapeutic value. By developing this level of communication, we can
promote inner harmony, the union of body and soul; we can regain health and
stability, and improve physical functioning

7. IaC has a valid role in empirical research (Brooks, 1978; Roberts, 1985, 1986;
Surlin & Costaris, 1985; Vinson, 1985). It is something that can be studied
through empirical methods.
Barriers

One of the most common complaints from clients entering mediation

is that they cannot communicate with each other. All of us have
experienced, at one time or another, the frustration of feeling
misunderstood and being unable to make ourselves understood by
another person. In mediation, the first step toward resolving a
conflict is for the mediator to understand the point of view of each
person, and then to help the parties understand each other. The
more people understand each other, the more likely they can resolve
their conflict. However, this requires both listening and assertion
skills which are different from our typical ways of communicating.
Therefore, such skills must be learned. Here at the Northern
California Mediation Center, we spend a good deal of time teaching
these skills in our trainings and modeling such skills with our
clients. The response has been so positive that we would like to share
some of these basic communication skills with you in this series of
arti This article introduces the concepts of good communication and
discusses some of the common barriers to communication. Future
articles will address what is good listening and constructive
assertion, and how to do each effectively.

Good communication skills are mutual respect skills.

Ideally, each person will show respect for the other as well as
respect for self. You show respect for the other person by
listening fully and demonstrating that you "get" what that
person means; and you respect yourself when you assert or
"give" your own legitimate self-interest without aggression.
To have a complete communication, each person must both
"get" and "give."

Let us look at some of the conversational bad habits

which often interfere with full and complete communication.
Anything which blocks the meaning of a communication is a
barrier to communication.
These usually fall into one of three categories: judging,
sending solutions or avoiding the other person's
concerns.

Some common examples follow:

CRITICIZING "Well, you brought that on yourself."

NAME-CALLING "You bull headed ,stupid jerk."

DIAGNOSING "You are only saying that because you feel guilty."
All of these responses judge the other person and therefore impose the speaker's
point of view. The other person will often feel misunderstood and unsafe, and is more
likely to react in a defensive or self-protective manner.

ORDERING "Go fix that right now."

THREATENING "If you don't agree to these terms, I will sue you."

MORALIZING "You ought to apologize to her."

EXCESSIVE/APPROPRIATE QUESTIONING "When did it happen?" "Are you sorry?"

ADVISING "If I were you, this is what I would do..."

Each of the above are attempts to solve the other person's problem. They are
variously direct, manipulative, self-righteous or coercive. Even when caringly intended,
the solution is often proffered without a full understanding of the problem. Such
responses may make the problem worse, or create a new issue without resolving the
original problem. They also demean the other person's capacity to handle his or her
own problems, and are likely to foster anxiety and resentment.

DIVERTING "If you think that's bad, let me tell you what happened to me."

LOGICAL ARGUMENT "If you leave your keys in the car, you can expect someone to
steal it."

REASSURING "You have the tools to handle this. You'll get over it."

The last three responses avoid the other person's concerns and enable us to keep
an emotional distance from the person or from an uncomfortable topic. By using such
responses, we often are trying to make ourselves feel more comfortable, rather than
truly being helpful to the other person.

Do’s and Don’ts in Communication

1. Avoid judgmental words and loaded terms.

Avoid the words that communicate to your spouse that she is
flawed. Ie; "Total lack of effort"...."childish
behavior"...uncooperative....that selfish way of yours....you are so
helpless...poor me attitude.....

2. Avoid global labels.

Avoid attacks on the person. "He/ She is an asshole", evil,
bitch, lazy, or useless. These words attack the person, not the behavior.

3. Avoid "you" messages of blame and accusation.

Avoid using "You" when addressing a problem. For instance
you wife comes home late and you say, "You're always late and spoiling our
evening." Or "You're never around when there is work to be done."

4. Avoid old history

Avoid bringing up old garbage from arguments and
disagreements past. Bringing up the past as a source of constructive
critique may be helpful at times. But in the heat of an argument it might
become a club to harm rather than to help.

5. Avoid negative comparisons.

Don't consistently compare your mate with the negative.
When you bring up a behavioral problem you see in your mate strive to build
up, not tear down.

6. Describe your feelings rather than attack with them.

When you describe your feelings address them directly. "I'm
embarrassed" ....."I'm angry". Do this instead of ACTING OUT your emotion.
Communicate your emotion through intellect, not through outburst.

7. Keep body language open and receptive.

You have heard this before, but it is effective. Watch your body
language. Keep your arms uncrossed. Maintain eye contact. Keep your body
open when communicating to your spouse.

8. Use whole messages.

Whole messages are those which convey, observations, thoughts, needs or wants.
Observations are statements of actuality, like a reporter from a neutral perspective.
Thoughts are your interpretations of an event or occurrence. Needs and wants are your
personal request for something. Try using all of these components in your
communications to get the whole message of what you are trying to say across.
9. Avoid Threats
Don't use threats to get someone to perform in the way you want. For instance, "If you go
out with the boys/girls tonight, don't' expect me to be here when you get back!" Threats
are destructive to a relationship.

10. Use clear messages

Use messages based on clear observation absent from subjective conclusions. For
instance don't assume a partner's silence means they are mad at you or that anything is
necessarily wrong. The point: Don't play beginning mind-reader.
Ten Commandments of Communication
1. It's not what our message does to the listener, but what the
listener does with our message, that determines our
success as communicators.

2. Listeners generally interpret messages in ways which make

them feel more comfortable and secure.

3. When people's attitudes are attacked head on, they are

likely to defend those attitudes and, in the process, to
reinforce them.

4. People pay most attention to messages which are relevant

to their own circumstances and point of view.

5. People who feel insecure in a relationship are unlikely to be

good listeners.

6. People are more likely to listen to us if we also listen to them.

7. People are more likely to change in response to a

combination of new experience and communication than in
response to communication alone.

8. People are more likely to support a change which affects

them if they are consulted before the change is made.

9. The message in what is said will be interpreted in the light of

how, when, and by whom it is said.

10. Lack of self-knowledge and an unwillingness to resolve our

 own internal conflicts make it harder for us to communicate
with other people.

Model Qusetions
• What is Communication?
• Explain the importance of Communication.
• Explain the process of Communication
• Explain the Communication Process proposed by Fred Luthans.
• What are the various types of Communication?
• What are the various modes of Communication?
• What are the various objectives of Communication
• Differentiate between the interpersonal and Intra Personal Communication
• Explain in detail about Inte Personal Communication
• Explain in detail about Intra Personnal Communication
• What are the barriers of Communication
• What are the Commandments of Communication
.
i