Communication Ilustration

In my illustration of communication, there are many different aspects going on at once. While communication is simply defined as the sending/receiving of a message between two or more people, several different aspects are combined to come to that final definition. Within communication, input, feedback, channels, and interference all combine to create the sending/receiving of a message. 

There are two sections to this picture. As you can see, the picture is split horizontally in the center, diving the picture into two different picture. On the top half of the picture, the boy is sending the girl a message. The arrows are pointing toward the girl because she is receiving the message.  In the bottom half of the picture, the arrows are pointing toward the boy. While the girl may not necessarily be talking, she is sending some kind of message back to the boy, providing him with feedback. Because of feedback, in the second picture the girl becomes the sender and the boy becomes the receiver. According to Tubbs and Moss, in communication a person can be both a sender and a receiver. 

 In both pictures, there is a thick, jagged line down the middle (one is pink, the other green). This line represents interference. As the boy sends the message to the girl, there is a good chance she may not receive it because of interference. Interference may include things such as technological issues and semantic confusion. Even though the boy wanted the girl to interpret his message one way, she may interpret it entirely different. Running through the inference line, there is a rectangular block (one is orange, the other blue). This rectangular block represents the channels, which allow a message to be communicated from one place to another. Some forms of channels that could be used in this situation include phone, email, TV, print, and face-face. Behind both the boy and girl there are two colored boxes. These boxes represent the input, or the stimuli from the past and present that give them information about the world. 

Communication is represented in this picture through many aspects. Without the sending of a message, there would be no feedback. Without a channel, there would be no message. Without input, there would be no response to the message and there would be no creation of the message. All of these things are essential for this picture. Now, interference was not mentioned as a necessity to make this picture work. In a perfect world, communication would function much more efficiently without interference; however, because communication relies so much on today's technology, there will always be interference of some sort. 

Cultural Artifact Two.

One major channel of communication today is Facebook. Facebook is a social network in which people from all over the world can communicate with one another. Similar to email, AIM, or Skype, Facebook allows people to stay connected and in tuned with one another. According to the Communication Improvement Free Resource Center (www.work911.com/communication/channels.htm), there are many different types of channels. Various examples of channels include writing a letter, sending an email, or communicating non-verbally or para-verbally. All of these examples are common in today's society, just like Facebook is too (www.facebook.com). 

Facebook continues to come up with various ways to transfer communication from one person to another. There is the typical "wall post," which allows one sender to display a message to many receivers. In this facebook channel, there is no guarantee of how many receivers there will be. In contrast to sending a "wall post," if a sender sends a "message," he or she can specify the intended receivers. 

Even though Facebook provides personal messages between two or more people and messages that are open to the public, it can unfortunately be affected by interference. Because one must have internet access in order to log onto Facebook, interference is common. When I was home over fall break, thanksgiving break, and winter break, my home internet went out. Without wireless in my house, I was unable to log onto Facebook. This interference allowed many messages between my friends at school and home to not be communicated. 

Personal Reflection Two.

Previously being told that Communication is a science, I did not believe it. However, after learning about the different points of view about theory I have discovered that communication is truly a science. When scientists spend months and years of doing research, the common response is "wow, you have put so much hard work, dedication, and intelligence into this outcome and finding." How often do you hear about communication research and communication theories? How often does a common person hear about the amount of work put into formulating a communication theory? Before this class, I had never even heard of communication research and theories. 

As a freshman in college, I always receive the common question from adults, neighbors, and relatives, which is "what is your major? what are you studying?" Coming to Creighton, I was on the pre-med track with a possible biology major. After being forced to take a communication class, I started considering the idea of a communication major. While thinking about the pros and cons of both a biology and/or communication major, I could not even comprehend how I ended up with two completely opposite majors. I felt like I was reaching to the far right and to the far left of the intended major spectrum. While learning about theory and the research communication majors conduct, I discovered these two majors are not entirely that different. 

A scientist starts by forming a hypothesis, formulating an experiment, running the experiment, and observing specific data. At the end of his or her experiment, he or she should be able to interpret his or her findings and speculate a common theory. After this theory is formulated, he or she should be able to test it over again to discover the same results; however, this does not make the theory a proven fact. Similar to communication studies, a theory can never be proven as a fact, but it can be disregarded or discredited. 

In communication research, the researcher develops an extremely similar plan or experiment. Once a hypothesis is formed, he or she can create a way to observe or test his or her hypothesis, carry out the research, and draw conclusions. It is important for these findings to be either reliable or valid. If the findings can be repeated through the same experiment, then the theory is reliable. If the experiment measure what the theory claims to measure, then the theory is valid. 

Learning about communication theories, I discovered my initial thought of a communication major and biology minor would not be such a bad idea. I would be given the opportunity to discover new aspects of each subject through research and experiments. It is exciting to realize how communication is truly a science and how I can apply both communication as a science and science as a communication to my life. 

Personal Reflection

Previously taking Introductions to Communication Competence 152, I have already learned the importance of public speaking and the ways to be an effective speaker. Reading about Aristotle's five ways to be an effective speaker (invention, disposition, style, memory, delivery) did not surprise me. Taking a public speaking course, I was able to learn about these five aspects and implement them into personal speeches and listen to my classmates implement them in their own speeches. When stumbling upon these five aspects, I learned was specifically interested in the aspect of delivery. Previously learning about it, I only knew why it was important to have a good delivery and and how to do it; however, now I understand the history of delivery and elocution. 

When Athens switched to a democratic government, the citizens had to learn to speak eloquently and efficiently to communicate their ideas. It became extremely important to teach the commoners to speak with grace, intelligence, and poise. If they were able to come across as educated and intelligent, the audience was more likely to take them seriously and consider what they had to say. The manner in which communication occurred became extremely important and set the standards for today's public speakers, businessmen, and orators. Most careers require an interview process of some sorts, and speaking eloquently helps represent people as intelligent, serious, and interested in that specific career. 

After graduating from college, I will have to interview for medical school and for a job as a physician assistant some day. It is important for me to carry myself with eloquence and poise during my interviews. If I were to sit through the interview and use words, such as "umm" and "like," the entire time, I probably would be taken less seriously. Learning the importance of communication and the role eloquence plays could help me replace those word fillers and speak more smoothly and efficiently. 

Cultural Artifact

When rhetoric and communication finally moved on from the sophists to Aristotle, people were exposed to a whole new way of looking at the art of communication. When the sophists approached the concept of communication, they did so by using rhetoric. They based communication solely on public speaking. According to them, once someone knew how to communicate their ideas publically, they would be heard and then listened to may sound correct and logical, but it is Aristotle who proved them wrong and introduced the world to a brand new way of looking at communication. 

Aristotle developed five traits for effective communication. First off, he noted invention is a main priority. Before speaking, it is essential to generate an idea. What do you want to talk about? What is the point of giving a speech and talking to another person? Generating an idea is useful in the second aspect of effective communication, or disposition. By generating an idea, it becomes easier to organize the ways in which you want to present you ideas. Along with the organization of the ideas, the speaker needs to develop a way to deliver the language appropriately by creating style. Personal style helps the audience listen better and understand what they are listening to. When speaking, a speaker should speak extemporaneously, not from a manuscript. In order to do this, he or she must recall the events and ideas about their topic. He or she should use their memory while speaking to deliver the ideas to the audience. The last aspect of effective communication is delivery. If the idea you have generated is presented well, then it is likely the audience will provide you with positive feedback. 

 It is common in today's society to see these five aspects presented in the media. For example, almost every infomercial contains a combination of these five aspects. The creators of infomercials have to invent a way to make their audience listen, and hopefully if they listen they will respond with positive feedback and buy the product. Watching television this previous week at school when I should have been doing my homework, I encountered the bender ball infomercial. The way in which the bender ball was presented with extremely in shape women and their speeches about the product persuaded me to purchase the item. By buying this product, I showed the company I was interested in their product and their infomercial made a positive impact. 

www.benderball.com/store.asp

Definitional (Boxing Plato's Shadow)

Throughout time, the study of communication and its uses have evolved from strictly governmental purposes t0 an art form involving persuasion, entertainment, and information. Communication has also evolved from a upper class skill to a skill used by everyone for a variety of purposes. Even though it is clear that communication has evolved over time, the meaning of communication and its definition is still somewhat unclear. It has been through the many that have come before us and their talented insights that have brought us to today's definition of communication. While communication has become a simultaneous exchange of a message between two or more people, there are still so many aspects of communication that affect its definition and meaning. 

Before communication could become known as this simultaneous exchange, it had to encounter many battles and argumentative debates over its possible meaning. Originating in Athens, communication was used for voicing one's opinion on specific subject matter. Switching to a democratic government, the citizens of Athens were given the change to speak out, argue for justice, and be heard. They were given the opportunity to use their voices as commoners. These people were given a choice to use verbal combat instead of violence. Here is where the sophists play a role. Even though commoners were given this "voice," it was difficult to use and to be take seriously because of a lack of proper training and knowledge. This newfound use for communication created a market for skill and knowledge, but most importantly it created a job market for the sophists, or educators. Sophists, such as Corax, Protagoras, Gorgias, and Hippias, knew the power involved in communication; therefore, they developed the idea of public speaking to voice one's opinion, also known as rhetoric. 

Even though these sophists were able to develop this idea of rhetoric and explained its role in communication, it is still difficult to completely define communication today. The sophists showed us the commoners could use this tactic to share their opinions with others in the community, which is probably why one definition of communication involves the interaction between AT LEAST two or more people. However, it was not until Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates that the definition became more clear with the help of their input on delivery, elocution, and invention. The ideas of the various sophists and these philosophers show that communication has always been a developing concept with many aspects. Since time elapsed between all of these men and their ideas, is it possible that the definition of communication is still evolving and changing as technology and our world changes?