*Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
It was refreshing and useful to go over dyads in this chapter. I liked learning about the various rules we subconsciously use when with certain people. For instance, my girlfriends and I exhibit psychological-level rules. We seem to have our own language when we are together, and “make” our rules based on what we know about each other.
When I am at a job interview, however, I use cultural-level rules. One would almost always formally greet a future employer with a hand shake rather than a hug or kiss.
I participate in local musical theatre productions, and here the sociological-level rules are exhibited. People in this group know to be quiet when a director talks, or to use quiet voices when backstage during a performance. Interpersonal communication depends on a particular group's rules.
I liked when Trenholm writes "As we become more familiar, however, we can understand our partners better because we know about their backgrounds and about their attitudes and values" (Trenholm 143). This relates to many other sections we've read this chapter, but I like the idea that we tend to use our intuition depending on who we talk to in order to make communication successful. I liked reading this section of the chapter because these rules are so subconscious, yet we use them every day. Talking to a best friend or family member is so casual, but really, we are subconsciously following rules of communication.
Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!
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3 comments:
Hi Lady! I loved the personal examples you gave here - good job! Do you think that these rules are "subconscious"? Or do people think about them? Or, do some people think about them and others don't? What is your opinion here?
I feel like sometimes our interactions are subconscious. I also feel that we use our gut feeling a lot when we decide what to say to what person. And we sort of evaluate others and how they relate to us, which obviously affects our interpersonal communication.
I think these rules are something that people think about and they become second nature depending on the person they are communicating with. There was this guy I used to work with a while ago, and he was the nicest guy in the world. I knew though, if I was going to engage in a conversation with him I would be there for a while. He would talk and won't stop talking because he was excited about a lot of things. So I would talk to him when I had some spare time or when I came in on my days off. I knew I would have to listen and be polite because not everyone wanted to talk to him for this reason. I thought he was nice and cool. Even though I didn't get to say much, he never ran out of things to say.
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