Interpersonal Communication: Obersvation Dyad
Julio Gonzalez
Interpersonal Communication
Dr. Glenn Harwood
May 25, 2011
Observation: Katie and Rick Dyad
Seven-Step Conversation Katie and Rick both give off positive approachability cues. Katie is a talker by nature and during the observation she hovered over the stove stirring a pot of chicken soup. Rick has a pleasant demeanor; the cheery look on his face is welcoming and invites Katie to ask about his lunch earlier in the day. Opening introductory sets are tell-tale signs on whether the conversation will be for social or informational purposes. From Katie’s opening introduction, this observation seems as though it will be social. The situational small talk between Katie and Rick seemed to revolve around food; after all, Katie and Rick cook dinner together almost everyday of the week and it seems as though they connect in some fashion through food. They also discussed things that happened throughout the day. Situational small talk is the use of immediate surroundings as a base for small talk. By talking about the happenings throughout the day, (e.g. Rick being stuck in traffic for an hour and listening to news radio) these events were used to branch off to other worldly topics such as the Osama Bin Laden killing. Transitions are a bridge for moving conversations to another topic. There was no clear observation of Katie or Rick using free information. Free information is extra information not pertinent to the current conversations but may be used by a partner to effect transitions. Questions are ways to form transitions; however, during the observation, questions weren’t noticed as a means to form transitions. Katie and Rick’s dyad came to an end by way of a phone call. The textbook model says that conversation should end in one of four ways- Legitimize leaving, setting a time to continue, summarizing, or complimenting your partner. In the observation, Katie received a call from her ailing father and the observation came to a
Interpersonal Communication
Dr. Glenn Harwood
May 25, 2011
Observation: Katie and Rick Dyad
Seven-Step Conversation Katie and Rick both give off positive approachability cues. Katie is a talker by nature and during the observation she hovered over the stove stirring a pot of chicken soup. Rick has a pleasant demeanor; the cheery look on his face is welcoming and invites Katie to ask about his lunch earlier in the day. Opening introductory sets are tell-tale signs on whether the conversation will be for social or informational purposes. From Katie’s opening introduction, this observation seems as though it will be social. The situational small talk between Katie and Rick seemed to revolve around food; after all, Katie and Rick cook dinner together almost everyday of the week and it seems as though they connect in some fashion through food. They also discussed things that happened throughout the day. Situational small talk is the use of immediate surroundings as a base for small talk. By talking about the happenings throughout the day, (e.g. Rick being stuck in traffic for an hour and listening to news radio) these events were used to branch off to other worldly topics such as the Osama Bin Laden killing. Transitions are a bridge for moving conversations to another topic. There was no clear observation of Katie or Rick using free information. Free information is extra information not pertinent to the current conversations but may be used by a partner to effect transitions. Questions are ways to form transitions; however, during the observation, questions weren’t noticed as a means to form transitions. Katie and Rick’s dyad came to an end by way of a phone call. The textbook model says that conversation should end in one of four ways- Legitimize leaving, setting a time to continue, summarizing, or complimenting your partner. In the observation, Katie received a call from her ailing father and the observation came to a