Perception and Communication
219.703
Advanced Business Communication
Paper Co-ordinator Dr Mingsheng Li
Assignment 1
Discuss Why Perception is
Often the Root Cause of Communication Problems
Jane Shannahan 02351412
-------------------------------------------------
Introduction
A high-ranking US intelligence expert was in the UK in vital consultation with British counterparts. The American emerged from a crucial, lengthy meeting handing a vast sheaf of papers to a secretary with the instruction, “Burn this!” And that is exactly what she did – set a match to the lot (from 1980 training session I attended).
“Language is inherently ambiguous” (Clampitt, 2010, p.4). In English there are 500 common words with a total of 14,000 meanings (Clampitt, 2010). Dwyer says communication is “any behaviour – verbal, non-verbal or graphic – that is perceived by another” (2009, p.658). Communication becomes problematic when the meaning taken is not that which was intended by the transmitter.
In 1963, Kelly noted that “people do not respond directly to events; they respond to meaning they attach to events” cited in Hynes and Hill (2005, p.1). Meaning here can be translated to mean personal perception which will be deemed not only a barrier to clear communication, but also often the root cause of communication problems. Perception is learned behaviour, endowing everyone with their own unique perspective on reality formed by life experiences and human interactions. This discussion will examine how physical and normative perception acts and how these contribute to misinterpretations and misunderstandings for individuals, societies and organisations.
Discussion
Physical Perception
Sensory perception can malfunction. A test is to ask someone, on one reading, how many times f appears here. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. The average reply is “two” or “three”, but the correct answer is six. Even when the evidence is
Advanced Business Communication
Paper Co-ordinator Dr Mingsheng Li
Assignment 1
Discuss Why Perception is
Often the Root Cause of Communication Problems
Jane Shannahan 02351412
-------------------------------------------------
Introduction
A high-ranking US intelligence expert was in the UK in vital consultation with British counterparts. The American emerged from a crucial, lengthy meeting handing a vast sheaf of papers to a secretary with the instruction, “Burn this!” And that is exactly what she did – set a match to the lot (from 1980 training session I attended).
“Language is inherently ambiguous” (Clampitt, 2010, p.4). In English there are 500 common words with a total of 14,000 meanings (Clampitt, 2010). Dwyer says communication is “any behaviour – verbal, non-verbal or graphic – that is perceived by another” (2009, p.658). Communication becomes problematic when the meaning taken is not that which was intended by the transmitter.
In 1963, Kelly noted that “people do not respond directly to events; they respond to meaning they attach to events” cited in Hynes and Hill (2005, p.1). Meaning here can be translated to mean personal perception which will be deemed not only a barrier to clear communication, but also often the root cause of communication problems. Perception is learned behaviour, endowing everyone with their own unique perspective on reality formed by life experiences and human interactions. This discussion will examine how physical and normative perception acts and how these contribute to misinterpretations and misunderstandings for individuals, societies and organisations.
Discussion
Physical Perception
Sensory perception can malfunction. A test is to ask someone, on one reading, how many times f appears here. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. The average reply is “two” or “three”, but the correct answer is six. Even when the evidence is
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