Understanding communication

ASSIGNMENT TITLE

Reading and Reflection

TOPIC

Understanding Communication

In partial fulfilment of the requirements in B.A Psychology

1. Firstly, describe an ineffective communication interaction you have had that led to some kind of misunderstanding and/or disagreement. Briefly explain who was involved, where it happened and your perspective on the cause for the disagreement. (150 words)

My experience with miscommunication took place between a friend and myself one night after having been out for dinner. My friend and I walked to the car and waited for our other two friends who had been out with us that evening to catch up to us at the car. They ended up walking to our other friend’s car across the road and the one came over and said they will be driving home with them due to them living close to one another. Later I received a phone call from the one friend saying that we had just left them there with no lift. I believe that the cause for the disagreement was that it was a case of misunderstanding between the two of them perhaps fuelled by the influence of alcohol, which in turn caused for us to receive the misunderstood and misinterpreted message causing for us to believe it was okay to leave.

Select two key points/issues from chapter 1 of the Gamble & Gamble reading that you believe will impact the way that you approach and/or think about communication interactions in the future. And, why? (300 words)

The fact that “communication is unrepeatable and irreversible” – (Gamble & Gamble: 2002: CH 1:13) really makes you realise that when communicating with someone you should really think it through thoroughly. To take note of how you saying it, what you saying, what your body language is saying and how the person may be interpret what it is that you are saying. What I believe is meant by the above mentioned quote is that we may mislead people with our intentions through our words and not even realise that we are doing so. They may leave the conversation thinking and interpreting what was said and signalled very differently to what was meant by the sender, causing the receiver to either be misinformed, hurt or misled by his or her interpretation of the conversation, ultimately causing a retraction at a later stage from the sender which may already be too late as it has already set off a whole chain of reactions, thoughts, feelings and emotions in the receiver. Many times because of our “sloppiness” when communicating we send the wrong message across to the receiver and in turn either offend them or give them false hope. The “elements of communication”-(Gamble & Gamble:2002:CH 1:5-6) is something to always keep in mind. We should always be aware of the elements such as people, messages, noise, context and channels. In doing so we will become better communicators and will allow our messages to be received as intended and understood. This will allow open and clear communication to take place between the receiver and the sender and therefore dispel any miscommunication taking place. Through the clearer communication taking place it will allow us to learn more about ourselves, how we deal with situations, our response techniques and who we are.

2. Reflect on the reading from Micah 6 and discuss how you believe those verses could play a role in shaping the ways that we approach and/or communicate with others. Keep in mind the idea that all behavior can convey meaning and is therefore, by definition, a form of communication. (100 words)

Micah 6:7-8, "Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?"

My interpretation of the above mentioned verses and how I would reflect that in my communication with others is to stick to the basics. The verse where they mention “And what does the lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your god?”- (Micah 6:7-8) to me that has much significance when dealing and communicating with people. We must always remember that it is not only our words that must bear kindness and love, but also our actions and our body language. To always be aware that what you saying also reflects what your body may be signalling to that person. To always be genuine when communicating and meaning it with your whole being. To always be aware that we messages not only with words and that our tone, body language and many other things factor into our communication and how we come across to people.

3. Returning to the incident you describe in #1, how might that interaction gone differently if the principles Micah puts forward we 're put into action? How could those issues have been applied? (350 words)
The misunderstanding like all communication does not have a starting point. As Gamble explains in axiom 3 “Every interaction is defined by how it is punctuated.”-(Gamble & Gamble:2002:CH 1:11) He uses an example of a father and a daughter and how the father is daydreaming and reading to escape from his daughter’s screaming, but his daughter sees his daydreaming and reading as the reason why she is screaming. I think that really shows how differently people interpret situations and the response to the situation. The tone we spoke in, our body language or any feelings or signals we may have been giving off, may have influenced our reactions to the situation and to each other’s responses to the situation. Not only was it a miscommunication through words that made the friend interpret that they were getting another lift, but it could also have been from what he may have been picking up from her unsaid communication. I may have also misread his body language and tone when I was told they would not be driving with us and may have misunderstood that it was just words being spoken and not that it was not actually what they wanted to do. The words relayed to me, which had been spoken between them, could have been that I took it more at face value than rather reading into it and seeing the bigger picture behind the words. If I had spent more time listening and understanding the words rather than dismissing them so easily the situation may have turned out rather differently and the disagreement may have been avoided. I was not listening attentively and was closed up not allowing all the forms of communication to be bought across to me in the way intended. Kindness and love where not present during the conversation leading to distraction and misinterpretation between us leading to the `misunderstanding which led into a disagreement. Attentiveness and presence when in a conversation allows for better communication and understanding between people and should be practiced more widely and on a day to day basis. Not only with those who you love or add meaning to your life, but with each person you meet and communicate with in which ever what way. Another mistake that may have been on my part is that I did not go straight to the source, but rather allowed to accept a miscommunication from the third party involved in the incident.

Bibliography
Teri Kwal Gamble, Michael Gamble. Communication: The starting Line
McGraw-Hill, 11th edition, 2002

Bibliography: Teri Kwal Gamble, Michael Gamble. Communication: The starting Line McGraw-Hill, 11th edition, 2002