COM 1000 Chapter 1 An Introduction to the study of communication I What is Communication A Communication Is Persuasive a Pervasiveness communication takes place wherever humans are together because people tend to look for meaning even when a message is not deliberately sent B Communication Is Amoral b Amoral the process of communication is ethically neutral C Communication Allows Us to Advance Our Life Agenda The process of communication is ethically neutral Advancing life agenda can be an ethical pursuit enriching those around us or can be an unethical exploitation advancing out agenda at the expense of others II What Can We Learn From Aristotle A Logos Listen To My Message Because It Makes Sense a Logos logical appeals Ways to increase the logical appeal of a message well organized claims made are based on credible evidence evidence is clearly presented consistency B Pathos Listen To My Message Because Of The Feelings It Evokes C Ethos Listen to my message because I am a competent trustworthy and well Based on those who are receiving your message think you are not based on Maximize credibility let others know of your expertise experience organized a Pathos emotional appeals intentioned person your actual personality and being well dressed III The SMCRE Factors communication A Source Variables Useful when studying what elements make up the process of human a Source person initiating the communication The speaker Audience may be swayed by external matters e g age looks gender education etc B Message variables C Channel Variables b Message the message the speaker intends to send c Channel the means through which the message is sent E g email text live recorded etc D Receiver variables d Receivers the audience to whom the message is delivered Effective communicators tailor their message specifically to the audiences who will be receiving them E Environment variables F Which variables can you control e Environment the situation or context in which the transaction takes place Least control over receiver variables can t pick the audience Most control over message variables speaker gets to choose what to include or not to include IV The Elaboration Likelihood Model ELM theory of persuasion Based on the premise that those who are both motivated and able are more likely to engage in elaborative processing A Central route or peripheral cues When people are motivated and able to scrutinize they are likely to do so Speakers who invent high quality messages have a better chance of being successful communicators if their audience engage in central route processing a Central route processing receivers mentally elaborate on the elements of your message and carefully scrutinize your arguments and evidence b Peripheral route processing receivers give brief attention to the message without elaborated thought B Motivation and Ability To increase the likelihood for successful communication make your message relevant avoid doing anything to impair your audience s ability and create a strong logical sound message a Relevance factor to maximize audience s motivation and ability if people believe a message is personally important to them they are more motivated to process that message carefully b Ability other variable that determines a receiver s likelihood to elaborate is a receiver variable Communication Contexts V A Interpersonal communication the process of using messages to generate meaning between at least two people in a situation allows mutual opportunities for both speaking and listening B Small Group Communication communication that takes place among three or more individuals who are interdependent share goals identify with one another and interact C Organizational communication the communication that is necessary to form and maintain an organization D Public speaking the process of using messages to generate meanings in a situation in which a single source transmits a message to a number of receivers E Mass Media Communication the process of using messages to generate meaning in a mediated system between a source and a large number of unseen receivers Journalism the communication of news information about events in our community our nation and our world and commentary F Health communication G Family communication VI The Ethics of Communicating Clear effective communication in health care is essential Look at NCA credo for Ethical Communication as a guide to communicating honestly and respectfully