Demonstrative Communication Paper.

Karena Busch

BCOM/275

July 9th, 2012

Wayne Brock

Communication is a form of passing information from one person to the next and from one place to another by acknowledging the sender’s intent, comprehending the context of the message, and acting upon it to be able to create a shared understanding!

Communication starts with the sender, who must format the message clearly and correctly, by using proper grammar, punctuation, noun sequencing, and syntax. This is a very important step for the sender because if the sender speaks too fast or too slow, his/her speech is garbled, or he/she mixes up their words, then this affects whether the message was delivered clearly or not.

The message in itself has to be coherent and understandable because if not the medium in which a message is transmitted may become faulty. There is a few ways this can happen, such as information written on paper is not going to be effectively communicated if the ink is smeared, transmission from a video can be unclear and/or shaky, visual and audio communication can be disrupted by simple noise, and distractions from the message medium could be also due to distractions from our environment, such as a hot or cold room, loud music and/or sounds, and other people talking loudly.

In regards to communication, there are four types of communication which are verbal (spoken communication), non-verbal communication, written communication, and visualization communication. Verbal communication involves using words by face to face communication or through other gadgets of communication, such as a telephone, cell phone, radio, television, and online video chatting.

Non-verbal communication is the opposite and involves body language, facial expressions, and signs to communicate, not words! Written communication involves writing letters and mailing them, chatting on Facebook or Twitter, and sending out memos or important information within a company. Visual communication involves television, using Skype or another form of web caming by using one’s web cam on their PC, and face to face.

“Communication is an exchange of information via verbal or written messages and is the process of sending and receiving messages.” (Communication, 2012; Cheesebro, O’Connor, and Rios, 2010). There must be a

sender and receiver for any kind of communication to take place and if there is no sender and receiver, then communication cannot take place, because after all communication is an exchange of information that takes place between the sender and the receiver.

Demonstrative communication involves the process of sending and receiving information and/or messages by non-verbal and unwritten communication through facial expressions, body language, and the tone of voice one uses.

Facial expressions can be conceived and viewed by an individual as positive or negative depending on what facial expression an individual may have. A smile would be interpreted as a positive facial expression, while a frown would be interpreted as a negative facial expression, but grins can also be either positive or negative. Some individuals interpret grins as arrogant and therefore would be negative and an individual grinning about something funny or comical would be interpreted as a positive facial expression.

Body language is a powerful tool that is used in any activity that would involve communicating and interacting with other people. One of the first body language movements I consider important is eye contact! Eye contact is an important quality to have with other individuals because it shows others that you are confident and are knowledgeable in certain subject matters at hand, but if an individual looks down at the floor or up at the ceiling and crosses one’s arms, then it is perceived as negative body language, in which it excludes confidence in themselves and for the subject matter at hand.

An individual’s body language is the most important factor in how a message is received, therefore it would not matter what an individual may have intended to say with their words, because it involves communicating without words, but with facial expressions, gestures, eye-contact, and posture.

Whether a message is delivered positively or negatively depends on one’s tone of voice. In order to deliver a positive message, one needs to use a non-confrontational and pleasant tone of voice and delivering a negative message would include yelling, fast talking, stumbling with one’s words, and may be perceived as being nervous or just someone with a lack of confidence in oneself.

Effective ways for a sender and receiver to communicate in a demonstrative way would be to send the right message, making sure the message received is correct, and making sure it is comprehended and understood by the other person. (Effective Communication, 2012).

Other ways of demonstrative communication effectively is to use repetition, contradiction, substitution, complementing, and accenting. Repetition: One could use this to show the sender that they are interested about the information by having steady eye contact, leaning their body forward and tilting one’s head to one’s side, or by scratching one’s chin to show one is in deep thought.

Contradiction: Effectively communicating, one should harmonize their body language with their words through contradiction, because if one perceives communication signals to be mixed, then one will be more convinced by one’s non-verbal communication. Substitution: An individual could substitute non-verbal communication for words to effectively communicate by smiling and clapping to communicate approval, raising one’s eyebrows to communicate eagerness or surprise, to communicate anger or disapproval one may squeeze their eyebrows together and combine it with a frown, and to communicate openness, one could smile, then open their arms.

Complementing: One could complement one’s body language with what they are saying by adding a gesture to a spoken word and by saying hello and waving one’s hand. Accenting: Accent spoken words with body language such as gestures. To prove your point of view, one could accent the points they want to make by counting on their fingers while communicating their reasons or with giving a speech one could point out critical points in their speech by pounding on the podium.

Ineffective ways of communicating is when an individual is vague. If the sender’s information to the receiver is not understood, concise, and to the point, then it is a vague request for something to be done, and should be in more detail about the request on how and when something should be done.

If one individual is doing more talking than listening or more listening than talking, they are communicating ineffectively. To become more effective, it needs to be a two-way street for the sender and the receiver. The sender needs to double

check with the receiver that the message is clear and understandable, while the receiver should confirm clarity by asking questions about the information that is not clear to them or who has not fully comprehended the information.

The sender’s tone should be polite, pleasant, and friendly, when the tone is in a hostile and/or aggressive manner, the communication becomes ineffective because the emotional state of individuals have a huge impact on one’s effectiveness in communication.

Sender’s overloading receivers with information can make receivers shut down and then they usually miss the complete message. If senders speak real fast to receivers, then the receivers will not be able to understand the information being expressed and this would be communicating ineffectively between the sender and receiver.

Demonstrative communication between the sender and receiver is positive when active listening is being utilized! Active listening is a crucial part in positive communication because when individuals listen attentively to the speaker who is positive and engaging, then the communication is perfect between the sender and the receiver.

Demonstrative communication between the sender and receiver is negative when there is lack of eye contact between them, negative facial expressions such as a frown or yawn, body language of crossing the arms, and tone of voice is inappropriate while speaking.

As mentioned above, active listening is crucial to be able to hear the words a person is communicating and to understand and comprehend the message that is being sent. With demonstrative communication, active listening involves “paying attention” by giving the sender your undivided attention, acknowledging the information, and recognizing communication that is non-verbal.

When one is paying attention they give eye contact to the speaker, put distracting thoughts aside and avoid being distracted, listen to the speaker’s body language, and avoid side conversations. Active listening also involves “showing an individual that you are listening” by using gestures and body language to ensure they have your attention.

Providing feedback is part of responding and is given to ensure you understand what is being said, which may require you to reflect on what was said and to ask questions to help clarify anything you may not have understood.

With demonstrative communication, one is responding when one provides feedback by reflecting on what was said, then paraphrasing with questions such as, “ Sounds like you are saying…. or What I am hearing is….”

Responding by summarizing a speaker’s comment on a periodic basis is a good demonstrative communication, but do not interrupt the speaker and allow them to finish speaking, afterwards be open, candid, and honest. While responding, assert your opinions in a respectful manner and treat that speaker like they would want to be treated.

References

Cheesebro, T. O’Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the workplace.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Retrieved July 9, 2012 from Effective Communication:

http://www.effectivecommunication.net

Retrieved July 9, 2012 from What is Communication:

http://whatiscommunication.org