Introduction
Communication is a significant part of all individuals’ everyday lives. Various aspects affect the way individuals hold conversations, including the selected channels, the readiness to disclose information, and individuals’ cultural backgrounds. The paper presents three examples from online sources that refer to the concepts of the Leanness-Richness Spectrum of Communication Channels, the Nature of Interpersonal Communication, and the Interpersonal and Intercultural Dimensions of Communication presented in the textbook.
Example #1
Artifact: Gossip Girl Roman holiday ep 11 (Blair texting Chuck) (Reggie, 2007).
In the scene, Blair learns the news about her boyfriend being in Monaco. She looks upset and sends him a text message. Although her face reveals her emotions, the text message does not show that she is angry with him. The event presented in the scene relates to the Leanness-Richness Spectrum of Communication Channels, as it shows that text messages do not carry as much information as in-person conversations (Adler, Rosenfeld, & Proctor, 2017).
The textbook presents the concept of leanness-richness, in which leanness refers to the messages that carry less information due to the channels individuals use to carry them and the lack of non-verbal clues (Adler et al., 2017). For instance, text channels, such as letters or emails, a leaner than face-to-face interactions because the latter are characterized by the abundance of non-verbal clues. Phone calls and voice mails are leaner than video conferences for the same reason.
The example matches with the textbook example and shows that text messages are leaner than in-person conversations. It is evident that the young woman is upset with her boyfriend and is not pleased with the information she had learned. However, the text message cannot transfer the non-verbal clues, including her facial expression, which means that her partner may not be able to understand that she is in a bad mood.
Example #2
Artifact: The Big Bang Theory: Penny’s first sale as pharmaceutical sales representative (Veera, 2018).
In the scene, the woman is imitating a sale as a pharmaceutical sales representative. At first, the conversation is formal and can be considered highly impersonal. In addition, at the beginning of the video, the conversation has a low level of uniqueness, interdependence, and self-disclosure and is highly different from interpersonal one, which usually takes place between friends or family members. This point is illustrated by the information from the textbook. However, by the end of the video, the conversation becomes more interpersonal because the women start disclosing personal information about themselves, although they do not know one another. In the end, the women’s conversation looks as if they are close friends. This point is different from the one presented in the textbook.
The concept from the textbook that can be applied to the artifact is the Nature of Interpersonal Communication in the first chapter of the textbook (Adler et al., 2017). The authors note that interpersonal conversations have a particular style, and all relationships can be defined by a specific language and patterns, while the impersonal ones are not unique. They also add that there is a high level of self-disclosure in interpersonal conversations, meaning that individuals share much information about themselves.
The artifact presented above does not match the textbook examples of the characteristics of interpersonal communication. It helps to visualize and analyze how the conversation between two people who do not know one another can go, and the peculiarities it has compared to the usual discussion between two friends or family members. Although the conversation starts as an impersonal dialogue, it continues as an interpersonal one, which makes it different from the classic examples of impersonal conversations.
Example #3
Artifact: Guy calls operator looking for Batmans phone number (AmericanPride1234, 2014).
In the video, a man calls an operator to ask for Batman’s phone number. The operator does not understand his request, as she cannot find the information about such a person in her database. The caller speaks in a serious tone, which sounds like he is not joking, and wants to find out Batman’s phone number. At the same time, the operator probably understands that the call is being recorded, meaning that she has to remain a professional in any situation.
The video illustrates the concept of the Interpersonal and Intercultural Dimensions of Communication for the second chapter of the textbook (Adler et al., 2017). The scheme presented in the book shows that the interpersonal and intercultural significance of a conversation between two individuals not knowing one another but coming from the same background or speaking the same language is low. In comparison, in cases when individuals come from diverse backgrounds, the interpersonal and intercultural significance of their conversation is higher. For instance, when a traveler accidentally breaks the law while being abroad, the intercultural value of the conversation is very high.
The example matches the textbook example because it shows that even when individuals coming from the same background do not understand one another, the significance of their communication from an intercultural perspective is low. The reason for it is that they have common cultural and linguistic backgrounds. At the same time, when individuals are not discussing personal topics, the interpersonal value of their communication is also low, as the textbook shows (Adler et al., 2017).
Conclusion
The examples presented above reveal that the majority of textbook examples were relevant. For instance, the Leanness-Richness Spectrum of Communication Channels truly shows that text messages do not feature non-verbal cues, and the Interpersonal and Intercultural Dimensions of Communication reveals that the interpersonal and intercultural significance of a conversation between people coming from the same culture is low. The concept of the Nature of Interpersonal Communication was not proven by the presented example. The analysis shows that the nature and flow of conversations depend on individual factors highly.
References
Adler, R. B., Rosenfeld, L. B., & Proctor, R. F. (2017). Interplay: The process of interpersonal communication (14th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
AmericanPride1234. (2014). Guy calls operator looking for Batmans phone number [Video file]. Web.
Reggie. (2007). Gossip Girl Roman holiday ep 11 (Blair texting Chuck) [Video file]. Web.
Veera, D. (2018). The Big Bang Theory: Penny’s first sale as pharmaceutical sales representative [Video file]. Web.