question 3

I believe nonverbal should be discussed more and how society has the negative backlash of not understanding and correctly interpreting the nonverbal messages that are being sent. I really enjoy learning about nonverbal communication and understanding it, and the concepts learned in class and through other classes I always involve and use when I try to read people in public and interpret their behavior and it totally helps me understand them so much better and more clearly because I have a well rounded background and global understanding of nonverbal messages.

question 2

The concepts I found most interesting was the path information takes throughout a company the hierachy structures and how organizations work from within. We all work for organizations but for me I never looked at how the message gets from the top to the bottom. And how that effects the quality of the message and the time frame it takes. also how direct communication is so cut off from the top man in the same company as the bottom people, which makes you think messages sent from the top to the bottom are not very direct and go through alot of different interpretations before they hit the bottom.

question 3

Mobile telephony was something that interested. I always joked around about being addicted to my phone and that it is a necessarily to have in my life. I never really believed it, then my cell phone was lost a few weeks ago and I completely freaked I didn’t know what to do I was so dependent on having it on my side constantly. We do not realize how much we really do on our phone until we don’t have it anymore. I have a blackberry and do many of my blogs for this class on it because I do not have the time to perform those tasks at home. Any function you can think of it happens with my phone from taking notes in class to making a phone call. The cell phone also creates another medium for messages for example text messages and how it is used as a medium. For example when you are not comfortable talking about an issue many people have text conversations over the same thing and both parties are a lot more comfortable talking like that.

question 2

I do not agree that it is the message but i agree it has a major part to do with the message. I believe that the content of a message should determine what medium it is broadcast ed through, because the medium I believe determines the effectiveness and persuasiveness of the message trying to be delivered. Television to be is a very open medium because it has both site and sound which makes it the most effective form of a medium because it hits two senses and doesn't have to worry about one dominating the other. For example radio can only be heard and posters and bulletins only seen which makes them less effective and things can be missed on them. On the other hand messages could be missed on TV as well because people might get carried away with what they see and not notice what they hear and vice verse.

question 1

I have done this and thinking back on it. With friends in cyber space you tend to live more of a fantasy life and exaggerate situations. For example making things that happen to you worse then they really are or make things seem better then they really are. In another way it could serve as a friend you can speak more comfortably with because you dont really have to worry about a backlash or anything. A third issue I want to bring up is that with a cyberfriend you have exclusive text conversation and some people communicate more effectivly via text then in actual word. Which could serve as a easier transmitter of messages and make both parties more comfortable.

question 2

I believe it all has its time and pace for example cell phone calls don’t bother me unless they are in certain settings. For example at dinner in a restaurant and someone’s phone rings and worse they start talking on it like there is nothing wrong, that to me is rude and wrong, on the other hand in other settings its a lot more acceptable. In general devices going off don’t bother me but them being responded to are annoying depending on the situation. On people being put on hold I think it has to do with the importance of the conversation that is being had and how important the call coming in is. For example if you are just having a casual conversation and an important call comes in then I believe its ok to switch over but if you are having a important conversation and it’s the other way around then I would consider that rude.

question 3

The concept I found interesting was informational flow. This I believe cannot be properly understood until you are part of a organization. Because the image of information flowing down a distinct path doesn’t make sense unless you have been a part of it. Information, I always believed was free flowing and if you wanted to find it you could and it would come to you in any random order. After being part of an organization you can see that information comes through certain channels of for examples executives to managers to team leaders to your bottom line workers. Also this is both ways information going up and down the line. The path information takes was very interesting to me to read about because I was able to apply it to everyday situations at my work place.

question 1

Organizations are a major part of the environment. Organizations such as business create jobs for the people in the environment they create a sense of community and at the same time if they leave could ruin the environment. Some negative effects are over population of the area and its natural resources, which causes back up and problems in other areas. Schools in my opinion often become the pride of the community and many times the first thing people mention to individuals new to the community. When looking at home adds one of the key elements they represent is how close to schools and how good they are. Also schools athletic teams bring community closer and bond them because they cheer and root for the same team. Like i said before the school takes a sense of pride for the community. I think the only ethical obligation they have is equality in how they treat their community and also making sure they put forth a great image of what the community is about.

question 3

The concept I found interesting and wanted to talk about was the retreat from intimacy. Reading this and applying it to my life made perfect sense but its something you really dont think about it, but its a big part of our interaction with one another in a relationship. When everything is going smooth and everything relationship wise is building up we only look at the positives and the negatives take a back seat. This I believe makes relationships weaker because when the negatives do surface ithey are at bad times and become more powerful. But again these things are not seen when life is good and the bad things about life come out at the bad times.

question 1

I believe that competitive symmetry would be the most difficult to change. I compare this alot with competitive spirit within sports. For athletes especially that have this kind of attidude winning and being better then someone else drives them for the extra training the extra effort when there body says no, this is their fuel. For others making more money then their competitors whoever they chose them or set up to be. This would also be most dangerous to a relationship because it would show dominance from one side or both sides for wants and needs and doesnt show the balance needed to make a relationship work. The other two have more balance which would make them less harmful then the competitve symmetry. I also believe it is the most damaging to a persons self esteem because one would never think they are right or have a opinion or a voice in any matter when dealing with someone that has a competitive symmetry and had to win and be right and would go to any limit to prove it.

question 3

The concept I found interesting was culture and role identities. Growing up in Germany and here you see how like the book says youth is valued more and age seen as life diminishing. Reading from the book and other sources about how different cultures deal with age and how much respect they have for their elders is very interesting. Understanding these differences would make it alot easier to communicate and make the exchange of messages alot smoother. For example the respect issue even though their is still respect within americans with their elders its just see in a different light. Here its more he is my dad or he is my uncle or grandfather where in other cultures its more like he has lived through life he is a wise man. Also the difference in how woman are treated and told to behave its sad to see from our perspective how in ways woman are still seen as second level people and their to take care of males.

question 1

Yes I agree with Ruth Benedict in that we are creatures of our culture. What we are is a product of our enviroment and our culture. The way we behave our habits are limits our futures what we are capable of. Growing up in an area like a ghetto for example you are trapped in a cycle and unless you go out of your way to get out of your enviroment and change your beliefs and attidudes you are stuck in that cycle you are created by your culture, what is around you how things are around you makes you. The only way I believe to get out is to learn that there is a different way learn about other cultures and how other people behave and go through it. Learning about other cultures is the only way to get out of the culture you are in and to broaden your thinking and your abilities and it also makes you a more adaptable person. The more you know about other cultures the more willing and easier it will be to for you to break out of your own cultural limitations.

question 3

The interesting topic to me was facial expressions. I have always been interested in facial expression because to me they tell a lot. If you can tell someones facial expression and interpret it you can understand their verbal message even better or figure out their verbal message is actually not accurate to what they really want to say. The book talks about from culture to culture their is certain facial expression that reach all the way across and their is certain that are different or the intensity is different. Smiling and crying are universal facial expression but then the amount might differ from culture to culture or when it is acceptable or not. When the book talked about gloating and liking gifts or not a lot of personal examples came to my mind of when I was in that situation and adjusting my facial expression just to not offend the other person.

question 2

Nonverbal messages vary from region to region country to country and culture to culture. So misinterpreting these messages is very common in every day life. One example of differences in nonverbal messages is finger pointing. Here in the US it is completely acceptable to point a finger at someone and it is not seen as rude or anything of that sort. It is accepted and understand as trying to get someones attentions or pointing someone out to another by pointing at them. In Asia it is considered rude to do that pointing your finger at someone. So when they try to get your attention or point someone out they use the whole hand. Same sort of messages but different way of bringing it across.

Question 1

There is this co worker of mine who always has a serious face on. Always serious in six years I have seen her smile maybe twice. I always thought she was in a bad mood or just an angry person. So one time she was trying to be sarcastic about something with her facial expression in mean mode and after hearing her I didnt know how to understand the message she is trying to send. I took it serious because thats what her facial reaction and what I know about her personality suggested. Well her comments ruined my day and later the next day I find out she was just being sarcastic and if you work with her more you understand her sarcasm and find out that she is actually pretty nice and just has that facial expression and sends out the nonverbal message that she is angry unknowingly.

question 3

The concept I found interesting was capturing attention which I think is the most important part when trying to give a speech persuade in a advertisement or anywhere because if you do not capture the attention of your listeners you are pretty much talking to yourself and the quality of your work will not have the effect it needs to have. Capturing voluntary attention is a lot easier then involuntary. A voluntary listener has personal reasons to be in tune with what you are saying. For example someone driving a ford will listen to a speech on a recall of ford with more attention then someone who does not have a car or not a ford. That makes the speakers job easier having that situation, but on the other hand the involuntary listener needs to be given a reason to why they should be listening which becomes the speakers duty to bring across that message. For example how they could potentially be a ford driver and might be interested in these issues.

Question 2

I agree that woman and men use language differently. I think in all areas there are differences. Woman I believe are a lot more in depth when they speak with the information they bring across. While males are less detail oriented. Also woman use a lot of emotion when talking which makes them a lot more persuasive in everyday communication which differs from men. On the other hand I believe the males have more powerful tones and their message is translated differently. So in conclusion I want to add that maybe its not that woman and men communicate differently but rather then woman and men are understood differently and their words are interpreted differently.

Question 1

I doubt it is possible. We are trained at an early age to judge and categorize right away from our first glance. Judge from appearance all the way to the way they talk and carry themselves. Unless you have a completely empty background yourself which is impossible you will automatically start judging people and comparing them to yourself. The way we can make the judgments more fair for example are including all factors of people what they went through how they came up and how they were raised when judging them. Understanding where they came from and not looking at their actions as wow look at their action or by why did they act the way that they did. Including all those factors would enable us to make our judgments a lot more fair, rather then comparing them to ourselves which could be completely different.

question 3

The topic I found interesting was distributing power. The power of voice and being able to portray messages is often underrated and under emphasized. The three main powers it gives us are personal power, psychological power and political power. Which are all used to advanced ourselves in our culture. Personal power is the skills we need to make ourselves better improve our position in life. Psychological is being able to persuade and shape peoples thoughts to what you believe for example the president has greater psychological power then McCain hence he convinced more voters. Political power is the voice we have that our opinion need to be learned and understood.

QUestion 2

I'm going to go with the president. His most powerful attribute is his credibility. The knowledge he shows and portrays the way he carries himself and talks and the fact he is the president make him very credible. Which is I believe the most important attribute to have to be a good speaker because if people do not believe your credible there is almost no point to speaking. The way he speaks he sounds like a normal person trying to create a better place for the normal middle class folks so we trust him he has a lot of trustworthiness because he connects with us and seems like he really deeply cares about our opinions and ideas.

question1

In 8th grade there was an assembly I don't specifically remember the speakers name I think his name was mad dog or something. He came to talk to our school about drugs and alcohol. Its funny how I remember everything about the speech after all the time besides the guys name. What made his speech so memorable to me was one the topic was something all of us young teens were facing the so called choices of the road we want to travel. Also the key to me was his passion and the credibility he had. He had been there done that he spoke with such power and passion where not only did you believe him because of his credibility but because his passion spoke volumes. By far best speech I have ever heard. In college I took a class and we had a guest speaker from a bank talk to us about credit cards and how to avoid debt the problem with debt and so forth. This person was monotone not enthusiastic at all you could tell they had no drive or believe in what they were doing it was completely boring and useless. I coudlnt even pay attention during the speech so I remember nothing besides the fact she worked for bank of america but thats probably because that is my personal bank.

question 3

The concept I found interesting in this chapter was the pragmatic view. I never thought of communication as a game and people becoming partners and so on. After reading about it though it was pretty interesting to find out about the partners acts or moves each person has to make and how in reality it is really close to for example a sports game but just on a communicative level. Looking at communication through the pragmatic view though to me made me attempt to be clearer when I talk and make sure I am understood better and as clearly as possible because in order for the partnership to work and interaction to occur clearly there cant be misunderstanding.

Question 2

Yes it does because the messages being transferred back an forth. When communication is begun the partners are interacting and reacting to each others messages. Communication is like a game in a way as when two opposing teams play the teams interactions alter the game plan for the respective coaches. For example if one team is successfully running the ball in football the other team has to react and interacts its part differently to be able to handle the run heavy team. The same goes for two people in a conversation if one person takes the conversation to a certain area or level the other person has to adjust to the interaction. It is different from a gay because it is in a way a lot more dynamic then a game would be or ever could be.

Question 1 Week 4

Building words refers to more the use of the word rather then what its original meaning is. The literally meaning of a word can be one thing but what its practical use is the way a certain society has built the word gives it a different meaning. This I believe is true from region to region country to country and even age group to age group. A word that comes to the top of my head right away is "bad". The word bad has a negative meaning but in certain age groups when someone says wow that care looks bad, it actually implies how nice it looks. I see this misunderstanding a lot when younger generation speaks to the older generations because the younger generation has built the word differently.

question 3

My favorite concept was the Five canons of rhetoric which are invention, style, arrangement, memory and delivery. I like this because it has withstood the test of time because speeches I believe are still written with those basic canons in mind. These canons make speeches more powerful and persuasive and also give them in order on how to prepare them. I know for me I write my speeches in that order even though I never really knew what it was called but it is the best process of doing so.

Question 2

I agree with the Greeks in saying that to be an orator you need to be morally good. People need to trust and you have to have the best interest of the people in mind when being an orator which would make a morally good person a lot more effective. I think the connection between goodness, truth and public communication is that if you want your message to be heard and respected and followed you need to have you need to have these qualities to make you more effective in persuading because people will put their trust in you because they believe you have their good fortunes in mind.

Question 1

The speaker I admire the most has to be my store manager Karen. during the morning meetings she rallies everyone with her enthusiasm, charisma and heart and literally brightens everyone's day and convinces us all to be positive think positive and work positive to achieve our goals. Even though our economic situation isn't to good and things are not going to well she uses emotions and feelings inside of us to persuade us to look positive work in a positive direction and persuade us to work hard. Another word for that is pathos which the book defines as the arousal of emotion used to persuade the audience. When i try to persuade people I use more logos which is using wording and logic of the message according to the book. I like to use logic and give logical examples of why things are how they are to persuade and to sway my audience to agree with me. His classifications scheme works but its is more blended for example its not one certain thing. Nowadays I believe people use multiple tools to persuade not just pathos or logos or ethos but a combination of them all.

Introducing myself to you all

Hello!!!!!!

My name is Ali Mivehi I am a second year student at SJSU. I transferred from De Anza, I am a communication studies major and my minor is undecided. I have completed a handful of classes in communications such as argument debate, organization, intercultural and nonverbal, so I believe I have a little bit of a background in the field at least. This is my third or fourth online course and I believe I am getting better and better with them and I also believe they helped me become more organized and mature because you have to know yourself whats going on and its your responsibility to get yourself to do the work. A little bit about myself, I am the warehouseman at Macy's Oakridge and have been for six years. I turn 24 on the 9th of February and I love sports. I love the 49ers in case you cannot tell by the alias I chose. My hobbies include basketball weight lifting and just hanging out with friends. I'm a very open minded person and highly self motivated and patient. Which I think is important to keep your motivation going. I want to welcome all of you and thank you for reading my first blog entry. I wish everyone the best of luck in class and I believe we can work together in this cyberspace environment to learn from each other and help each other learn in this class, I'm looking forward to a great semester of fun and again want to thank you all and welcome you all to my blog.