Interpersonal Communication…Why All the Fuss?
Presented by…Chance McDavid, Vice President
Greater Starkville Development Partnership August 25, 2007
Why Do We Communicate?
Activity…How Are Your Communication Skills?
We are bombarded by thousands of messages every day.
What makes this message easy to communicate?
Why do we pay attention to it?
Speaking of Stop Signs…
Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would
not live forever."
Say What???
-Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest
Communication Defined
• n. The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, or writing.
The American Heritage Dictionary 2The American Heritage Dictionary 2ndnd. Ed. Ed..
Communication Is How We Let Others Know…
• What we are thinking.• How we are feeling.• “Who says what to
whom in what channel with what effect.”
Communication Process
Sender ReceiverChannel
NOISE
(Message)
Feedback Loop
“Communication is not intent,
it is perception!”
3 Parts of Oral Communication:
Words
Tone
Body Language
How we say something is as important as what we
say!
What CausesPerceptions?What CausesPerceptions?
Attitudes
Past Events?
What’s ImportantBeliefs
Comm- unication
SkillsSelf Esteem
How Can I Limit Perceptions?
• Be open-minded.• Respect yourself
and others.• Be open and
honest.• Actively listen.
What Communicates
Verbal _____Vocal _____Visual _____Total
7 %38 %55 %
100 %
Mehrabian, Albert. Silent Messages, 1971.
WordsToneBody
Language*
“You are the only book some people will ever
read.”
It’s Not What You Say…
It’s How You Say It!
It Does Make A Difference…
I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money. I never said I saw him take the money.
Or Even How You Write It…
The Problem…
• I speak at 125 wpm• I hear at 400 wpm• I think at 4000 wpm
75% of what is said is
never heard!
“Speaking is a lousy input for communication.”
Communicating Without Words
• S mile• O pen Posture• F orward Lean• T erritory• E ye Contact• N od
55% Visual
Ingredients of Interpersonal Communication
• Vocal Delivery
• Visual Elements
• Personality• Likeability• Openness
Specific Behavioral Characteristics
• Eye Communication• Posture/Movement• Gestures/Facial
Expression• Dress/Appearance• Voice/Vocal Variety
• Language/Non Words• Listener Involvement• Humor• The Natural Self
– “An Attitude”
Activity…How Do Your Behavioral Characteristics Stack Up?
• You cannot (not) communicate. • “Once a word goes out of your mouth, you
can never swallow it again.” -Russian Proverb
• No form of communication is simple. • Communication doesn’t occur in a
vacuum.
And Finally…
• You can compare the communication process to Murphy’s Law:– If communication can fail, it will. – If a message can be understood in different
ways, it will be understood in just that way which does the most harm.
– There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message.
– The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.
– Osmo Wiio
Chance L. McDavid, Vice PresidentMembership & Community DevelopmentGreater Starkville Development Partnership
[email protected](662) 323-3322
200 East Main StreetStarkville, MS 39759
Visit us at www.starkville.org