plenary-myths of communication

8/3/2019 Plenary-Myths of Communication

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Myths of Communication


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Myths of communication arecommon misunderstandingsabout communication. Whenpeople believe these myths,they make mistakes incommunication.


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1.We communicate only whenwe want to communicate.FALSE

We communicate all day, everyday, often without realizing it. Aslong as people can observe or

hear us, theyre gettinginformation from and formingopinions about us.


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2. Words mean the same thing to bothspeaker and listener.

FALSE

When Bola said she needed the third Saturdayoff, she thought she was being clear. Mikethought he clearly understood. However, bothof them attached entirely different meanings to

the same set of words. Words hold differentmeanings for different people based on theirexperiences, perception, and interpretations.


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3.We communicate chiefly with words.

FALSEMike communicated a great deal withoutusing only words. He argued, slammed thephone, stormed out, muttered, threw the

clipboard, glared, shouted, and repliedsarcastically. And Bola clearly got hismessages! In reality, we communicate mostof our messages nonverbally. We use our

tone of voice, facial expressions, eye contact,gestures, and the way we sit or walk tocommunicate what we are feeling and tosupport the words we speak.


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4.We believe what a person says, not how he orshe says it.

FALSE

When Mike leaned back, covered his eyes with hishands, and replied sarcastically, No problem, Bola.Ill be happy to rearrange the schedule to suit your

familys needs, do you think Bola really believed itwould be no problem and that Mike would be happyto do it? Its not likely. She believed Mikes tone ofvoice and what she saw, not the words he spoke.

When a persons verbal message and nonverbalmessage dont match, the listener will believe thenonverbal message.


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5.Communication is a one way flow ofinformation from the speaker to the listener.

FALSE

During their meeting, both Bola and Mike spoke,listened, and responded to what the order has to say.Some people believe that communication is a speaker

talking at a listener rather than with a listener. Inreality, effective communication takes place whenboth individuals participate actively. They do thiswhen the listener gives the speaker feedback.Feedback is a listeners reaction to the speakersverbal and nonverbal communication. Feedback canbe verbal, such as I dont understand what youmean, or it can be nonverbal, such as scowling orshBolag your head.

plenary-myths of communication

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