Blog #2 9.27.08

Lets try this again. For some reason I post blogs and they dont post... anyway.
Tug-O-War - Chapter 12
"The tensions they face are common to all personal realationships, and those opposing pulls never quit. (155)

This was such great insight into the struggles of any realationship. I really appreciated the fact that most of these readings and theories, I can relate.
I relate with the Tug-O-War with my family the most. It is tough to agrue and fight with family but I think it only makes that bond stronger.
I know that when I fight with my wife, it sucks, but we are able to work it out and are stronger afterword.

“From a relational dialectics perspective, bonding occurs in both interdependence with the other and independence from the other.” (155)

I feel that I am a very independant person, and I like other independant people. This deffinetly makes it tougher when it comes to compromise and the tug-o-war, but the fact that the love and sacrifice is more important to both of us, the relationship survives.

Blog #1 9.25.08

Chapter 11 -
CMC is predominant in my life, and I think we have reached a point in American Culture where: If one can afford the right media tools, they can literally have information immediately without ever contacting anyone.
I think that the introduction of the iPhone and companies focused on creating a virtual conference room for business is the sign of different times.
I know that the first time I had a phone interview, I thought it was so interesting how I was able to interview in shorts and a tee-shirt, and still get the job. You cant really get a job in shorts and a tee-shirt interviewing, unless the face-to-face interaction is removed from the communication structure.
Through reading the Media richness theory(138) I really thought about how much technology and changed the way people communicate everyday. Just on the shoe 'The Office' tonight, Jim and Pam's relationship has become long-distance, and Jim is attempting to communicate with Pam over a webcam on his laptop because he desires that non-verbal contact and interaction. It was really interesting to read about CMC and Media richness theory, then see something on TV that really spoke volumes about it. Even though Jim was trying to retain that part of their relationship of visual though media, Michael was still able to mess it up (he ended up taking the laptop and walking Pam around the office.
I think that CMC is something that this generation and future generations will have to work with and accept. I know that I still enjoy a face-to-face conversation because their is so much that goes into reading the non-verbal and really knowing what to say and how to say it to someone.

Blog #2 9.20.08

Closeness Through Self-Disclosure (Chapter 9)

Self-Disclosure:
“The voluntary sharing of personal history, preferences, attitudes, feelings, values, secrets, etc., with another person; transparency.” (114)

This section of Chapter 9 really hit home for me. I work full-time in sales and have for a few different companies. One of the major aspects of sales is the ability to ask open ended questions and “dig” deep in subjects regarding the person you are selling to. The term that I have heard over and over again in sales training has always been: “Peel the onion!” By saying this, sales facilitators and trainers are trying to get their sales staff to KNOW the client, not just the products. If I am able to peel the onion of my customer, then I am able to find out needs and goals for their business or personal life, that I may be able to sell them from my product menu.
After reading and understanding it from the text it allows me to take a step back and re-evaluate my sales approach. I need to remember and realize that I am digging into an intimate part of someone’s lives and business. It is best for me to tread lightly until that trust is established. I think by understanding self-disclosure I can become a better sales person.

Blog #1 9.19.08

Interview with Chuck Berger

In the interview with Chuck Berger, I took a few things away. It was nice to be able to sit back and listen to someone speak about a subject I just read in Chapter 10. It was nice because I was able to listen and really grasp what I had understood and listen to someone whom had studied the subject of Uncertainty Reduction Theory.
In the Interview, Berger was discussing theory and made the comment that there are no absolutes and I appreciated that. I was able to reflect on the first chapter and remembered what Dr. Griffin had said about theory, that it is all a test and an attempt to understand. I also heard Berger say “…you have to be willing to be wrong.” I can relate with that based on my work life. You can’t be right 100% of the time; you just have to be coach-able. I have a facilitator remind me of this recently and I agree with him.
I also understood what Berger was saying about uncertainty reduction and the idea of planning: The argument that we make mental plans for achieving goals… we have mental representations of goals, and have mental representations of plans to reach goals. Unless we can peel the onion and understand what someone else’s goals are, or if we are unwilling to let someone into our intimate self, it will only make the goals harder to obtain.

Blog #3 9.6.08

It is obvious to me that a lot of students have been affected/effected by the text regarding the surgeon’s son on page 61. I think it is by far on of the most powerful stories/riddles I have ever encountered and I didn’t even realize it until today. What has society been thinking placing women in a box and deciding that when women and men alike think about a surgeon they automatically think of a man… absolute blasphemy. I am a man and I can only relate to a limited degree, but after reading so many blogs about this subject I am up-hauled at how many students thought that the boy’s parent had to be a man (father) or an in-law; not his mother.
When I was reading the text, I had already heard the riddle, but it did make me think of the time I first heard it. I felt so ashamed that I didn’t think about the boy's mother. It is a great way to make us, not only as a class but a society, think about the way we communicate and perceive others in the world we live in.
Personal experience: I broke my leg when I was 14, and my orthopedic surgeon was a woman. At that age you have a limited amount of decisions to make… but I knew after speaking to Dr. Laura, I knew that she was, if not one of, the very best. 3 years later I needed coercive surgery on my ankle; I went to Dr. Laura because I not only knew she was the best surgeon, but she had kept in touch and went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that my healing from the original surgery was 100% corrected… dare I say a male doctor would not have gone the extra mile for me…. No I shouldn’t because we will be right back where we started… or would we…

Blog #2 9.5.08

Chapter 1 discusses the speech communication and thought process of Determinism vs. Free Will.
After reading this earlier in the week, I decided to pay close attention to the way my co-workers and I communicated what happened throughout our day. I have been proactively trying to speak in a more Free Will tone. I feel that this is what managers want to hear their employees speaking like. Being self-motivated and proactive is one thing, but speaking like you are ‘the master of your fate and the captain of your soul’ (17) should be a major plus in a managers eyes.
I have also learned that speaking this was has forced me to be more accountable for my actions. It is harder to pass the blame or to act as if I didn’t know what the policy or procedure was when I am speaking as if I knew exactly what I was doing.
When I have been public speaking or presenting I have been using this form of communication saying, ‘I decided to…’ and ‘The reason we chose to…’ and I feel that it exudes confidence and shows that my group and I are self-assured. I think by continuing this type of speech it could possibly help me be a candidate for promotion as well as put my customers and clients at ease and to have faith that I know what products and services are best for them.
One major factor is making sure that I don’t sound too confident or arrogant. So, when I am speaking like this, I am doing my best to make sure that I am using it in the best context.

Blog #1 9.3.08

Blog #1:
In chapter 1, I really related with the theories behind the Mastercard commercial. I worked in marketing and helped write and create advertisements for businesses in my last job, and that is the reason I related so much with the evaluation of communication through the advertisement.
I did a little further research and watched the commercial on YouTube that Glenn & Marty discussed their theories on. This really helped me to grasp what the two professors were discussing, even though the book described the 30 second ad really well. After watching the ad, I noticed that Payton Manning was not identified as Glenn pointed out. I also took not of the “ordinary people” were having disasters happen at that moment on screen, but Manning just cheered them on and put a smile on their faces.
After reading about what Professor Glenn noted about Herbert Kelman’s theory of opinion change ‘people forge a bond of identification with a highly attractive figure like Manning, they’ll gladly embrace his persuasive pitch (14)’ I couldn’t help but think about the elections that are going on. I watched the Republican Convention on TV the last few nights and couldn’t help thinking about this theory. I really paid close attention the non-verbal communication from the politicians and what mannerisms played a part to win over the excited crowd. More than anything, I wanted to understand the reasons that McCain chose Palin from Alaska to be his running mate, as I am sure a lot of other American citizens are also. I started to wonder if the selection was based on the Opinion Change Theory because of her ability to win over a crowd and gain so much support so quickly. We will find out soon I am sure.