Skill Building Exercises in Perception

Here are two exercises that might be helpful in discussions of perception in interpersonal communication

Clarifying Perceptions

Seeking clarification is almost always helpful. With interpersonal perception, it’s essential. For each of these ambiguous situations indicate what you would say to seek the needed clarification.

1.     You texted a friend asking for a small loan but have heard nothing back.

2.     Your manager at work seems to spend a lot of time with your peers but very little time with you. You’re concerned about the impression you’re making.

3.     The person you’ve been dating for the past several months has stopped texting or commenting on your posts.

4.     You feel one of the other students is flirting with you but it seems very subtle; maybe it’s not even flirting. But you’d be interested if it were.

5.     Your dating partner, of over the past few months, now seems to be spending a great deal of time with someone else and you’re not happy about it.

 

Applying Impression Management Strategies

Everyone uses impression-management strategies; using them effectively and ethically, however, is not always easy but almost always an available choice. Here are a few interpersonal situations in which you might want to use impression-management strategies. Identify at least two impression-management strategies you could use to achieve your goals in each of these situations.

1. You’re interviewing for a job; you want to be seen as credible and as a good team player.

2. Your term paper is not up to par; you don’t want your instructor to think this is the level at which you normally function.

3. You want to ask a former instructor to be a friend on Facebook.

4. You’ve just started at a new school and you want to be careful not to make a fool of yourself—as you had at your previous school.

5. You’re a police officer assigned to a neighborhood patrol; you want to be seen as firm but approachable.