I'm developing this exercise for possible use in the new edition of Human Communication and I thought it might be of interest more generally for just about any course in speech communication or interpersonal communication. The ten items I have below can be changed and probably should be changed to better reflect the specific students in the class.
The Exercise
This
exercise is designed to explore the differences in difficulty of various
communication interactions: what makes for a difficult communication
experience, what individual differences influence what constitutes difficult
communication, and the skills needed to make difficult communication easier.
To Know
Communication
theorists and researchers often argue over whether communication is easy or
difficult. Of course, if you think about the various communication interactions
you engage in everyday, you’d have to conclude that communication is both easy and difficult.
Some communication
interactions are simple, easy, and are performed almost automatically. Nodding
to a colleague when passing each other, asking a salesperson where a particular
item is, or arranging to meet a friend after class—most people would agree—are
relatively easy interactions. This is not to say that even these simple
activities cannot be improved by the application of communication skills;
surely they can. But still they’re relatively easy to perform.
Other communication
interactions, however, are difficult. For example, apologizing to a life
partner for infidelity, leading a group to solve a workplace problem, or
constructing a persuasive speech are relatively difficult tasks.
Clearly, then, communication
exists on a continuum from easy at one end to difficult at the other end. One
way to look at the goal of a communication course or textbook is to provide you
with the skills you need to move “difficult” communication situations closer to
the “easy” side.
Easy
___________________________________________ Difficult
To Do
Here
are ten communication experiences. Individually or in small groups of five or
six, place these along the continuum from easy to difficult by using the
numbers from 1 (easiest) to 10 (most difficult).
a.
Tweeting about a
favorite celebrity’s concert.
b.
Talking with a
recruiter at a job fair.
c.
Asking a
terminally ill patient if he or she has made a will.
d.
E-mailing a
textbook author to express your opinion of the book.
e.
Telling a friend
of his or her spouse’s infidelity.
f.
Apologizing to
your life partner for a brief (a few months) romantic affair.
g.
Giving a toast at
a friend’s wedding.
h.
Asking the most
attractive person at your school for a date.
i.
Breaking up a
long-term (three or four year) relationship; you’ve fallen in love with someone
else.
j.
Making small talk
on an elevator with people you’ve never seen before.
To Discuss
1.
What makes for
difficult communication? What makes for easy communication? How would you
define “difficult communication” and “easy communication”?
2.
In what specific
ways does your own personality influence how you arranged these experiences and
how you view “difficult” and “easy” communication?
3.
For which of
these situations do you feel you have the requisite skills for effective
communication? For which situations do you feel you need more skills and
experience?
