Demonstrative Communication Essay

Submitted By Jennifer2584
Words: 3552
Pages: 15

Demonstrative Communication Jennifer Thompson BCOM 275 June 11, 2013 Scott Earle Demonstrative Communication What do a smile, a glance, a cold shoulder, and the slamming of a door have in common? All are means of sending a message. The process of sending and receiving messages is called communication. It can be either verbal or nonverbal. The preceding examples are models of demonstrative communication. The communication process is how one acquires information, and it can be effective or ineffective. The efficiency involves more than the understanding the meaning of the words in the message; it also entails the comprehension of the feelings behind the message. Additionally, communication will be positive or negative and include listening along with responding. Body language, facial expressions, hand gestures, and even posture communicate messages. For instance, Christina meets with her best friend to tell her about her engagement. Upon meeting they stand tall and energized as they greet one another with outstretched arms for a hug. After the greeting, they continue to smile as they sat on the edge of their seats. Christina begins speaking about her fiancé getting on his knee and Amanda’s eye widen as she leans closer. Although many words are spoken during the friendly meeting, much of what is communicated are not words. The outstretched arms invite a hug. The smiles express the mutual joy of their company. As they widen, Amanda’s eyes seems to beg for more of the story. The newly engaged Christina verbally speaks the majority of their meeting, but the nonverbal communication of both women speaks volumes. If perhaps one is seated across the coffee shop and could see the friends but could not hear what was being said, it would not be difficult to determine the nature of their visit, and the relationship between the two women. It is obvious that they are not meeting to discuss a proposal—of the serious business nature that is. A business meeting may possess a few of the same nonverbal gestures, such as a smile and intense look of interest. It would likely include looks of consideration accompanied perhaps by a furrowed brow. There is a level of efficacy to communication. It can be effective or ineffective, depending on the sender and receiver. Effective communication involves the emotion contained within the message. As described by Robinson (2013), “Effective communication can improve relationships at home, work, and in social situations by deepening your connections to others and improving teamwork, decision-making, and problem solving.” He further indicates that one should be able to communicate even negative or difficult messages without creating conflict or destroying trust.
The goal is an understanding of all the exchanged information. There is a time when constructive criticism is required and for the sake of understanding one must know how to be specific and empathetic so that a barrier is not created to inhibit the communication. It is more effective to bring to a person’s attention a missed deadline than to call him or her irresponsible. The sender and receiver must be reciprocally engaged in the encoding and decoding process. Ineffective communication involves any obstacle that stands in the way of successful communication. Noise, be it external or internal inhibits the receiver from hearing the words. External noise is environmental noise. It is the beeping of a dying cell phone to the clapping of an audience. Personal beliefs may be a form of internal noise and prevent the understanding of the content of the message. It can present itself in the form of defensiveness. Semantic noise can interfere with the interpretation of a message. This happens when the receiver does not understand the use of a word or gesture. It is sometimes cultural or generational and includes jargon