Communicate, DAMN YOU!!!
Apr. 5th, 2002 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
boodieThe internet is a wonderful creation, it has many uses, however, where it falls down in a big way is the lack that is inherent in just using a text based medium, such as IRC or ICQ or any of the other messenger type programs to chat with, meaning is lost because mere words on a page, unless you want to write a story to convey the full depth of your meaning, every time you type something to somone, cannot convey all that you wish, you cannot convey tone of voice, facial expression (and sprinkling emoticons left right and center does not cut it) and without these context and meaning is lost.
Say for example you came in on the middle of this conversation (taken from a real one) in IRC.
(xxxx) I don't care, I'm a flirt, she's a whiny attention seeking sarcastic bitch, if I can put up with her, she can put up with me, I'm who I am, and she is who she is. And we both deal with it.
Now how would you know if the person who said that was saying that to be rude, or to be confrontational, or even saying it with affection, you have no context, either historical, physical or physiological, no rules, no idea of the noise or the feedback.
That is why any communication over the internet, email, ICQ IRC etc, needs a different set of expectations put on it, as it is the opportunities for fucking up the encoding, decoding and feedback are just to immense
When we talk to someone how and what we say and how it is received at the other end depends on many things. Vederber and Vederber have come up with a model that describes the many components of successful interpersonal communication.
According to the model, communication takes place within several contexts, the first is physical, distance apart, setting, next comes historical, previous communications between the people, the third is psychological, how people perceive themselves and others.
Interpersonal communication also has rules; the rules depend on the setting, public, private, noisy, quiet etc. When we communicate we also use other elements to convey messages, these can consist or verbal and non verbal symbols, including facial expression, gestures and the tone of voice, people take these cues and symbols and assign meaning to them.
The process of gathering these different threads and assigning meaning to them is called encoding and decoding, usually this is an automatic thing, unless we experience difficulty in grasping the meaning, then we need more help, however this is where misunderstandings arise in the meanings of messages, when the decoding person receives a different meaning that is unrelated to what the encoder intended, these are called unintended meanings, a conflicting meaning is when your verbal clues say one thing, but your non verbal clues say something else.
The next component is channels, a channel is the route travelled by the message and the means of transportation, messages are transmitted through sensory channels, verbal through sound waves and non verbal through light waves, the two basic channels are complemented by the use of any of the other five sensory channels, the more channels used to carry a message the more successful a communication is likely to be.
Noise is the next component, noise is any stimulus external or internal to the participants that interferes with the meaning, external noise can be sounds, sights anything that can distract attention away from concentrating on the intended meaning, internal noise can be your thoughts or feelings which may be distracting you from concentrating on the meaning of the message. Then there is semantic noise, this occurs when someone uses a symbol which inhibits the accuracy of the decoding, because the symbol might have an alternate or derogatory meaning which distracts you from the full meaning of the message, this symbol could be a racial slur, or a profanity which changes the whole way you decode the message.
Finally there is feedback, this response reflects what meaning has been created through the original message, feedback indicates to the sender where and how that message was seen, heard and understood. If the verbal and non verbal response indicates that the message was not received or received incorrectly or misinterpreted, then the sender knows he or she will have to alter or re encode the message and try again.
Each time we send or receive a message, we not only send or receive from the basis of the rules, context, channels and noise, the sender and receiver each filter the message through a number of other components that can affect the meaning of the message, components such as attitudes, knowledge, interests, sex, occupation, experiences, environment, culture and values.
Say for example you came in on the middle of this conversation (taken from a real one) in IRC.
(xxxx) I don't care, I'm a flirt, she's a whiny attention seeking sarcastic bitch, if I can put up with her, she can put up with me, I'm who I am, and she is who she is. And we both deal with it.
Now how would you know if the person who said that was saying that to be rude, or to be confrontational, or even saying it with affection, you have no context, either historical, physical or physiological, no rules, no idea of the noise or the feedback.
That is why any communication over the internet, email, ICQ IRC etc, needs a different set of expectations put on it, as it is the opportunities for fucking up the encoding, decoding and feedback are just to immense
When we talk to someone how and what we say and how it is received at the other end depends on many things. Vederber and Vederber have come up with a model that describes the many components of successful interpersonal communication.
According to the model, communication takes place within several contexts, the first is physical, distance apart, setting, next comes historical, previous communications between the people, the third is psychological, how people perceive themselves and others.
Interpersonal communication also has rules; the rules depend on the setting, public, private, noisy, quiet etc. When we communicate we also use other elements to convey messages, these can consist or verbal and non verbal symbols, including facial expression, gestures and the tone of voice, people take these cues and symbols and assign meaning to them.
The process of gathering these different threads and assigning meaning to them is called encoding and decoding, usually this is an automatic thing, unless we experience difficulty in grasping the meaning, then we need more help, however this is where misunderstandings arise in the meanings of messages, when the decoding person receives a different meaning that is unrelated to what the encoder intended, these are called unintended meanings, a conflicting meaning is when your verbal clues say one thing, but your non verbal clues say something else.
The next component is channels, a channel is the route travelled by the message and the means of transportation, messages are transmitted through sensory channels, verbal through sound waves and non verbal through light waves, the two basic channels are complemented by the use of any of the other five sensory channels, the more channels used to carry a message the more successful a communication is likely to be.
Noise is the next component, noise is any stimulus external or internal to the participants that interferes with the meaning, external noise can be sounds, sights anything that can distract attention away from concentrating on the intended meaning, internal noise can be your thoughts or feelings which may be distracting you from concentrating on the meaning of the message. Then there is semantic noise, this occurs when someone uses a symbol which inhibits the accuracy of the decoding, because the symbol might have an alternate or derogatory meaning which distracts you from the full meaning of the message, this symbol could be a racial slur, or a profanity which changes the whole way you decode the message.
Finally there is feedback, this response reflects what meaning has been created through the original message, feedback indicates to the sender where and how that message was seen, heard and understood. If the verbal and non verbal response indicates that the message was not received or received incorrectly or misinterpreted, then the sender knows he or she will have to alter or re encode the message and try again.
Each time we send or receive a message, we not only send or receive from the basis of the rules, context, channels and noise, the sender and receiver each filter the message through a number of other components that can affect the meaning of the message, components such as attitudes, knowledge, interests, sex, occupation, experiences, environment, culture and values.
