INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION irfan erdogan 2001/2011 Copyright © 2001 irfan erdogan all rights reserved
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION
irfan erdogan
2001/2011
Copyright © 2001 irfan erdogan all rights reserved
Knowing:Definition
what do we do by defining?
We’ve never met; how come you
know me?
Can any definition in social sicences be impartial?
Knowing:
What comes after definition?
Knowing: Categorization classification
can we combine apples and oranges within a group?
Knowing:
Establishing relationsEstablishing causal relations
Is uneducation the cause of poverty?
Is there a causal relation between environmental
destruction and uneducated people?
Knowing:
Prediction
How is prediction possible?
Definition can/may:
1. reflect the true nature of the explained
2. be right/wrong to varying degree
3. create images that take the place of reality
What is intersubjectivity?
Concept of communication:
Can we define what communication is?
Communication:
necessary condition of all kinds of life on earth
Necessary condition of biological existence, survival, maintenance and change
Communication
Communication is necessary conditionof societal life
No communication means no biological life no human being no society
Reproduction of life thtough communication requires:
1. existence of a need2. sensing/feeling 3. Thinking about the need
Needs: . Natural . Artificial
Self-communication:
. Biological . Socio-psycological
NeedsNatural/Real and
artificial
4. Choosing proper action for meeting a need
Activity/action to meet a need:
. Communicative action . Non-communicative action
5. Engaging in an activity to meet a need
Doing an activity: having means, tools, facilities, rights etc.
Example 1: need = water
Example 2: need = to reply or start a commnctn
4. Activity and meeting a need
Gratifying a need. Totally satisfied
. Partially satisfied. Not satisfied
4. Probable outcomes of an activity :
• Gratifying more than a need from an activity
• Same activity can be a subject of more than one communicative action
4. Probable outcomes of an activity :
• The value of an activity can be transformed
• An activity can be devaluated and abandoned
4. Probable outcomes of an activity :
• Replacement of a natural/social activity with parasocial activity.
• Unexpected desirable/undesirable outcomes may emerge
prevailing/dominant definitions of
communication
Does prevailing definition indicate
the truth?
Everyone says the earth is flat,I say no and I am outcasted!
Communication as message sending and receiving. Communication as transmission and reception of information. Communication as the process of transmitting and receiving messages
Aren’t they comunicative action?
Mesage sending and receiving: Linear
one way flow of communication
Message Listeners
(decoding)
Speaker
(Coding)
Message sending an receiving: Two way Interaction Model
Sender ReceiverCodes a message
Decodes it
Message
Medium
Feedback
Gürültü
Message sending an receiving: Two way Interaction Model
SenderReceiverCodes a
message Decodes it
Feedback
Now, we have a democratic communication!?
Communication is interaction of turn taking in conversation
My turn!
It is the manner of communicating
Context
Frame of reference
Transactional Model
Speaker decodes
noise
Speaker encodesnoice
Feed back
Message
Listener decodes
Listener encodes
Frame of refrence
Communication as transactionis a relationship that allows sharing
our realities with others
Here is my reality:I want to throw up! Let’s share it so that
communication happens.Otherwise communication
does not happen
Communication is ability to expressing wants and needs by using verbal and
nonverbal language and technological
tools.
Sorry, I can not communicate with you, because I am too drunk
to have ability to think straight!
Who, what and
where is sender?
Gone fishing!
What is “message”?
?
Damn it!How could I know?
What is not?
Where is the message?
What is the message?
what is medium and media?
Camera never blinks Function? Agent/actor?
Message •Necessary means of communication• Constructed for a goal attainment • Constructed for luring• A valuable commodity• An integral part of the power and property relations
Examples:
Technologically mediated:
via sms, tv, cellphone
Technologically Unmediated:
by word of mouth
Messages carry expressed content And relational factors
Why not?
Here is themessage!Take it!
Oh yeah!Here is the feedback!digest it!
Why is“message”?!
Message is much more than what is said, written or shown.
Who cares? He
cares?
Things you do not want to know may heart you
İf message is not received, then communication does not happen.
We sent it
I told you!I did not Get it!
Things you do not want to know may heart you
Why am I always a receiver?
I am sender!You are receiver! No way!
I am sender!you are receiver!
Who is“receiver”?!
Feedback and no feedback
Any kind of reaction is feedback
How about
Saying nothing?
Doing nothing?
Identify senderMessage mediumReceiver feedback
Functions of feedback
Functions
of
feedback
Communication is to say
to show to write
Is crying “shedding tears”?
Communicative action is not comnctn!
Communication is generation of meaning
He is generating a meaning!
For what?
Communication is:transmissionspeaking gesturebody languagewritingestablishing connection.
It seems like
you are disturbed!
Communication is:gesture, body languagewritingestablishing connection.
Establishing connection!
What are you doing?
CommunicationThe creation of shared understanding through interaction among two or more agents.
The creation of shared understanding?
Shared understanding between chicken and fox?
What is the shared understanding between chicken and fox? between robber and robbed?between cheater and cheated?between attacher and attached?Between owner and owned/serf?
What is the shared understanding here?
Communication: sharing the common language,common culture, common heritage, cultural symbols,rituels.
Common language and common culture?
Language is a medium of communication
Are they fighting because they have no common
languageand because they
misunderstand each other?
Uncommon language: No communication?
Here there is no sharing; hence,
There is no communication!
Really?
Who shares or don’t share what, why and how?
Communication is
construction of personal and social realities.
Who constructs your reality? You?
Whose reality can you construct viacommunication?
Who constructs whose reality
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
Who constructs whose reality
And how?
CommunicationProblems
CommunicationProblems
1. Anything that hinders communicating
2. Anything that orients com in a specific way with undesirable outcomes
CommunicationProblems
a. Because of biological deficiency
CommunicationProblems
b. Induced by psychological condition
CommunicationProblems
c. Induced by power relations (whose problem?)
CommunicationProblems
d. Induced by
personal interest misconceived intrst
identified group intrst
CommunicationProblems
e. Induced by many environmental and other relational conditions
Leading explanations of
CommunicationProblems
Example
What is the
problem?
Communication Problems as problems
of effective communication:
1. Improper or complex word selection in message. Problem: mesaj prep and packaging. Solution: language ability and effective message prep
2. Improper channel selection.
3. Improper message prep. Content problem.
They are not my problems!Are they your problems?
4. Information hiding. Solution: TransperancyUnder or over load of information: Does too many junk mean information overlaod?
5. Disinterest of receiver.
6. Different attitude, belief and values of receivers
7. Different perception of receiver
Are they marketing, advertising,Propaganda-making problems?
8. Selective perception, attention of receiver
9. Different culture of receiver
10. Wrong timing
11. Lack of empathy of receiver
Aren’t they for effective marketing, advertising,
and propaganda
12. The leading problem: Misunderstanding
that creates conflict
Problems: Communication gap
and communication breakdown
Communication breakdown? Communicationlessness?
Communication problems in being together
Question:Connect com with activity and problem(s)
Solutions to Communication
problems
Is this a
Solution
or not?
Solution to Communication
breakdown and
communicationlessness
Empathy
understanding
Tolerance
Peace
Crisis
management
Solution: Effective communication
Look at the first
frame:
What is the
problem
Now, look at the
2nd frame:
what is the
solution
and why?
The best
popularized
solution
for what
problem?
Communication
problem: Noice
Sources of noice:
• Sender? No.
• On message before receiving: physical, tech
• On message during receiving
• Receiver’s biological and psychological state
Legitimization of power,domination or coercion?
Why is sender not a source of noice?
Other definitions
You cannot not communicate
Communication can not be reversed
We can be Producer
DistributorCarriermedium
Consumer Goal
Of a communication
Means
Communication
Communicationis done by
Natural and Artificial
means
Natural means:
(a) Body and organs
eye, ear, hand,
human voice system, akciger gibi
and
(b) Nature
(c) other phenomens in
the nature
Air, water, space,
humans, horse,
peagons, humans,
peagons, donkey, stone
Artificial means
Technological extentions
Artificial means of
communication:
Cell phone, computer,
film, vcd, usb, satellites,
paper, pen, gun, bombs
GOALS OF
COMMUNİCATİON
Communication is a
goal oriented activity
Goals in communication can be overt
or covert
Is a communication without a
goal possible?
If a human activity has a
goal, then commmunication
has a goal too. Why?
What does
“no common goals”
mean?
Can communication
happen by itself?
Normality appearance
Normalized necessity
would you do this job?
Unintentionally sent
messages
Planned coincidence
and
invasion
AA, merhaba, buradan geçiyordum da….
Context of
communicati
on
Every communication has more than one context
Is communication without a context possible?
Forging a context.
Why?
Bir kilo peynir al
Bizim yağdan al
Beş şise kola al
Bir de sana al
Bizim sıpa….
lira göz yüz olma
soluk iki çay
kuru dere açık
Different contexts divide
the communication
space
Present context: includes
the place and timegoalsinterestsfeelings, thoughtsand power relations
Past contextEverything that is brought to the present relations and communication:
Accumulated feelings, thoughts, perceptions, evaluations, expriences, understanding of time and place
Present context exists with the past contextis shaped by the past context
Questions:
1. Can present context conflict with the past context?
2. Can present context override the past?
Technological contextis mediated by the technological
means
Tech context are structured
according to dominant
policies and interests
Example: divergence vs convergence
Why Convergence?
Emotional Context :
İs no emotion in
communication possible?
Space context:
Place of communication:
Private space
Public space
Time context:
Unorganized Time
Organized time
In sum, a context means: Who can and cannot do
what, where, howand Under what
conditions.(conditions: e.g., formed structures of relations, roles, goals and expectations)
What is produced via
communication?
İn general, life itself is
reproduced by communication
1. a. The first product (a
communication product):
word/söz, a behavior that says
something, a tv program, a
cinema film, a music dvd, a
video clip
b. Thought content/messsages
2. Other products: Communication
products are to produce intended
(and unintendent) outcomes:
İdeas, thoughts, beliefs, behaviors
Customers, viewers, readers, users
Voters, followers, fans,
enemies, friends, us and them
Messages are produced via
communication
When is the aim message
production?
Is this man’s basic problem to produce message?
Meanings are
produced via
Communication
Is the goal to produce meaning?
When did you tell some one “let’s
produce a meaning?
Whose goal is to produce
meaning and why?
Is main goal to produce
meaining or thought and
behavior management via
production of certain meaning?
Why do we never see ads or media
messages indicating that cigaret
companies are resposible for the
dead of over 20 million people on
earth?
Meanings are produced by people in actual relations by using language .
Language is the primary means of oroduction of meaining.
Language is one of the main means of communication.
We express ourselves and interact by using language.
There is a reality outside the language, because reality is not created by language.
Existence of realities like water, air, mountain, moon, sun are not created by the language: They exist outside the language.
Some realities in our minds are shaped by those people who shape our world and our minds by using language and creating images of reality. Some images are false, but we believe that they are not.
Su veya dağ veya taş kavramları olmasaydı, su, dağ veya taş olmaz mıydı? Su veya water kendini mi yaratmakta yoksa var olanı isimlendirmekte mi?
BASIC TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
SELF- COMMUNİCATİON
Self-communication is the communication of a person with himself/herself.
In self-communication, a personthinks,talks with himself/herself,talks with others in his minddiscusses, dreams, makes plans,makes decides
He/shethinks and feels happy or unhappy,
thinks and smiles or swearsthinks over problems,
Make decisions and change decisions
He/she makes evaluations about himself/herself
about other peopleabout relations
about conditionsabout life
A person has a social self
Social self has an invisible system;
has complex brain/mind and sennse and feeling
systems.
Social self exists in social relations.
In self communicaton:
1. A person collects and keeps information, recalls them, process information and make decisions
2. Humanbeings do not only think but also feels. Hence, self-
communication includes feelings and emotions
3. Self-communication is not independent from the life processes, experiences and conditions of life. A person is never alone even if he/she is communicating by himself/herself. He/she carries all cultural, political, economical, ethical, and other values of society.
Hence, when we say “I”, “I” is an actor/subject that carries structural
characters of the world.
A person is free or slave only in society.
There is no thing like “outside the society”: We can not be outside the society even if we are all alone in a mountain.
Self-perception
A person’s way of seeing himself/herself.
Self-perception inmflurences a person’s psychology and mode of relations
Self-perception includes
(a) Self-image(b) Self-esteem
İn developing self-concept, web evaluate information by means of direct, meta and meta-meta perception.
Our aesthetic, teological, relational, intellectual and
material values are constructed via perceptual and
conceptual processes.
We carry opions and attitudes
Beside attitudes, web carry beliefs that are closed to
questioning.
Person diferentiate himself/herself from others
and outside; and thus becomes “I”.
“I” connects himself/herself via “you”, “us” and “them”
Person’s Understanding of outside
Self-commnction includes
(a)social construction of self and others (undersatnding of
himself/herself and others)
(b) social construction of realities of life
Interpersonal communication