Communication Research

Here is a little piece that I wrote for a local newspaper--the Blue Stone Press (May 15, 2015)--in response to an article on parents opting out of testing for their children. It was published as a Guest Analyst Opinion. It�s sad that so many parents are opting out of the current testing, as Jillian Nadiak noted in BSP (May 1, 2015). It�s also a big mistake. The Mistakes Perhaps the major mistake is to assume that parents�simply by virtue of the fact that they are parents�are the best equipped to make educational decisions for children, even their own. In fact, the very reason we have schools and teachers and teacher education programs is because parents cannot effectively educate their children. Parents don�t assume they can diagnose and cure childhood illness and so we expect them to seek competent medical treatment from doctors and nurses. And there are laws that will penalize parents for not seeking competent medical care. But, with education everyone seems to see themselves as expe...

Here's an interesting article that offers interesting suggestions for  Responding to Rudeness  which should work well in a class in the discussion of conversation or a variety of other interpersonal topics. Among the suggestions offered are how to respond to catcalls, unwanted and negative comments on your appearance, or friends who reveal personal information.  It would be interesting to see how students would deal with each of these several issues and if there's a gender or age difference in the responses.

I want to bring to your attention a new book by a friend of mine; we went to graduate school together at the U of I.  The book� Lydia Pinkham: The Face that Launched a Thousand Ads by Sammy R. Danna (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015)--is about Lydia Pinkham, her vegetable compound (which is still being sold), and the revolution in marketing and advertising of which she was a major part.  Congratulations Sam; you did a wonderful job!

According to some research published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (DOI 10.1007/s10508-014-0422-z; http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10508-014-0422-z#page-1)-- summarized briefly in Psychology Today (April 2015)--a woman wearing high heels is perceived as more attractive than a women with low heels. In a series of studies by Nicolas Gueguen, it was found that:  (1)  Men were more apt to help a woman if she was wearing high heels than low heels. For example, when a women dropped a glove, a man behind her was more likely to pick it up if she was wearing high heels. Sixty-two percent of men picked up the glove of the woman with no heels but 93 percent picked up the glove of the woman in 3 � inch heels. Heel height, however, made no difference in terms of another woman�s helping behavior.  ( 2)    Men were also more likely to approach a woman if she was wearing high heels. With no heels, it took 13 � minutes for a man to approach her. But, with 3 � i...

Here�s an interesting article in the current issue of Psychology Today (April, 2015): Gay Love, Straight Sense: 5 Lessons Everyone Can Learn from Same-Sex Couples. The lessons are these: 1.       �Create fluid roles.� Because same-sex couples don�t have to divide roles by gender, they are free to discuss roles and to more effectively share roles. The roles are negotiated, rather than set down by society. 2.       �Sexual experimentation is good.� Same-sex couples are more likely to talk about sexual preferences and desires and are not bound by �rules� often found in opposite-sex relationships. 3.       �Keep calm amid conflict.� Apparently, same-sex couples engage in conflict in a �less accusatory, less belligerent, less domineering� manner. 4.       �We�re all surrounded by attractive others; deal with it.� Unlike same-sex couples, gay men and lesbians have same-sex friends and regularly...

In searching for communication issues we don�t normally talk about in our introductory textbooks, that of talking to cancer patients about their cancer is one of the most important and the most difficult. Here are a few suggestions for making communication with a person diagnosed with cancer�what you might say and what you should NOT say--a bit easier�not easy, just a bit easier. http://www.today.com/health/what-say-not-say-cancer-patient-2D80213767 https://www.caring.com/articles/never-say-to-someone-with-cancer http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20851340,00.html http://lisabadams.com/2013/02/27/the-stupid-things-people-say-to-people-with-cancertheir-families/

In looking over the literature on dealing with pubic speaking apprehension, I searched for less likely sources than NCA journals. Here are some of the things I found, not surprisingly, not that different from what we have in our textbooks: From an article in Forbes: 1.       Begin small, with baby steps. 2.       Organize what you want to say. 3.       Slow down. From Psychology Today : 1.       Don�t expect perfection. 2.       Don�t think of public speaking as a measure of your self-worth. 3.       Avoid getting nervous over nervousness�a wonderful lesson I learned from General Semantics 4.       Don�t memorize. 5.       Don�t read. From WebMD : 1.       Visualize yourself speaking successfully. 2.       Practice. 3.       ...

Here is the TOC for a new book by Sharon Drew Morgen who asked me to post this and to alert readers of this coming book. I'm happy to do so. The book is called What? Did you really say what I think I heard?   The book will be out in December at which time I'll try to post the first chapter. Foreword 1 Author�s notes 3 Introduction 4 Section 1: How do we hear others? 16 Chapter 1: What do we hear? 17 Chapter 2: How we mishear: the role of filters 23 Chapter 3: The components of communication 36 Chapter 4: Filling in the communication gaps: noticing what�s missing 52 Chapter 5: The elements of a conversation: case study 67 Section 1 summary 82 SECTION 2: How to have conversations without bias or misinterpretation 84 Chapter 6: The skills of conscious choice 85 Chapter 7: What to listen for 109 Chapter 8: Preparing for conversations 123 Chapter 9: Conversations that went wrong 138 Chapter 10: Final thoughts: what good is good communication? 155 Section 2 summary 161 Bibliography 1...

I started a few Pinterest boards largely to augment the text discussions in communication books�my own or others.  Photos and cartoons are very expensive; consequently, these are usually limited in most textbooks. So, I thought Pinterest would be a great medium to disseminate visuals that may prove useful in teaching communication. The boards you may find interesting in preparing slide presentations are those on illusions , communication , and choices. Hope you find them useful/helpful/interesting.

A student of Paul Siegel, who uses Essentials of Human Communication at the University of Hartford, found an error in one of my key word quizzes. It occurs on page 135: b should be 8 and f should be 3--I had them reversed in the answer key. I thank Paul and his student and apologize to all for this. It should not have happened and won't again.

Here is a revision of a little quiz to introduce the topic of height in a nonverbal or other communication class.  It contains both historical and contemporary personalities and should play well in the classroom. The Self-test Try estimating the heights of the following famous people whom you�ve probably read about or heard about (but probably not seen in person) by circling the guessed height. In each of these examples, one of the heights given is correct. 1.       Baby Face Nelson (bank robber and murderer in the 1930s): 5'5", 5'11", 6'2" 2.       Ludwig Van Beethoven (influential German composer): 5�6�, 6�0�, 6�5� 3.       Kim Kardashian (media personality): 5�2�, 5�5�, 5�8� 4.       Buckminster Fuller (scientist, credited with inventing the geodesic dome): 5�2�, 5�10�, 6�3� 5.       Bruno Mars (singer): 5�5�, 5�8�, 5�10� 6.       ...

I wrote this little piece to respond to some concerns voiced on the Basic Course List and I thought it might be relevant more generally. The recent posts about increasing class size and the new student learning objectives/outcomes are alarming. And, as the economic pressure on colleges continues, it only looks like it�s going to get worse. Now may be the time to reconsider and reconceptualize the basic course. Traditionally, the basic course in communication has been a course designed to teach the skills of public speaking. Then in the early 70�s courses in interpersonal communication were developed, again to teach basic skills. For those who wanted a broader spectrum of skills, there was the hybrid course, designed to teach the skills of interpersonal communication, interviewing, small group and leadership, and public speaking�with varied emphases.             These skills courses are most departments� �bread and butter.� Consequen...

One of the most difficult of all conversational tasks is to ask someone for a favor. Of course, it depends on the favor and on the relationship you have with the person from whom you want the favor. If it�s a close friend and the favor is relatively easy to perform, there is little difficulty and little conversational awkwardness. If the favor is to a superior, say a work supervisor, and the favor one that would be difficult or time-consuming to perform, there would be much difficulty and much conversational awkwardness. Asking a total stranger poses still other problems.  Yet, despite these many differences, some general suggestions may be offered. So, how do you ask for a favor? Here are a few steps:             First and foremost, select an appropriate communication context. Consider the time, place, and medium of communication�at the very least. Is this the appropriate time? Is this the appropriate place? Is this the most a...

Get Ready to Study Interpersonal Communication This post is designed for users of my Interpersonal Communication Book but the idea can easily be adapted to any text you might be using. To explain: In revising my Interpersonal Communication Book , I developed an introductory feature that opens the discussion of the chapter by asking students to consider a how the contents of the chapter relate to their own experiences.  Pearson�the publisher�thought this feature would interfere with the learning objectives�that the student would be confused between these items and the learning objectives. At any rate, I eliminated the feature from the text�maybe it would have been too much introductory material, though I doubt that any college student would be confused between these questions and the learning objectives. Yet, I still think this is an excellent way to open the discussions for each of the various chapters.             These �Get ...

Here�s an article on body language that you should avoid; body gestures that can create a negative impression in another person. It's best to look at these gestures as creating negative impressions under certain circumstances but, certainly, not in all situations: 1.  Crossing your arms across your chest can indicate defensiveness. 2.       Leaning forward can indicate aggressiveness. 3.       Breaking your eye contact too early in the interaction. 4.       Putting your hands on your hips when standing can indicate aggressiveness. 5.       Taking a step or two back when asked a question or for a decision. 6.       Putting your hands behind your back or in your pockets can make you look overly stiff. 7.       Nodding more than usual can make you look less than serious.