Communication Research

I received this request from Nina Martin and it seems a noble one and so I'm posting it as I received it. It should be of interest to lots of educators who pass by this blog. Hi Joe, Happy summer! I�m reaching out to you to let you know about #Inspired2Educate, a program designed to recognize and praise educators and the people who inspired them. Each month we will award $2,000 to someone who shares their story -- $1,000 to the person for their professional development and $1,000 for their educational institution. I�d love for you to share this news with the readers of The Communication Blog and across your social channels. I�ve put together a page with all the info here: www.insp2ed.org Please let me know if you are able to share the #Inspired2Educate program and the news of our $2000 monthly giveaway. We�re using the hashtag #Inspired2Educate on Twitter. I�m here if you have any questions.

Here is a brief public speaking exercise built around the theme of distinguishing two things. The main purpose of the exercise is to illustrate some principles of organization and can be used as a regular prepared/researched speech or as an impromptu speech. For this exercise, the speeches should be organized in either of these two ways. Organizational Patterns Introduction A basic orientation as to what will be discussed Body I.                      Item No. 1 (e.g., muffin) A.       Property No. 1 (e.g., ingredients) B.       Property No. 2 (e.g., appearance) C.       Property No. 3 (e.g., taste) II.                    Item No. 2 (e.g., cupcake) A.       Property No. 1 (e.g., ingredien...

Here�s an interesting article that I just ran across while researching trends in public speaking. Lisa B. Marshall identifies 7. I paraphrase these in brief but the article is worth reading especially if you�re teaching public speaking. 1.        Public speaking in the business world is becoming more casual. 2.        Audiences no longer can be viewed as passive recipients of a speaker�s message but are listeners who want to participate. 3.        Speakers are addressing smaller audiences with more focused presentations. 4.        Webinars are increasing but so are live presentations. 5.        Videos are being increasingly incorporated into public speaking presentations. 6.        Technology is playing an ever increasing role in public speaking. 7.        The white b...

The textbook as many of us have known it, it on the way out and the digital/widgetal textbook is in. Well, not exactly, just yet but it�s coming. This brief description of what�s happening may be of some value to those new to this type of textbook but also to those who intend to write a textbook as well as to students who want to know why the change is happening. All of the major publishers and a variety of smaller publishers are engaged in creating these interactive textbooks. They�re all betting that this is the wave of the future and will become standard in the not very distant future. The Digital/Widgetal Textbook A digital textbook is simply an e-book, a book that can be read on your computer, laptop, tablet, or phone. Except for the fact that it can be accessed electronically, the digital textbook is little different from a print book. A widgetal textbook (see glossary at the end of this post), on the other hand, is not only digital but interactive.  This interactivity is the...

In Interpersonal Messages , I include this discussion prompt. The Cultural Defense Consider these two cases (Sikora, 2001): (1) A Chinese immigrant discovers that his wife has been unfaithful. In a rage, he kills his wife. His defense was that this is the way his culture has taught him to react to infidelity. (2) An Iraqi family flees to the United States to avoid a dictator and while in the United States their daughters (ages 13 and 14) are wed to Iraqi men in their 20�s, and their parents are charged with child abuse and delinquency of a minor. Their defense was that they were simply following Iraqi tradition which permits marriages of young girls of this age. If you were on the jury listening to these two cases, how would you respond? More generally, how do you feel about �cultural defenses�? Are there some cultural defenses you�d accept and others you would not? More recently there appeared this news item of a man who prevented a rescuer from saving his drowning daughter so that s...

Here's a great post on divorce . In addition, there's a wonderful summary of research on a variety of topics relating to divorce and relationship breakup.

It's a real pleasure to post this translation into Vietnamese by Nicy Nguyen of a post on Apologies and Excuses. For more information on such translations check out:  http://www.coupofy.com �          Latest Translations S? B�o Ch?a V� L?i Xin L?i By  Coupofy USA  on  August 12, 2015 in  English to Vietnamese The Communication Blog M?t di?n d�n cho ngu?i s? d?ng b?t k? c�c van b?n c?a t�i, nhung th?c s? cho b?t c? ai quan t�m d?n th�ng tin li�n l?c gi?a c�c c� nh�n, c�c nguy�n t?c co b?n c?a th�ng tin li�n l?c c?a con ngu?i, v� d? n�i tru?c c�ng ch�ng. 5.24.2008 T�i d� vi?t l?i do?n tr�n v? l?i di?n l� do cho c�c phi�n b?n ti?p theo c?a TICB v� t�i nghi r?ng n� c� th? c� �ch d? dang b�i ? d�y. S? kh�c bi?t gi?a b�i n�y v� m?t trong nh?ng ?n b?n l?n th? 11 l� di?u n�y ph�n bi?t r� r�ng hon v? l� do di?n c? v� l?i xin l?i c�ng th?o lu?n v? m?t s? t�nh ch?t d? hi?u qu? hon l?i xin l?i. Chu?n b? v?n d? cho cu?c d�m tho?i: Vi?...

Here's a neat guide to a variety of infographics   that have much to say about various aspects of communication. Thanks for sending me this, Heather Brown: http://www.infobrandz.com/great-big-list-of-infographic-ideas/

I want to apologize to users of my Interpersonal Communication Book , 14th edition. A paragraph was omitted in the printing. The following paragraph would be inserted on page 130 before "Personal Distance."  Intimate Distance.   In intimate distance , ranging from actual touching to 18 inches, the presence of the other individual is unmistakable. Each person experiences the sound, smell, and feel of the other�s breath. You use intimate distance for lovemaking, comforting, and protecting. This distance is so short that most people do not consider it proper in public. Again, I apologize.

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 ...