90 Part 1 Basic Communication Processes
Video clips that illustrate key concepts, highlighted in
teal in the Real Reference section that follows.- Take a look at a piece of writing you’ve produced (an essay, your résumé, or a
private Facebook message to a friend). Do you use high or low levels of abstrac-
tion? Is your choice of language appropriate for the communication contexts
involved? (For example, is your essay written in a way that is mindful of your
relationship with your professor and the academic setting?) - Describe the similarities and differences you find in the language you use and
the language a close friend or family member of the opposite sex uses over the
course of a single conversation. What did you notice? Were there any misunder-
standings or power struggles in this conversation? How do your findings match
up with what the research we presented tells us? - Examine the language you use in mediated communication. Are there subtle
ways in which you and your communication partners negotiate influence and
create connectedness? Are any language choices related to sex or gender? What
differences do you find in the language you use in mediated contexts from the
language you use in face-to-face contexts? - Make a study of your Facebook (or other social networking) pages. Compile a list
of the types of language used, including acronyms. Do you ever misunderstand
the language in posts from your friends? Have you ever used language that was
misinterpreted? Are you ever offended by the posts or “shares” of your friends?
Describe how you could post in the future to avoid problems due to language.
Activities
- LaunchPad for Real Communication offers key term videos and encourages self-
assessment through adaptive quizzing. Go to bedfordstmartins.com/realcomm
to get access to:
LearningCurve
Adaptive Quizzes.A
1L hPdf RlC iTHINGS TO TRY