chapter 13 - post 3

I personally had a very hard time with the ideas in chapter 9 and ten. I don't know why, but I had a really hard time grasping the concepts of public communication. I feel like the words used to describle the concepts were really difficult to understand. To me it was almost like I was memorizing definitions rather than understanding the concepts. I also had the same problem while covering communication and the Mass Media. I thought that I would really enjoy learning about that area, but the terminology used in the book, really made it difficult for me to fully understand the concepts. It may have just been that way for me, but personally I like things explained in a way that I can relate to them. For each of the chapters I listend above, I feel like I retained the information only long enough to remember it on an exam, but will have a hard time being able to remeber it in the future.

chapter 13 - post 2

I thought that many concept in the book were interesting. I really enjoyed learning more about interpersonal communication. I think it is great to learn how to manage realationships with in your lifetime. I also really loved learning about listening, as well as non-verbal communication. I think it is so interesting that two people can say that same words, but their body language has the abilty to totally change the meaning of the message. I really have become much more aware of my own body language after taking this course. I never realized that I may unintentionally be sending out the wrong message to my friends and family! I hope to learn more information about thjis area and improve future realationships :o)

chapter 13 - post 1

The type of research method that I find most interesting is Performance Research. I feel like most people are able to identify concepts displayed in a performance much easier than if they were to listen to a lecture instead. For example, if I was to give a speech about the budget cuts in schools, it would not send out the same message as a performance. Through a performance you see examples of how the main point applies in life, and it helps the audience grasp the ideas rather than being forced to retain knowledge. If I was to study deception, I would use Ethnography as my method. I think that deception is only observable in it's natural setting. In order to fully observe the situation, the researcher would have to experience deception or be deceitful in a natural setting. My research question would be, "How does deception effect friendships".

chapter 11 - post 3

I do agree with McLuhan in that television is a cool medium. T.V. seems to provide enough of an image to paint a picture. Since television is not a direct interaction with the person, there are key things that are left out of the encounter. When people are face to face, there are qualities that are more noticable than if you were to watch them on T.V. This leaves room for personal interpretation. This is where things get tricky. Since everyone interprets things differntly, many different opinions can be formed. Logic plays a key role because if a person knows how to properly fill in those blanks to their advantage, then they can be viewed in a postive light. I never realized how tricky T.V. actually is!

chapter 11 - post 2

The concept that I found to be very interesting in this chapter was the idea of selective listening of the reciever. I never really thought about it, but it is true that we all interpret the same information differently. It made me curious about whether different cultures gather different information from the sender also. It would be interesting to do a study where people from different cultures each watched the same commercial, and then explained what they got out of it. That sort of information would greatly benefit advertisement agencies. Many companies spend millions of dollars to sell their product, but it the reciever of the information is not able to interpret the information the way that the company had intended, then it's a huge waste of money.

chapter 11 - post 1

I personally have not had friendship that was formed exclusively in cyber space, but I have had many friendship that have developed because if the internet. Recently a friend of mine from middle school found me on facebook. We hadn't been in contact for over 10 years, and in the mean time, our lives had completely changed. The internet really made it easy for us to get to know each other better. The best and worst thing about the internet is that people usually discard much more personal information. I learned so much more about my friend in a very short amount of time. While chatting online, I feel like people are able to create an alter ego. They have time to think about what they want to say before they say it, and are able to delete or change words around however they like. For me, it is very difficult to talk face to face about personal issues, but online, I don't have the fear of a reaction. I mean, if worst comes to worst I can always log out. For the first month that my friend and I were reunited, it was great. We were learning so much about each other and finally set up a time to meet in person. When we finally met up, it was very awkward. The conversation did not flow as easily as it did online, and the topics that we discussed were very general. Body language was also an issue. It was very awkward to make eye contact. It's funny, because I had learned so much about my friend during the previous month, but it was as if I was meeting a stranger for the first time. The tone of a persons voice gives different meanings to what they say, so while something may be a joke online to one person, it is a serious matter to the other. I personally have no formed a cyber relationship for this reason. In my opinion, you aren't able to fully know a person until you spend time this them in real life. You may be able to gather a great amount of information about who they are trying to be, but until you spend a large amount of time with them, and are able to form your own opinion of who they are, you don't know them very well.

chapter 8 - post 3

I really enjoyed all of the information about interviewing in this chapter! I feel like it is a topic that is never really covered in school and should be! I have learned most of the information over the years, but it was nice to hear exactly what to do. I personally would love to take a class that teaches how to be better at interviewing. It was also nice to see the list of typical interview questions. A list like the one provided would be very useful while preping for an interview. In interviews, I am often thrown off by the questions, and end up answering with ridiculous answers. It's frustrating because by being thrown off, I am not able to "sell" myself to the best of my ability. I usually walk out of the interview asking "why didn't I mention...". Many of my skills and qualifications are not expressed because of my nerves! This chapter really gave me a heads up on how to relax a little more. I plan on keeping this book and looking over this chapter before my next interview!

chapter 8 - post 2

In my opinion, the environment that an organization is placed within, plays a huge role in determining the success of the organization. SJSU is a key example of this idea. San Jose is known for being a technologically advanced city that embraces diversity. I think that this image is also seen through out our campus. When I was applying to SJSU I remember being blown away by how many majors they had to offer. I was also very happy to see that SJSU embraced cultural diversity.

Since SJSU has been around for over a hundred years, it is almost as if the environment has adapted around the University, rather than the University having to adapt to the environment. Over the years, restaraunts, shops and housing facilities have poped up within the city. Some people may view this as a negative thing because something was lost with the construction of such sites. On the other hand, San Jose has been a thriving city for so many years that it seems as if the city fully supports the idea of providing more for the students on campus.

I recently heard that there has been talk of transforming SJSU into a UC. The only reason why it is supposively unable to happen is because there is not enough room to expand the school. If the school was to expand, and chose to tear down buildings that have been standing for hundreds of years, then there might be some ethical problems. Overall, the organization should support the ideas of the city, and the city should be represented through the organization.

chapter 8 - post 1

Many of the etiquette rules listed in the chapter have annoyed me at one point or another. The rule that I see broken most often is the rule about privacy and cell phones. The other day I was target and I overheard someone talking on the cell phone very loudly about a friend sleeping with someone else. It not only made me feel uncomfortable, but also caused me to view the woman on the phone in a negative way. A few months ago I also encountered a cell phone issue. I was at a movie theater and was in the middle of watching a film when I heard a cell phone buzz. Even when phones are on vibrate, they still are distracting. If that wasn't bad enough, the woman decided that it was an intelligent idea to answer the phone and have a conversation during the movie. The entire theater turned around and looked at her like she was crazy, but she carried on like nothing was wrong.

Another rule that I see broken quite often is the answering machine rule. I hate when I call people and they have a very annoying ringback tone. I also get annoyed when I call someone for the first time and they don't include there name in their voicemail message. It bugs me because I never know if I have the right phone number, or if I am leaving a voicemail with a random stranger. I have to admit that I am guilty of having a random ringback tone, and do get embarrased when someone important calls. I know I should fix it but I don't know how to make it go back to a normal ringtone now :o(

As for call waiting, I think this issue depends on the circumstances. For example, if I was just shooting the breeze with my mom and someone very important called on the other line, then I would put her on hold. In contrast, if I was on the phone with someone very important, and someone else very important called, I would think it would be rude to click over so I would just call the other person back. Luckily, not too many important people are in contact with me so I haven't had any major issues with call waiting :o) I do get frustrated when I am put on hold for a long time though, so I try to be respectful by not doing that to people.

chapter 6 - post 3

In this chapter, I found the concept regarding "tests" to be very interesting. I never realized it, but it is something that always happens in relationships. I know that I am personally guilty of performing all of the tests listed in the text. I also realize that when a person crosses the line or is not on the same level as their partner, then it can totally mess up a relationship. For example, if I was to perform the seperation test, and my partner became very serious and told me that he wanted to spend every second with me for the rest of my life, and I wasn't ready for that sort of response, then it would scare me away. In contrast, if I was to perform the jealousy test and my partner didn't seem to mind me flirting with other people, then I would think he didn't care about me enough. It is very difficult to find someone who can give you the response you are searching for, and it is also difficult to understand how to respond to such tests. This is the aspect of dating that I hate. I wish that people could just say how they feel rather than having to guess what their partner wants them to say. It's a very frustrating game that I hope to understand better one day.

chapter 6 - post 2

In my opinion, the pattern that would be the most difficult to change would be rigid complementary. The reason why this patter would be so difficult to change is because both parties have to agree upon changing. If one person chooses to stop being the dominant one, and the other person doesn't agree to step up and fill that role then there may be issues. I also think that this pattern would be the most damaging to a relationship. I know that I personally would get tired of being in control all the time. On the other hand, there are certain areas where I would like to have total control. I would like my partner to share the "control" roll with me so I wouldn't get bored in my position. The pattern that is most damaging to a persons self esteem would be competitive symmetry. I deal with this pattern everyday. At first the pattern motivates me, but if I don't end up on top of the situation, then I feel like a failure. Since it is impossible to be the best at everything, I tend to get very discouraged. After a while of never ending up on top, it starts to kill your self esteem.

chapter 6 - post 1

After reading about the filtering theory, I now realize that smooth interaction cues are what attract me to other individuals. I tend to be very shy while meeting someone new, and if I have an easy time talking to a person, I tend to feel more comfortable. Most of the people who I end up being romantic with usually are able to unintentionally motivate me to speak or laugh. In my opinion, preinteraction cues are not as important. I keep an open mind about everyone and try not to make judgements about physical features. On the other hand, when men display specific personality traits that I dislike, then I typically form an opinion about them. For example, if I was to walk down the street and someone was to yell out there window at me, then I would not be interested in them romantically because their action was disrespectful in my opinion. Incidental cues are important because it is very difficult to form a relationship with someone you can never talk to, and almost impossible to have no interaction with someone you see 13 hours a day. I do believe that it is possible to make a relationship involving distance work, but it is very difficult to do.

I personally believe in the mutability premise over the rationality and perfectibility premises. In regards to the rationality premise, I don’t believe that most people are able to logically discover truth. There are many people in our society who are very good liars. No matter how much logic a person uses, there are times when they can be totally oblivious to the truth. An institution that relies on this logic is the U.S. court system. We rely on trial by jury because many people believe that most people would be able to find truth buy using logic. Unfortunately, many guilty people are set free to roam the streets because their lawyers do a great job avoiding the truth. As for the perfectibility premise, I don’t believe that everyone is born a sinner. I think that the ancient Christian and Catholic churches like to push this idea so that their society would maintain some sort of order. People wanted to do good, because if they weren’t good then they would go to Hell. This sort of logic scared people and made them less likely to commit crimes. On the other hand, the mutability premise seems much more logical to me. I really do believe that people are shaped by society and that the circumstances that they may encounter within their lifetime have a huge effect on the way the person develops. I think that many institutions that provide help for orphans, refugees, rape victims, and homeless people tend to support this sort of idea.

post 1 - chapetr 12

I do believe that we are "a creature of our culture." From what I have experienced, it seems to me that every culture has some sort of tradition or custom that would be viewed as strange by another culture. For example, my mothers friend is Polish, and she thinks it's very weird to dress up and ask strangers for candy on Halloween. Society and our culture tell us that such activities are common, so we tend not to think twice about them, but to an outsider they may seem very strange. On the other hand, the traditions and customs that we celebrate may also alter the way we view things, think of things, and also communicate.

Culture also plays a key role in discovering who you are as a person. If a culture celebrates and rewards a group of people based on their weight, height, gender, sexuality, skin color, education, or wealth, and you are not within the rewarded group, then you may begin to feel as an outcast. In America, we tend reward thin females over overweight ones, but in many other cultures things are the complete opposite. Our culture tells us whats beautiful and socially correct. If we don't fit into their guidelines, then our own image of ourself may begin shift to a more negative point of view. As horrible as it is, our culture is responsible for shapping our lives.

post 3 - chapter 5

Something that I found to be very interesting in this chapter was the information regarding the kinesic code. I really think it is interesting the body movement and placement can say so much. I know that everyone interprets movement differently, but it is interesting that in general there is a basic agreement of what is being communicated. Even though we may be unaware of the messages that we are sending out through our body, they do still exist. I really would like to find out more about this area and be able to identify what different movements can explain about a person. I also think it would be interesting to do some sort of study and find out what movements represent specific things to people. By finding out this information, people may be able to come off as more confident, happy, or successful, which ultimately may improve their dating life, work life, and close friendships.

post 2 - chapter 5

Unfortunately, I haven't had very many opportunities to travel outside of the country. There are certain customs that I have observed while living in the bay area that vary between cultures. One form of nonverbal communication that is used in many European countries is a greeting with a kiss. This is also a common custom in Mexico and South America. Kissing in not a typical American custom, and is usually only seen being used by lovers. Another nonverbal form of communication that I have heard varries between cultures is the thumbs up gesture. I guess in some cultures this gesture means "up yours". This can cause confusion because in America, it is a way to say good job. I have also heard that some cultures use their pinky fingers to symbolize the same sort of message that we send out when we use our middle finger in America. Although we may think that gestures and nonverbal forms of communication are universal, the truth is that they are not, and actually can be very offensive.

post 1 - chapter 5

I have a HUGE problem with over analyzing nonverbal communication. I'm a dancer, so in my opinion, every movement has meaning. Like Marth Graham, I believe that movement cannot lie. I think that non verbal communication is a very important tool to use if you want to know how someone really feels about you. On the other hand, if you read too far into the information being sent out, you may end up misconstruing what is being said.

I'm a huge perfectionist, so I always try to be the best at everything I do. That's a very difficult task in the dance world because there will always be someone better that you, no matter how good you are. With that being said, auditions are torture for me. I strive to be the best in the room, but since dance is a very subjective art form, it is hard to know what the person in charge is looking for. One way to dicover this information is through nonverbal communication. Most of the time, the people evaluating you never speak to you directly. The only way to know how they feel is through their reaction. Since most judges are trained to be very hard to read, non verbal communication can often be misinterpreted.

This situation happened within one of my dance classes last year. I spent the entire semester being picked on by the teacher. Everytime I saw him outside of class he would give me a fake smile and avoid eye contact. He also would watch me with a sense of concern on his face. This made me think that he hated me! I wasn't going to audition for the modern company at school because he was in charge of the program and I knew how he felt about me. My friend signed me up and made me go. To my surprise he took me into the company, and ended up giving me one of the highest grades in the class. Now he jokes around with me and I am able to understand his nonverbale communication, but at times it still makes me feel like he hates me!

I think one way to avoid this sort of situation is by taking the time to get to know the person better. People from different cultures use nonverbal communication differently. If we jump to conclusions, we may be creating a situation out of nothing. Also, I think it is important not to rely only on nonverbale communication. By using regular verbal communication, you may be able to clear up some of the things you may not have understood about the nonverbal communication.

post 3 - chapter 3 and 4

Something I found very ineteresting in chapter three was the information about listening. I usually believe that I am a good listen, but after reading the chapter, I now realize that I do get bored or distracted pretty easily. Since I have so much going on, I typically spend lectures thinking about what I have to do, rather than listening to the teacher. I think the idea about making goals for yourself is a great idea. I actually plan on figuring out a list of what I want to get out of each lecture. That way I would be much more likely to listen, in hopes of accomplishing my goal. The other idea that I want to try out is the concept of keeping a positive attitude. Lectures aren't really that bad, but for some reason I always go into my classes thinking that they will be the most boring things ever. I spend most of my time looking at the clock and wishing it was over, but after it is, I realize that it wasn't that horrible. If I go in with a positive attitude then I may actually enjoy the process much more. Overall I found all these concepts very interesting and I can't wait to test them out for myself!

post 2 - chapter 3 and 4

I think that men and woman do use different language while communicating. The best examples that I can think of actually come from commercials. A few years ago I remeber there was a commercial where there was a man with a bunch of his friends, and instead of saying that a clothing item was "cool" or "stylin" he said it was cute. In response all of his friends looked at him like he was crazy. The man then quickly changed his comment to something more manly. Another commercial that I stands out was a TGI Fridays commercial. Three men were eating. The first man said mm beef. The second said mmm bacon and the third said VEGETABLE MEDLEY with a sort of excitement. Again, all of the men looked at him like he was crazy.

Men are not the only people who get crazy looks while using more feminine language. I personally use this sort language role reversal for my friends entertainment. I often copy and speak like my boyfriend. People often laugh at me for trying to sound like a guy. I think that it is interesting how funny people think it is for me to speak differently.

In contrast, I do believe that men and women are more likely to use more similair language while writing. People typically do not write exactly how they speak in every day life, so if a person was to hand me some sort of text and ask me to determine the sex of the author, then it would be much more difficult. The truth is that society restrics us into two different catagories. If we do not fit in either of those catagories, then our peers may not understand us as well or begin to make judgements.

post 1 - chapter 3 and 4

I don't believe that it is possibe to perceive others without making some sort of judgement. As humans, we rely on those judgements to help us interact properly. Whether we like it or not, we form opinions based on the messages that people send out to us. If a heterosexual person was to go up to a homosexual person and explain their negative views on gay rights, then they would not make a very good first impression.

On the other hand, not all people send out strong messages or fill a specific stereotype. Society tends to classify people into certain groups. The problem is that common characteristics linked to such groups are often false. If a person does not fit into a group, this makes it more difficult for some people to understand how to interact with them. Within the first few interactions each party may disclose basic views that are not very personal or private. From these views, they are able to interact accordingly and go into further detail.

A friend of mine actually is very qucik to judge people in a negative point of view. If someone was raised in a different environment, has different beliefs, or has experiences something that she doesn't understand, then she is quick to dislike them. In contrast, over the years I have learned that everyone has a very different way of living. Most people who have lived a totally different life then me, communicate differently than me. It does not make them wrong, it just makes us different.

By being able to recognize such differences, I have been able to form many diverse friendships. If someone disagrees with my opinion, I don't think less of them, I just realize that our brains think differently. I think that by looking past the stereotypes and understanding that everyone is different, judgements may become much more fair. If a person does one thing that causes you to form a negative opinion, take the chance to get to know them better and and put your judgements aside. Eventually you will discover something in the person, or begin to understand why they are the way they are. By being open to differences, you may actually learn something new.

post 3 - chapter 9 interesting topic

One of the areas that caught my attention was the information about fallacies. I think it is interesting that so many arguments are built around fallacies, and most of the time, the public doesn't even realize it. Although fallacies don't provide hard facts, they can be used to create great emotions in the public. For this reason, fallacies are a great tool to use in persuading an audience.

When I think about fallacies, I usually think about politicians. As I read through the ten fallacies listed on page 272, each one reminded me of an approach that would be used in a campaign. In some ways fallacies help speeches buy creating emotional responses in the public. If I was to hear a speech that used "Glittering Generality", it would cause me to be more interested in the speech. Although fallacies are not strong support, they do make speeches more interesting for the public. Straight facts get boring after a while, and fallicies are a way to stir up emotions.

On the other hand, I do believe that fallicies are part of the reason why some wrong canidates are placed into positions of power. A speech with too many fallacies caused the public to be mislead. For this reason I believe that too many fallacies create bad situations. Used in moteration, I think that they can be powerful tools though!

best and worst speaker - chapter 9 post 2

The best speaker that I have ever heard is actually one of my dance teachers. I'm not sure if it's because he discusses topics that interest me, but for some reason his words really effected me. Last year I had to take a dance history class and he was the teacher. While he discussed each different important person, it was interesting because he had his own personal story about the person. Since he danced with many of the important figures that we were required to learn about, it made the class respect him more. He had a sense of power and credibility in the dance world, so we understood that what he told us was very important information.

Since he was also very passionate about the topic, it caused us to be more inspired. He often went into discussions about how poorly the arts are funded in California and how we have the power to change that. He also made all of us aware that we are responsible for the history of our art. If we don't care enough to learn about where it came from, then the history of our art would gradually be lost over the years. Basically he made us realize that if the dancers of our generation don't care about our art, then no one else will either.

While speaking he really began to expose his true colors. Since he was very passionate about the topic, we all began to hear the emotion and frustration in his voice. Through this process we also were able to identify with him and see him as more than just a teacher. It was crazy because I actually looked forward to history class. I hope one day to be able to inspire my students the same way that he has inspired me.

One of the worst speakers that I have ever heard was a person in one of my classes last summer. English was her second language, which was a problem in itself, but she also was scared to death to talk in front of people. All that we had to do was stand up and say 3 things that we learned from the class and 1 thing that we hated about the class. She made a huge deal about speaking and people literally had to push her to stand up.

The whole time she covered her face and giggled. At first we all felt sort of bad and wanted to encourage her, but eventually it got really annoying. She would say one word and then start laughing and covering her face again. I feel like if she would have just said what she needed to say quickly, then she wouldn't have had to spend as much time in front of the class. When she finished, I realized that I had no idea what she even said cause I was so focused on her presentation. It made me realize that regardless of how nervous I may be to speak infront of a large audience, it makes it worse to freak out in front of the audience.

Well known speaker - chapter 9 - post 1

I know that many other people already used this example, but a well known speaker that I really admire is Oprah. The great thing about her is that she speaks and acts like a normal American. She doesn't try to be too profound with her statements but rather is very relatable. She discusses topics that apply to the general public and does as much as possible to help the less fortunate.

Since Oprah hasn't been a huge scandal in the tabloids, she holds a great deal of credibility. People respect what she says because she has been so successful and has done a great job keeping her image positive. In some ways people strive to be more like her, so they really do listen to what she says. She has been named one of the most powerful women in America not only because she has a lot of money, but because she shares her money with people who need it more than her. Over the years Oprah has gotten made fun of about her weight, but in reality she turned her disadvantages into her own personal style. Although she may not be the most attractive women in the word, she still has a great sense of style.

The three areas listed above help creat Oprahs great ethos. Every show I feel like she is directly talking to the public and covering topics that would help improve their lives. I think that if she had more ethos, it may come off as being cheesy or fake. She also may begin to show a side of her personal character which isn't really as appropriate. For this reason, I don't think that Oprah needs any more ethos. The amount that she displays makes her seem more honest and reliable.

One idea that really got me thinking in this chapter was the idea that communication is a game. This week I became much more aware of the next "move" I would make while communicating. I began to also notice something very interesting. Some people that I communicated with made their "move", but as I responded, they did not recive my message, and carried on about what they were saying. Other people who did recieve my message actually developed their thoughts. It was interesting because the signals that each person sent out directly effected my next move. In each group my word choice and "moves" varried, but my main objective always was to create a positive outcome for myself.

The weirdest thing was when I realized that humans learn how to do this within a split second. Most people desire acceptance from their peers, so when a friend says something to them, they understand the correct thing to say in order to obtain such acceptance. We often don't spend much time thinking about the right thing to do or say, but rather have learned how to do so over time. People who are better at the game have possibly learned how to put out more socially acceptable responses quickly. On the other hand, people who are not as good at the game, may not have learned as much.

One type of communication that I believe allows much more time to send out messages is communication through the internet. While speaking to someone online, a person is able to carefully construct the appropriate language to gain control of the game. They also have the option to delete or re-phrase their statments if they dont like how it appears before sending it. Overall, I find it very interesting that we learned how to play this game throughout our lifetime.

pragmatic perspective - chapter 2 post #2

I actually just had a conversation with my friend about communication being a sort of pattern. When I first started at SJSU, I only had one friend. This required me to interact with other people in hopes to form some sort of other friendships. While doing this I first started by observing the ways that each social group interacted with eachother. I gradually ended up conversing with different members of each group in a manner that I believed to be appropriate, based on what I had observed. As each day went on, I gradually began to understand the best way to communicate with each group, and within each seperate group, my communication style slightly varried. The sort of tone or word choice I used in each group began to form a sort of pattern. I understood what I needed to say to get the response I desired, and I continued that patteren in order to create friendships.

I also believe that communication is a lot like a game. People are able to learn different strategies to obtain their desired position. One person may initiate an interaction through body language or through speech. As would be done in a game of chess, the other person responds and has the ability to cause a reaction, or create an opinion within the first person. This may spark a new thought in the first persons mind, and as they vocalize it, the second person is able to absorb the information that they sent out and form an opinion. Each time an individual communicates, it a like a move in a game. Some moves bring a positive effect and others cause a negative. Also, some people are better at the game than others.

On the other hand, there are many things that make communication much different than a game. I am a huge fan of intrapersonal communication. I think it is very interesting that humans have the ability to communicate with themself! I have a huge issue with negative self talk. I tend to think very poorly about myself, and in response, I never end up being able to accomplish what I want. I have tried to use more positive self talk, but it never really changes anything. When people use self talk, they are actually creating their own self image. This is in no way like a game because all that the person is doing is collecting their own opinions about who they are. In regards to intrapersonal communication, it resembles a pattern much more than a game.

I think that our culture requires us to live in many different communication worlds. When we are interacting with different people our groups, we may tend to modify our behavior in order to be accepted. For example, if I was to have a conversation with a professor, I may communicate differently than I would with my friends.

One of the best things about living in the Bay Area is the amount of diversity that surrounds us. Throught my life time, I have had many peers who have complained to me about something that another peer had said or done. The thing that they may not have understood was that it was not thier intention to cause such a negative reaction. In their culture they may have a different way of expressing themself than the other person may be used to. This does not make one person right and one person wrong. It just makes them different. By being able to detect such differences, communication between others may begin to improve.

In our culture, I feel like public high schools send out the message that you have to have a career in either math or science in order to be successful in life. If you are not good in either of such areas, then they make you feel like you will not be successful in life. In contrast, many other cultrures feel that the arts are the most important aspect of life. Some cultures, such as a Aborigional people of Australia actually used dance to communicate.

Since I am a dance and communication studies major, I often hear, "Well what are you going to do with that?" People in our culture automatically assume that since I am a dance major, I am taking the easy way out. In reality each of my two unit classes are two hours rather than normal three unit classes that are only an hour and fifteen minutes. On top of that, some classes are only offered once every other year, which means most semesters you are required to take at least 8 classes in order to graduate in time. In my opinion, my dance degree is much more difficult than my Communications Studies degree but most people in our culture will never understand that or appreciate the work that has been put into it.

In contrast, if I was a dancer in a culture that respected or admired dancers, then I may be viewed as very successful. Some cultures believe that happiness and spiritual growth are what determine success. Unfortunately, our culture believes that money equals success. Although I love going to school and being able to learn about my passion everyday, it is hard to hear that people think I'm going to be unsuccessful because I wont have as much money as a doctor or an engineer. Maybe one day people will understand that money doesn't always buy happiness.

Speaker I admire - chapter 1 post 3

A speaker who I admire is my boss, Mike Burges. I work for a company called the United Spirit Association, and in order to be hired within the company there is an audition process. They evaluate you not only on your dance ability, but also your personalty and teaching ability. Although hundreds of people try out throughout the country, only 7 new individuals are chosen every year. Our boss personally contacts each individual and explains to them how excited he is to have them as an instructor.

Each year we have a staff training event where employees from all over the country come together. Within the training, he speaks to us on a number of occasions. When he speaks, he has a way of making a person feel important. Through pathos, he is able to make every employee feel like a family member and motivates us to not only be better teachers, but better people. To me it seems as if he is not the typical boss. It really seems as if he has our own personal success in mind. Since he started out in the same position as us and has experienced many of the same situations as us, we are able to identify with his personal character.

He also does a great job using ethos. As soon as he opens his mouth, it is clear that he is very passionate about his job. He explains the impact that we have on some of our students and evokes many emotions within us. Each year he also sets up an awards ceremony where he honors people who have been with the company for many years. Within those ceremonies many tears are expressed and you can her the true emotion in his voice while speaking about each person.

He also does a great job organizing his thoughts. Everything he says has a logical order and he does not include useless information. He also doesn't get sidetracked easily or carry on about useless information. He only provides the most useful examples and cracks jokes that apply to our situation. Overall I think that Aristotle's classification scheme works great for him.

I don't believe I am quite as persuasive as him, but I still do have my moments. While teaching I try to push my students to a place where they can accomplish reasonable goals. I use ethos by explaining my own experiences with the task they are trying to overcome. This way my students get to know me better. I also have a great passion for what I am doing so I sometimes may use pathos in exess. Since dance commonly expresses emotion, I try to proke as many emotions in my students as possible. I try very hard to use logos, but my thought process isn't always logical. I have been known to be a very random person, so at times random things pop out of my mouth. That is the one area I should work on improving. Overall, I try to persuade my students to be as successful as possible.

The Orator - chapter 1 post # 2

If orators had to be "morally good" then politician would be out of a job. I'm not saying that all politicians are evil or corrupt people, but history has proven that some people will do whatever it takes to gain power. There have been many evil people such as Hitler and Muccolini, who have not been morally good, but have managed to do or say the right things in order to gain power.

On the other hand, some people may question what "morally good" means. At the time, Hitler may have believed that what he was doing was good. In his twisted mind, he was trying to help his country become the "superior race". Most people know that what he did was one of the most horrible things in history, but he was some how able to convince an entire country to agree with his point of view. This proves that orators don't have to be good people, but in order to gain respect and remain a positive image in history, they most likely have to be "morally good".

With the election coming up, I'm realizing how frustrating it is to detect whether or not a person is an morally good, or someone who just wants power. I feel like one person stretches the truth or puts down the other canidate, and in response the other person does the same thing. This makes it difficult for the public to seperate facts from fiction. If a neutral party was able to come in and give us the facts about each canidate, then we would be able to see everyones true colors. In reality, people say what the public wants to hear. It doesn't mean that they have to agree with it or stand by it. Although it's sad, to me this seems to be the truth.

Interesting concept from chapter 1

I was surprised when I realized that I actually enjoyed the assigned reading! I found this chapter to be very interesting and it made me question my own communication skills. The five canons of rhetoric concept really caught my attention. It really got me thinking about how important things such as arrangement, style and delivery are. In the comm 100w class I took over the summer, our teacher constantly talked about voice. I find it so interesting that, as humans, we are able to alter our personal voice according to our surroundings. For example, if we were speaking to a friend, we may choose different words to use than if we were talking to a teacher. What is even more interesting to me is how different words evoke different emotions within people, and the order of those words can enhance or distroy the message trying to be conveyed. I believe that each area of Cicero's theory holds great importance, and I hope to learn more about appropriate word choice and word arrangment in order to benefit my own relationships.

Getting to know me :o)

Hi everyone!

I apologize for the delay in this post! I had complications with blackboard and since this is my first online course, I had no idea what I was doing! Now that everything is sorted out, I look forward to this new experience and learning more about each of you :o)

I guess I should begin by telling you a little about myself. I was born and raised in Santa Clara and have lived in the area my whole life. I have been dancing since the age of two, and currently am a Dance major, as well as a Comm Studies major. To me, these two areas are directly related. My whole life I have felt very comfortable with communication through movement, but have always struggled with communication through vocalization. I think it is so interesting that people can hear or see the same thing, but have totally different views on what was be communicated. Through this class, I hope to improve my communication abilities and gain a greater sense of confidence in the area. Since I interact with people from all different backgrounds everyday, I would like to be able to communicate with everyone more effectively.

I work as a dance teacher at a studio in Palo Alto and as a songleading isntructor and judge for an amazing company called the United Spirit Association (USA). I really would love to be able to communicate with my students in the most effective way possible, and everyday I strive to learn how to do so. This semester I am taking 25 units and am already feeling the stress :o) I am a meber of our schools advanced modern dance performance company named UDT, so my free time is also spent at rehearsal.

Since there are not enough hours in the day for me to be on campus, and I am usually too exhausted to do much of anything, I spend most of my downtime in bed on my laptop. I figured this course would be a great opportunity to get a little extra work done since I am usually wasting my time online doing nothing :o) My goals for this course are to be ontime with all the rest of my postings, finish all of the required assignments, and to learn something that will help improve my life.

My experince with the Comm Studies department at SJSU has been wonderful so far! Last year was my first year at San Jose State, so I haven't had the opportunity to take many Comm classes. The courses that I have taken so far have been Comm 101, Comm 100w, Comm 41 and Performance Studies. Besides this course, I am also taking Comm 161 which sounds very interesting to me! I apologize again for the delay in this post and look forward to reading all of your blogs! Good luck this semster!