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.