Engaging in Verbal
Communication
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Focus Questions
• How are language and thought
related?
• What abilities are possible because
humans use symbols?
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Focus Questions
• What are the practical implications of
recognizing that language is a
process?
• How do rules guide verbal
communication?
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
A New Twist on
an Old Saying
“Sticks and stones can break my bones,
but words can really hurt me.”
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Our Most Powerful Tool
• Language allows us to
– Plan
– Dream
– Remember
– Evaluate
– Reflect on ourselves and the world
around us
– Define who we are and want to be
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
– Create reality
Language & Meaning
• Language consists of symbols
– People
– Events
– All that goes around us
• Not all symbols are linguistic
– Nonverbal communication
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Features of Language
• Arbitrariness
• Ambiguity
• Abstraction
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Principles of Communication
• Interpretation creates meaning
– brute facts: objective, concrete phenomena and
activities
– institutional facts: the meanings of brute facts based
on human interpretation
• Communication is guided by rules
– Regulative rules regulate interaction by specifying
when, how, where, and with whom to communicate
about certain things.
– Constitutive rules define what a particular
communication means or stands for.
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
• Punctuation affects meaning
Symbolic Activities
• Language defines phenomena
– The way we name, or label, define
phenomena and shape what they mean
to us.
• Language evaluates phenomena
– Language is not neutral; it is laden with
values.
– Loaded language consists of words that
strongly slant perceptions.
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Symbolic Activities
• Language organizes experiences
• Language allows hypothetical thought
– experiences and ideas that are not part
of your concrete, daily reality
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Symbolic Activities
• Language allows self-reflection
• Language defines relationships and
interaction
– Responsiveness, liking, & power
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Guidelines for Effective Verbal
Communication
• Engage in Person-Centered
Communication
• Be Aware of Levels of Abstraction
• Qualify Language
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Own Your Feelings & Thoughts
• Avoid You-Language
• Use I-Language
– Own responsibility
– More descriptive
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Summary
• New twist on an old saying
• Nature & power of verbal
communication
• Language
• Symbolic activities
• I-language vs. You-language
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four
Communication
Mosaics
6th Ed.
Chapter Four