Communication Observation (Observing People Interacting with Each Other in a Particular Setting) - Essay Example

Journalism, mass media and communication Communication Observation Communication seems to be an all-round aspect of human beings. This is because communication barely ever seem to be absent in the life of a person – even a person who is seen sitting alone may be communicating to him or her self. This makes the assertion by O’Neil (2009) true that “communication is far more than speech and writing.” The property of communication that cuts deeper than just speech and writing was the aspect of the communication under discussion that caught my attention.

This aspect was a deep emotional feeling when I spotted that one of the three people communicating was crying. In the very opening of DeVito’s book, he creates awareness that communication is an inner reaction and it is translated and interpreted as such. This means that when emotions are attached to communication, they are better transmitted. It is not for nothing that the crying involved in the communication I observed was not attracted my attention. Broadly speaking, all three speakers assumed both productive and receptive roles at one point in time or the other.

However, in a generalized form, the person who was crying was the lead receptor while the two other colleagues who were trying to comfort the emotional speaker were the producers. It is said that the person crying was the chief receptor because in most parts of the communication, the other two people were consoling him while he listened to them. Among the two people who were giving the advice, one assumed the role of the lead adviser whereas the other person tried to buttress and reinforce what the other person said.

There was therefore the element of reinforcement. Observing the communication from the sitting room where I was on the top storey, I could have full contact with the parties both visually and audibly. Through this, I could realize that the feedback between the producers and receivers where prompt and not delayed. Whiles the advice was going on, the receptor was also giving positive feed-forward type of feedback whereby affirmed comments about future behavior (Eikenberry, 2011). This means that he was receiving information generally concerning how he could improve his life in the nearest future.

This not withstanding, the advisers often gave negative feedback, meaning they made “corrective comments about past behavior” (Eikenberry, 2011). As described earlier, there was an emotional person who was crying about an issue and two others who served as advisers. Among the two advisers, one took the lead role whereas the other reinforced what the leader said. For this reason, turn taking was structured in such as way that the person sharing his problem always made a point – gave a reason why he was crying or sad then the lead adviser went in with an advise.

There after, the other adviser reiterated why the emotional person should take the advice that had been given. This trend was generally followed through out. On some few occasions, the second adviser interrupted the lead adviser when the lead adviser was making a point. He however did not cut in to raise new points but to buttress what was being said by the other speaker. The communication was taking place in a house and thus a closet. For this reason, there was only a mild noise of the presence of music playing.

It must be said that the presence of the noise served a positive purpose for the communicators especially regarding the fact that they wanted to keep the conversation as under-covered from intruders as possible. Non-verbal messaging was at its best as the other adviser who was not the lead adviser was very close to the person sharing his problem and having physical contact with the person. Once a while, he whipped the tears of the person sharing his problem and patted him to be strong and cheer up.

This was a positive component of the communication as DeVito (2009) assures that non-verbal interactions allow for deeper sense of feeling among people involved in the communication. On the whole, the communication achieved its purpose. This is because unlike when the whole process was started, the person who was sharing his problem was seen smiling after the communication as he hugged the two other people. In an individualized opinion, communication that involves the giving of emotional support should be carried out in a state of patience and serenity.

There should be every cause for the person sharing his or her problem to trust the confidentiality of the problem he or she shares and this will go a long way to ensuring that the purpose of the communication is achieved. REFERENCE LIST DeVito J. A. Human Communication. 2009. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon (Pearson Education), 12th edition Eikenberry K. Using the Four Types of Feedback Effectively. 2011. Web. October 4, 2011. O’Neil D, Hidden Aspects of Communication. 2009. Web. October 4, 2011.