How Thought Influences the Use of Language, and How Language Affects Self-Concept - Assignment Example

Communication Institution Affiliation Date A1. Environmental cues and how the influence expectations for communication Environmental cues are communication cues are signs or signals that people use to show that they expect a certain reaction or response. They include time, touch and the environment. Time influences the duration between which people communicate. If there is no communication over a long period of time, an individual is also not expected to communicate back over the period. If communication is constantly or fast it creates a perception that the response should be the same. Physical touch affects the way communication is done directly since they trigger an immediate response. If a person hugs another, it portrays the friendship or love and therefore influences the other to hug back. The physical components of where communication is being made influence how communication will take place. The presence of chairs, tables, lighting and sound influences communication to be made audible, so that all the audience can be able to hear. Without these physical aspects in the communication environment, communication would probably be not audible. A2. Responsibility of the communicator to the audience Both speakers and audiences have responsibilities towards each other for communication to be effective. The speaker or communicator has responsibilities of researching about the audience to know what they expect, being well prepared and organized by researching the topic, being punctual, being clear and audible so that the right meaning is passed ,inviting questions and providing clarifications, being ethical where he/she behaves in the expected code of behavior, being respectful to the audience and engaging them through stories or examples to eliminate boredom while the same time motivating them to stay alerted. The audience has the responsibility of availing themselves physically and mentally on time, being respectful and cautious, paying attention to the speaker where they should not surf the internet, send emails, take phone calls among others, asking and responding to questions and being involved for example by laughing or smiling where necessary. Audiences also have a responsibility to evaluate the speaker by providing feedback that will enable the speaker to improve on his/her skills and facilitate better presentation for future audiences. A3. How thought influences the use of language We perceive everything around us relating it to the reality through the five basic senses, which are touching, hearing, sight, taste, and smell. By experiencing the sensation that is around us, we create an understanding of what the reality is and how we perceive it to be. The answer to the question of, if our thoughts, influence the use of language is complicated because of the other factors such as culture, lifestyle, and habits that we pick up. But generally, our thoughts do influence the language we use. For example, when reading a book, the sense of sight and touch are required to understand and perceive what forms of thought are being expressed and conveyed by the book. Depending on what is in the book, the reader uses his senses and after understanding tries to communicate to the listener by forming facial expressions, body movement, and tonal variation. If there is a mountain he will put hands up to illustrate the mountain based on his thoughts. Also when we try to pronounce difficult words, we take some time to think of the correct pronunciation in order to make the right one and this is influenced by our thoughts. A4. How language affects self-concept. Self-concept is an idea that one has from his/her beliefs about oneself, attitudes, principles, character traits and the responses of others. Communication and language is complex such that a single type of behavior affects the level of self-esteem a person has. For example, if you believe to be dumb, ugly and stupid, people would rate you as a low self-concept. Communication from others towards you affects your self-concept and how you communicate and therefore it’s affected by language. For example, parents who communicate to their kids using violent and abusive language affect their self-concept such that if they were constantly told they were god for nothing and lazy, they become lazy and idle believing that they are like what the parents said. On the other hand, children who are loved and showed affection by their parents even when they are in the wrong and are encouraged that they can do better, believe they can and strive to become better because they have a positive self-concept instilled by their parents even if they do not have a high self-esteem of themselves. A5. Article analysis The part structure of any article or written material comprises of the heading which shows what the paper is about so that readers know what to expect while reading, the introduction which outlines the argument or the problem in the paper, the arguments or points, this are followed by the explanations or evidence for justification of the arguments put up and lastly a conclusion which summarizes the ideas in the piece and reiterate the main points. The article is about 3 warning signs of bad leadership that people miss by mark murphy. The headline serves as a good attention statement because it is written at the top center of the page, in bold and in big fonts which are clearly visible and catch the attention of the reader making them want to read what the article says. It concludes with a closure statement which emphasizes the main points of the argument. The main points are presented in number form each having explanations and examples to pass the message clearly to the reader. A6. Justification for use of double speak Doublespeak is language that deliberately obscures, disguises distort or reverses the meaning of words such that the message cannot be understood by all people. For example, the use of “taking down” instead of killing someone, the use of “facilities” instead of washrooms, the use of “downsizing” instead of firing and reducing costs instead of cutting salaries. Use of double speak is not unjustifiable because of the problem associated with it which are more than the benefits. The only benefits are specific in the use of double speak where words that are more appealing such as washrooms are used instead of toilets. Clear language is important in ensuring both parties understand the message being communicated. This is important, especially in contacts and agreements. It also erodes the professionalism of English language where even professionals and organizations use doublespeak. It creates conflicts where parties use them to conceal important messages in agreements and hence gain unfair favor over the other parties. Lastly, it is hard for the average person to translate the meaning, hence they can be deceived. For example, the left uses progressive to describe itself, which sounds good, but in actual sense, it means the left is willing to destroy everything in order to impose the changes it wants so it can move America towards socialism A7. Using sign posts during presentations Using sign posts helps the audience to move with the flow of the presentation and ensures they are not left out or do not understand the developments in the presentation. The first sign is the use of “moving on” which shows the audience that the speaker has concluded a certain point or idea and is moving on to the next one. This lets the audience move together with the speaker. The next one is “let’s move to something different” is used when changing the topic or idea completely. It is important because it lets the audience know so that they can pay more attention and move on together with the speaker. For example, let’s turn to something different engages the mind of the audience to focus on the new topic. The last sign is “let me expand or elaborate” which is used to go into more detail.it is aimed at ensuring that the audience understands clearly the message and enables them to pay close attention and give them a visual idea of the expansion. A8. Jargon words The following words are expressed in the legal proceedings in a court of law which their meaning is not clear or understandable to people who are not in the profession. They include mediation, affidavit, alimony, annulment, appeal, complaint, plaintiff, jurisdiction, bar, democracy, decree, legal custody, and statute. The writer helps in the understanding of the words by providing meanings of the words in brackets that readers can know what they mean while they are used in the sentence. The writer also provides a glossary with meanings of the words on the margins of the material so that after reading, one can go through and later relate them in context with the sentences and phrases they are used in. The writer also provides the meaning of the jargon words by providing explanations of similar words so that the readers relate. For examples he says.”The constitution, which is a document, contains regulations to be followed”. The writer can make it easier to understand them by using simpler words and phrases of the other words that are not related to the professional. Use of precise language will also help whereby for example, instead of saying there are problems with the lease he says the leases has problems. He can also use fewer words without sacrificing the meaning of the term, and be using normalizations. A9. How self-concept influence my writing Self-concept is my identity or ideas that I hold regarding myself, how I see and understand myself, my strengths, weaknesses, and interests. It is important because it affects how I direct my life and how I do my activities on a daily basis for example writing. My thoughts in terms of writing and academic are that am creative, focused, organized, timely, open, good in communication and presentation of ideas am a person of integrity. All this makes me develop and love writing whereby it is a hobby that I do through my day and therefore make me effective. I write anything that is available since I believe that am creative and nothing is impossible to write about. It enables me to write materials that are relevant, organized, clear and understandable since I like writing. It influences me to be flexible in writing where I can write I variety of materials from essays to stories. It influences me to be confident and positive on the challenges that I encounter while writing and enables me to develop and grow more with time as I gain more experience. A10. What the field of psychology offers concerning the self-fulfilling prophecy The concept of self-fulfilling prophecy was introduced by Robert Merton who is a renowned sociologist. According to it, a person or event can affect our behavior towards the event, and in turn, causes the expectation to happen. A person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true due to the simple fact that they expect them to come true. When people have an expectation concerning an event, they can develop a behavior towards that event and this causes the event to take place. For example, Merton discusses how self-fulfilling prophecy could lead to a bank become bankrupt even when it’s financially stable. A group of individuals comes to believe that a bank is almost becoming bankrupt. This causes those that use the bank to withdraw their savings. Due to these other depositors and potential depositors take caution and withdraw their funds. Due to many depositors withdrawing their funds, the bank actually becomes bankrupt. Therefore the individual’s expectations influenced their behavior and this caused the event they had anticipated to take place. The back became bankrupt because of the beliefs of the people that lead to confirmation of the belief. Self-fulfilling beliefs suggest that when a person believes something about another, it leads to confirmation of that belief. A11. How the process of perception limits our view Perception is the way we see things and develop an expectation of what will be the result based on previous experiences. We often apply the experience to related situations which are different and due to this, we may experience problems or miss out on important opportunities. Perception limits our risk taking abilities where we have failed earlier and judge the situation from the past experience. This prevents us from taking important initiatives because we relate the situation to previous ones. Perception leads to poor decision making because we already have formed an expectation of what should happen regardless of the decision we take. It also affects our attitudes towards life and the people around us thus affecting relationships. For example, due to being called by the teacher for punishment most of the time, A student will perceive that he/she is being called for the same and approach the teacher with a bad attitude or fail to show up all the same. This may lead to him/her missing out on the opportunity. We can choose how t perceive things by being optimistic and treating every situation differently without applying previous judgments. A12. Listening skills They include content listening, critical listening, empathetic listening and appreciative listening. Content listening is where the listener seeks to understand the speaker message. Advantages include under stability of the message, it is easy to notice mistakes, enables clarity and challenges the speaker through testing their expertise. Disadvantages are that arguments may ensue between listener and speaker during logical arguments, lack of evidence by the speaker will render him/her unprofessional, arguments may get personal and the speaker may ignore or refute ideas which are correct. Critical listening is an evaluation of the message. Advantages include understandability of the message, enhanced memory due to a critical evaluation, and provide feedback to the speaker when he/she is engaged by listeners. disadvantages are that listeners may be impatient towards conclusions, the mood may be boring due to seriousness, listeners may be critical of speakers who start with the big picture instead of going straight to the main idea and listeners may be concerned more with control and not care about the well-being of the speaker. Empathetic is where listeners are concerned with speakers viewpoint and feelings. Advantages: the speaker feels wanted, the atmosphere is good and there is room for both parties to share thoughts. Advantages: listeners may associate too much and not see fault or limitations on the speaker, impairment of judgment and ability to discriminate and unwise relationships. Appreciative listening advantages: good relationships and atmosphere, eliminates boredom and enhances communication. Disadvantages: lack of seriousness, the message may not be understood and irrelevant messages. A13. Strategies used to minimize the impact of the specific psychological noises Psychological noises are those that come internally from our assumptions and judgments.to reduce talking too fast I take deep breathes between conversations and try to control myself. To control wandering thoughts which usually distract me from the communication being made I focus and create eye contact with the speaker. preconceived ideas prevent individuals from learning something new due to the notion that they already know it and to tackle this, I listen to any views regarding any subject whether I already know it or not. Articulation of the problem is assuming a problem that usually takes place has already taken place without confirming this may lead to wrong solutions to problems. To solve this, I deal with any problem or communication like the first time not judging on the past experiences. Bia's ness towards people or situation creates psychological noise due to prejudgments that hinder effective communication. To deal with this I avoid being bias in any situations even when they almost look certain. A14. A15. How the intended audience influences the choice of words and use of language in a document Considering the audience in communication is important because it will determine whether the audience will understand the message or not. For instance, communicating the topic of medical insurance to university students and to villagers in rural areas will be different in terms of language and words structure. To the students Life insurance is important in dealing medical emergencies that may arise. You only need registration fee followed by annuities of $ 50 annually. The accumulative lump sums are payable on the expiration of the contract and the amounts can be used as savings where as a member you can get flexible credit facilities. To the villagers You can save money with us, which will help you when you are sick and need medical attention. You need to open an account with $ 50 and then pay some money every year. All the money you have saved can be paid back to you when you stop saving or u can be given some loans which you can pay slowly. A16. Sales letter To our esteemed clients: First, we would like to thank you for being our customers and letting us serve you to our best level. We will continue to provide quality services at affordable costs. We value your continued support. On offer, we have various services such as African dishes, massages, cocktails, traditional drinks and some Chinese food which can be prepared on request to those who want a taste of their culture. We have activities such as swimming, traditional dances, hot air balloon ride, sight-seeing of various destinations and nature walks in the game reserve. We also have various items for sale on the entrance of the premises such as traditional artifacts, clothes, beaded chains and necklaces, paintings among others. There are agents exchanging currency within the premises and translators to ensure effective communication. We ensure peaceful coexistence for all our clients and harassment, discrimination or any form of unwanted behavior will be immediately dealt with. All customers are requested to report any unwanted occurrences and be responsible for their own personal items. Thank you A17. A draft letter introducing a product or service to a new client General motors limited Date: 2/5/2017 To, our esteemed customers Subject: introducing our new product Dear customers, We wish to thank you for your membership which has been our success drive. We are also pleased to communicate that after considering your feedback, we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that we effectively satisfy your needs and offer you value for your money. In effect of that, we are pleased to present to you our newest product the Honda c10 motorbike which is an enhancement of the Honda c 12.It is well suited for rough roads, has a bigger carrying capacity and less fuel consumption. It comes with a two-year warranty and a ten 10% discount on all purchases within the first two weeks. We greatly thank you for continued support and active participation in our organization. We hope you will be pleased with this new product and look forward to you feedback Regards, _____ James St. Patrick’s, Head of Marketing A18. Product and company needs The 5 canopy tent is a tent that has an accommodation capacity of 800 people and is suited for large events such as shows, weddings, and rallies. Potential clients include African tents, Samantha wedding planners, and all tents point. African tents engage in the hiring of tents for small and big functions ranging from weddings, parties and charity events. They supply them within the region and don’t have the capacity to go global. We can supply tents to them at a fee or on a commission basis while we retain ownership. Samantha wedding planners plan and manage weddings for customers who prefer professional weddings; they are locally based with a minimum of 15 weddings a month. They have many customers and can be a good sales agent if we provide them with tents for use since they do not own theirs. All tents point buys and sells tents for domestic and business use within the region, they have 5 branches within the country and have an online platform. We can partner with them to sell them tents in bulk at a discount. They can also hire the tents on our behalf and the proceeds divided on a commission basis. A19. Justification for a longer resume There is the constant debate on whether resumes should be short or long and different people have different views on the issue. Information provided on the resume will depend on the specific individual’s details. However, whether short or long one certain thing is certain, that the information provided should be relevant and suited for that job. The following are justification for a longer resume. The education background of the applicant where some especially those who have perused education up to the Ph.D. level have to list all the achievement they have made which will give them an advantage. The other is the work experience where if an individual has worked for many years in different organizations or departments, has to list all the areas in order to show his suitability to the work being applied. The other is projects undertaken where some companies require applicants to include details of their projects and in this case, the resume will be long for people who have undertaken many projects. Lastly, the skills where individuals with many different skills will include all of them and make the resume long A20. How a speaker can prepare a speech for a diverse audience First, it is important to research in order to know and understand the cultural differences. Research on how they dress, their sense of humor, how they communicate what gestures are considered appropriate and religious factors. For example, find out if they understand specific gestures so that you can use them in explanations and expressions. Secondly, it is necessary to learn a few words in their language which you can use to make effective communication and greet them to make them feel u understand them. For instance, if you are presenting on wages, learn to translate wages to their language. Thirdly research about their attitude toward the topic to ensure you do not conflict with their views. For example, do not criticize a leader they believe in. Another is researching on examples in their culture which they are familiar with and uses them to ensure they understand for example if u talk about a company, use one that they know. Lastly, research on their knowledge level concerning the topic so that u don’t present basic knowledge which they already know. This will ensure you present the information with the correct tone and keep them interested and engaged. A21. Justification for use of rhetorical situations Authors and speakers have a variety of ways that they use to communicate with the audience. Rhetorical situations become important since they determine how the speaker or writer communicates and how the audience receives the communication. For example, if a speaker is boring and not audible, the audience will be bored and not interested in the communication from the speaker. Rhetorical situations are important in the following ways: The can be used to pass instruction to the audience, for example, greet the person next to you. This keeps the session lively. They can able used to inform and entertain which eliminates boredom. The can be used to engage the audience, for example, calling them to get up from their seats and stretch out so that they become more focused. They can be used to get feedback from the audience, for instance, calling on them to answer questions at various points in the session. They can enlighten, console and persuade the audience depending on the circumstances and therefore they are justified to be used in communication A22. Tattoos For the children, I would keep it simple including some myths and stories to make them because they cannot understand the concept of tattoos clearly and only know they are drawings of simple things like toys or their favorite cartoons which cannot harm them. I would persuade them that tattoos will affect them by spoiling their skin since they cannot be removed and what they draw will always affect them throughout their life. They will make them grow old and what they draw will appear to them constantly and disturb them since they have communicated with them by having them on their skin. For the college students, I would go straight to the point since they are knowledgeable on the subject and am just supposed to convince them but the decision to have them or not will still be entirely on them. I would show them where the bible is against tattooing if they Christians educate them on the effects on the skin and possibility of transmission of diseases such as aids, long-term psychological effects, disadvantages in relation to careers development and growth and the judgment by society of being viewed as drug users or individuals with irresponsible behavior which will affect their relationships with people. 23. Whether organizing a presentation involves ethics Yes organizing a presentation involves ethics because it involves communication between individuals who are different in behavior, literacy level, mindset and traits. Without ethical considerations, the presentation may not be effective due to various occurrences such as the following: noise making and distractions through movement which hinders communication, discrimination of the speaker or the audience, use of strong language, abuse among others. The ethical consideration will ensure that there is clear communication of what is expected from the speaker and the audience as well. It will provide how the audience can communicate with the speaker without cutting them while they speak how to present arguments so that it does not get personal and lead to fights and it will ensure the speaker delivers as expected so that it does not become a waste of time for the audience. Some presentations are turned to platforms for exposing individuals a scenario common with politicians and such things can be prevented by having ethical considerations in organizing a presentation. 24. Speech analysis The speech has a heading which is at the center top of the speech in readable font size to communicate to the reader that the speech is about advertising standards so that it captures their attention making them interested in reading it. The introduction states that he is discussing the latest trends in advertising helping to create a clear picture of what is expected in the speech. The writer then provides a thesis statement saying that advertising is the engine or it is what drives progress. Then he presents his points on why the advertising standards should be reviewed structurally following up with explanations. He says that they are morally and technologically outdated since they no longer serve the changing needs of the people such as entertainment. He then concludes by reiterating his main idea saying “What am I trying to say here is that the world of advertising needs to have some of its principles and methods revised” otherwise it will be inefficient. https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/speeches/advertising.html#sthash.JBXiV4ZQ.dpuf 25. Sample outlines for speeches Online shopping is a type of electronic commerce where customers can purchase goods and services from a specific seller over the internet using an application or website browser. The products are delivered conveniently to the customer location and payment can be done after or before the delivery. Two organizing principles are simplicity and customer service. Simplicity Easy to operate and navigate due to clear instructions Clear and simple language that can be translated to any language in the application Search engine for specific needs where customers know what they want and don’t have no navigate Categorized products for easy purchase where related products such as beauty products are aligned in the same section Customer service Provision of customer care number operational 24/7 for customers’ needs Account registration and log in where each customer can have a personal account for convenience and easy access Flexible payments via all mobile money applications and banks Account referral for new users and bonuses where customers can refer new customers and earn bonuses and discounts Social media communication where one can share products with others Quick delivery all over the region which is free Read More