It does make sense to think of communication as a patterned interaction. All communication is based on the other person's first communication. When people ask "how are you?" most people don't say "purple, size 2 please." They respond with "I'm .... how you are?" There are rules to communication of how to respond to another, rules that are learned through cultural interactions.
I like the analogy of communication being a game - especially as chess. There is no way that communication isn't like a game. One person says something, and the other reacts depending on what was initially said. I also liked how the book said you cannot not play, because even if you choose to not play, you are making a conscience decision of making the move of "passing" or "forfeiting" your turn. On the other hand, it is different from a game in the sense of there is no official start and end, and there is no winner or loser. Most communication is like the middle of the game, where the interesting move happens.
Hi Miss B!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post and found your examples very helpful! I wasn't sure how I felt about communication being a game but when you break it down it does make sense and I really liked the idea that communication is like the middle of the game, no winners or losers and no time limits. We do create rules and good manners for common communication and it's important to be able to communicate to any type of person in an effective way. Especially customer service... that is not always easy. Haha It's funny to me to think we play a game when communicating because I've never thought about it that way, but it does make sense. Holding a conversation is like kicking a ball back and forth, taking turns sending and receiving the ball as if it were words.
Good job! Thanks for the post!!