Communication environments and strategies in human interaction contexts

Managing an Interpersonal Communication Environment

Identify a communication environment encountered managed strategies found textbook, Adler & Rodman, Understanding human communication (11th edition). Using topics intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, public communication.

The interpersonal communication environment has been described greatly by various scholars. The basic premise is that it involves sending and receiving of messages between two or more people. It includes all other aspects of communication such as persuading, nonverbal communication, asserting, and listening. One important concept of interpersonal communication is that it is learned through knowledge, feedback, practice and reflection. These are the same concepts by which interpersonal communication is improved. Another important concept of interpersonal communication is that it looks at the communicative acts when there are just a few individuals involved in the conversation rather than in group interaction where there are a large number of individuals involved in the communicative act. Interpersonal communication can be done using either direct or indirect communication media such as in face-to-face interaction which is direct and computer-mediated communication which is indirect. When the communication is successful, it is assumed that both the sender has sent the message successfully and the receiver has interpreted and understood the message completely on the level that the sender intended it to be understood Adler, Rodman, & Sevigny, 2011()

There are several theories that attempt to explain the uncertainty reduction theory. This theory addresses the basic process by which people gain knowledge about others. The theory asserts the difficulty that comes with uncertainty where a person is motivated to seek more information about another through being able to predict behavior. The theory states that uncertainty is reduced in three different ways. The first is the passive strategy where a person observes another. The second is the active strategy where a person asks about another and looks up information. The last is the interactive strategy where a person asks questions and gets answers through self-disclosure Littlejohn, 1996()

Management strategy

The communication environment which is proposed to be managed using this strategy was one that involved a man and a woman who were courting. Though their communication environment was a supportive one, there was interpersonal conflict that arose from a mismatch of their needs. The conflict that was there was an expressed struggle whereby there was disagreement between the couple. The lady had been upset as a result of the many spending a huge amount of money and not telling her fiancee. The lady was displeased with this but chose to exercise her right to silence. However, the man was able to sense the conflict.

The first and foremost method of resolving conflict is through compromise. Compromise gives both of the parties at least what they wanted. Settling for compromise gives both parties in the communication partial satisfaction which is the best that they can hope for. Although it is not a win-win situation or a win-lose situation, through compromise, every party is able to resolve the conflict by being left with some positive feeling. The compromise in this situation would be to let this situation slide but the man should let the woman know of any such situations. This is a compromise since none of them has won in this particular situation and it is only that they have chosen to prevent such future issues from arising Floyd, 2009()

Negotiation is an important way of managing a communication environment and also resolving the conflict within the communication environment. In negotiation, the couple would start by identifying and defining the conflict between them then they would generate the possible solutions to the conflict. The third solution is to evaluate the alternative solutions to find if they are going to work. The last thing is to decide which the best solution is for them after which this decision is followed Adler et al., 2011()

The second way to manage the interpersonal communication environment is through finding the credibility of the source of information. The lady in this case should have evaluated the credibility of the source of information. It is important not to stereotype by making the assumption that the person giving the information is correct. At the same time, it is important not to let emotions interfere with reason. By letting tempers fly high, they interfere with an individual's ability to reason which also prevents the sender from passing the information in the correct way and at the same time, the recipient is unable to interpret the message as it is needed Floyd, 2009()

The interpersonal communication environment can also be managed through effective listening and feedback which ensures that the sender is able to pass the message across effectively and that the recipient is able to acknowledge that the message has come across and that they are able to interpret it as the sender desired Floyd, 2009()

It is also important to manage agreement in the communication environment. This means that there needs to be synergy in the team which is achieved by getting people the communicators to work together in a collaborative fashion to make the right decision in the right attitude. This involves the people in the conversation opening up their minds to new ideas and also giving and receiving feedback that creates a discussion that fosters a good interpersonal understanding and resolves the conflict to bring about a consensus Floyd, 2009()