COM200 W1 Assignment 9.25.23 Revised
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Communications
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Apr 3, 2024
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Interpersonal Communication Skills Improvement Plan Page 1
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Interpersonal Communication Skills Improvement Plan
Grace Carrig
University of Arizona Global Campus
COM 200: Interpersonal Communications
Elaine Phompheng
August 25, 2023
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Introduction
Have you ever had a conversation with yourself when you’re alone or wrote yourself a note? Well, that type of communication is called intrapersonal communication as you are communicating with yourself, there are also interpersonal conversations which means a conversation with two or more people (Bevan, 2020). These communication exchanges also affect the way we view ourselves and the world we live in. Bevan (2020) stated self-concepts determine how and when people engage with others, and interactions shape self-perception. In other words, self-concepts emerge from self-talk and interactions with others. Furthermore, the interactions we have with others will most likely impact our future conceptions of self, and the others with whom we speak to will have their self-images shaped by their relationships with us.
There are certain skills that go into interpersonal communication skills such as your communication planning, your message creation, the sending of your message, listening and interpreting incoming messages, the way feedback is taken, and your communication using technology. The skills that are part of interpersonal communication that I will be working on strengthening throughout this course are message creation and sending the message which focuses on my skills in planning a message that supports my communication goal with my intended audience as well as my skills in getting my message to its intended audience. Significance and Motivation
I have chosen to focus on strengthening my message creation and sending of the message
for the remainder of this course because I want to grow and strengthen my communication skills in every way possible. I want to better my communication skills all around for my academic, personal, and professional life. Miscommunications happen all the time and being aware of the underlying factors that play into a conversation can help stop miscommunication. When having a
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conversation with someone, it is never guaranteed that the conversation will go the way you expected or the way you wanted. There can be many factors that play into why the conversation has gone sour and most of the time for me it is because it is difficult for me to translate my thoughts into communication. I know what I want to say but it doesn’t always sound the way I want it to or who I want to say it to. Furthermore, I am not the best at communicating through the
process of encoding. Encoding is the process of converting ideas into communication, while the encoder is the person who puts together and sends the message, and they must determine how the
message will be received by the audience and make adjustments to ensure that the message is received as desired (eCampusOntario, 2018). The encoding process is one of the five steps in communication while the encoder is the one who is talking in the conversation at the moment. Review of the Literature
People don’t just communicate verbally you have various options, or channels, for communication. Encoded messages are sent through a channel, or a sensory route, on which a message travels to the receiver for decoding, and while communication can be sent and received using any sensory route (sight, smell, touch, taste, or sound), most communication occurs through visual (sight) and/or auditory (sound) channels (eCampusOntario, 2018). Although there are many different forms of communications being sent or received you normally try to get someone’s attention by either calling their name or saying something, or if they are listening to music or deaf, you would use lights or your arms to get their attention. Since no two people process information in the same way, the sender must be careful to use frequently known phrases, symbols, and gestures to decrease the possibility of misinterpretation, while also being aware of the receiver's communication skills, attitudes, skills, experiences, and culture to achieve
clear communication (Smith, 2019). As a sender, it is key to create an environment where the
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receiver feels welcome to the conversation. While these resources have explained and shown the communication process of interpersonal communication message encoding skills, they do not go into how to improve the skills, as well as the principles or other aspects of interpersonal communication skills. I have found two sources that help with the parts the given resources have not covered. Week 2:
In Week 2 of COM 200: Interpersonal Communication I will focus on message encoding.
I will be looking for three different scholarly or credible sources that will help me enhance my
skills in message encoding. I have two sources now, Libretexts. (2022). 2.5: Interpersonal
communication skills. Social Sci Libre Texts
. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Interpersonal_Communicatio
n/
Intepersonal_Communication__A_Mindful_Approach_to_Relationships_(Wrench_et_al.
)/02%3AOverview_of_Interpersonal_Communication/
2.05%3A_Interpersonal_Communication_Skills
and Publisher, A. R. a. R. O. O. (2016b, September 29). 6.1 Principles of interpersonal communication
. Pressbooks. https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/6-1-principles-of-interpersonal-
communication/
,
but I need to focus on finding a third. I will thoroughly look through all three sources to help me learn and enhance my message encoding skills. I will choose one source from the three found and use that source for my Week 5 Final Assignment. Week 3:
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In Week 3 of COM 200: Interpersonal Communication I will focus on trying multiple different enhancement methods for message encoding and trying them out on friends and family. I will then see what methods worked for me the best and what methods did not work for me if that is the case. I will continue to learn and enhance my skills in interpersonal communication in my message encoding and other communication areas when there is information and tools to enhance. I will show my progress in my Week 3 Journal and show what is working and what is still needing to be worked on. Week 4:
In Week 4 of COM 200: Interpersonal Communication, I will take the best tools and methods that worked for me to enhance my skills in message encoding and any other communication skills I have learned and narrow down the three most common and useful tips and tools that help the enhancement of message encoding. I will then go through the three options and choose what is the one I will be focusing on and one that suits my enhancement the best. Assessing Process:
Throughout the process of enhancing my message encoding I will be assessing my progress by presenting each week what it is I want to achieve. I will then be doing experiments with my loved ones and evaluating with them how they feel the conversation went, how they expected it to go, and if there were any surprises/ things that were unexpected or expected that did not occur. After the questions and comments have been answered from the conversation, I will then assess how well I feel the conversation has gone and how well I feel it has enhanced my message encoding. At the end of my experiments, I will conclude on what has worked the best for my enhancement of message encoding. I will then use these tips, tools, and methods to
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continue to enhance not only my message encoding but all other aspects of interpersonal communication that I have learned throughout the weeks. Conclusion:
Throughout the next four weeks of this course, I will be going over tools, tips, and methods on how to enhance my message encoding. I will assess and show my progress on how my enhancement of message encoding is going and how I expect it to continue to go. Each week I will be showing in my journals how my experiment is going and how it is helping my enhancement of message encoding as well as other aspects of interpersonal communication that will be learned throughout the course.
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References:
Bevan, J. (2020). Making Connections: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
, Third Edition. Zovio Inc
eCampusOntario. (2018, April 3). Communications process: encoding and decoding
. Pressbooks. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/commbusprofcdn/chapter/1-2/
Smith, J. (2019) Unit 2: The communication process
. Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.senecacollege.ca/buscomm/chapter/1-3-the-communication-process/