Free Essay Example: Instances of Miscommunication

One instance where miscommunication can occur could be when precise details are not provided for a given scenario. For example, the husband can call the wife and inform her that he will be passing by a friend after work but will not be late to get home, and the wife can interpret this to mean that the husband will be by the friend's house for a few minutes but get back in his usual time. However, what the man could have been implying is that he would actually be late, and instead of coming at home by 8 p.m., he would probably arrive maybe at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. If the details had been provided in the initial conversation between the husband and the wife, such as the time specifics, then miscommunication would not have happened. Another instance where miscommunication could occur is when the information that is delivered is misinterpreted. Such could occur as a result of words that sound similar but have different meanings. For instance, if someone says “Hu is the President of the China branch”, is different from “Who is the President of the China branch?”

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Two Basic Principles of Effective Interpersonal Communication

According to Bevan & Sole (2014), there are six basic principles of effective interpersonal communication. Two of the six principles of interpersonal communication that I will explain the principles of listening and evaluating and the principle of acknowledgement

principle of listening and evaluating

It is essential always to look as well as assess other individuals’ statement before making a response. The principle of listening and evaluating put into emphasis the fact that careful consideration should be taken when listening and interpreting the information offered in order to respond as effectively, after evaluation the message received.

principle of acknowledgment

It is always important to acknowledge the fact that a person's opinions or views are just one among very many aspects or ideas. Without proper acknowledgement, then people can disagree or Misinterpret different information on the basis of self-defense or false self-awareness. Understanding other people's position in terms of the message that they give is critical in seeing their point of view because acknowledgement is an essential principle during any communication.

Video Task

The characters in the video do not follow the first principle of listening and evaluation because they are evidently not in a position to communicate because one of the characters is deaf verbally. However, they can utilize verbal cues and technology to help them better understands the information as well as evaluates it. These tools also prove to be unreliable as the technology fails, one character cannot read the other's verbal cues as her mouth is covered, while background noises disrupt the entire communication process.

For the second principle, the characters acknowledge each other's point of view, and can now understand each other. One character gets to recognize that the other is deaf, while the deaf character acknowledges the religious outfit of the other cast and from this point, the two can resolve the communication barrier by finding alternative ways in which they can communicate.

Noise and Miscommunication

From Bevan reading, the type of noise that I will explain, and as signified in the video is the Physical Noise. Physical sound exists when the surrounding of a communication between two or people gets too loud for them to communicate effectively. The noise from the surrounding gets in the way of effective communication. This kind of sound can be overcome by using an alternative form of communication, such as body language and signage. It could also be overcome by depending on technological solutions such as typing the message on the phone.

References

Bevan, J. L., & Sole, K. (2014). Making Connections: Understanding Interpersonal Communication. 1-55.

Legrand, T. (2011, November 22). A Failure to Communicate. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ox5LhIJSBE