Understanding Personal and Interpersonal Communication

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers concepts from the lecture on Personal and Interpersonal Communication, including audience types, demographics, communication purposes, types of context, tone, digital communication challenges, and multimodal text modes.

Interpersonal communication

The exchange of information, emotions, and meaning between people through verbal and nonverbal cues, typically occurring face-to-face.

Personal communication

Information obtained through sources that are not publicly accessible, such as emails, private letters, individual interviews, unrecorded speeches, and private conversations.

Primary audience

The specific individuals a communicator intends to address and for whom the message is crafted initially.

Secondary audience

Others who are likely to encounter a message even if they are not the main recipients, such as individuals copied on an email or overhearing a conversation.

Hidden audience

Unintended recipients who may access or receive a message through forwarding, such as a manager reviewing a recorded meeting.

Demographics

The measurable aspects of an individual’s identity that influence their societal role, including age, gender, religion, occupation, education, socioeconomic level, and race.

Psychographic factors

Inner traits such as beliefs, attitudes, values, and needs that influence how people think, feel, and behave.

Beliefs

Ideas that people think are true, which shape how they see the world and make decisions regardless of factual correctness.

Attitudes

A person’s consistent positive, negative, or neutral feelings about ideas, people, or policies, formed through experiences and social influences.

Values

Deep personal principles or goals that guide what people care about and aim for.

Needs

Things that people lack and want to fulfill, which can be either actual or felt.

To inform

A communication purpose aimed at sharing facts, news, and data to reduce uncertainty and help in decision-making.

To persuade

A communication purpose focused on shaping people's thinking, feeling, and acting to change opinions or reinforce beliefs.

To motivate

A function of communication that guides and inspires people to reach goals by clarifying expectations and providing feedback.

To relate

An interpersonal function that facilitates the formation and maintenance of personal relationships to fulfill needs for connection and emotional support.

Social Context

A type of context referring to the nature of the relationship between communicators, which influences how messages are framed.

Physical Context

The tangible environment where communication occurs, including factors like location, time, weather, and ambient noise.

Cultural Context

The shared beliefs, values, customs, and behavioral norms of a communicators' cultural group.

Psychological Context

The mental and emotional conditions of communicators, including mood, stress level, and personal attitudes.

Historical Context

Prior events, background knowledge, or past interactions that provide a reference point for current communication.

Relational Context

The nature and history of the relationship between communicators, which influences the interaction's tone based on power dynamics and professional boundaries.

Tone

The writer’s attitude toward a topic as demonstrated through their use of language.

Empathy

The effort to understand how another person might feel and how specific words could affect them.

Ambiguity

A cause of misinterpretation in digital communication where the lack of visual or voice cues makes it hard to tell if the sender is serious or sarcastic.

Projection

A digital communication challenge where the reader moves their own mood or assumptions onto a neutral message.

Main idea

The central point of a paragraph or group of related paragraphs that helps explain the overall message or thesis.

Expository Paragraphs

Paragraphs that include major and minor details such as facts, reasons, or definitions to clarify main ideas.

Introductory Paragraphs

Sections that provide a preview of what to expect, outlining key ideas or the writer’s perspective.

Transitional Paragraphs

Brief sections that connect previous content to upcoming ideas to help the reader follow the flow of the text.

Summarizing Paragraphs

Sections that review key points from a text and may include the writer’s conclusions or interpretations.

Topic Sentence

A sentence that expresses the main point or central idea of a paragraph.

Multimodal text

A text that communicates meaning using two or more modes, such as written words, spoken language, images, sound, or movement.

Linguistic Mode

The most frequently used mode of communication occurring in forms like books, conversations, and speeches.

Visual Mode

The use of images, symbols, color, layout, and sizes to convey meaning, such as in road signs.

Gestural Mode

Communication through movement and body language, including facial expressions and hand gestures.

Spatial Mode

A mode referring to how elements and distance are arranged in a physical space, such as classroom or theater layouts.

Aural Mode

Communication involving sound elements like music, voice tone, volume, sound effects, and silence.