There was valuable and interesting information I learned in the first half of Comm 114. Some of the important information I absorbed came from verbal communication in chapter four, nonverbal communication in chapter five, and understanding ourselves and others in chapter six.
I learned a lot about euphemisms, which are words that substitute for other words because they are more pleasant (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003). I never realized how often euphemisms were used, or how they could really change the idea about what something is, until I watched the George Carlin clip in class.
In chapter five on nonverbal communication, I learned about kinesics which is the study of bodily movements (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003). The different types of bodily movements are used often to communicate a great deal about how we feel in a given situation (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003). For example illustrators are nonverbal symbols that reinforce a verbal message (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003). I had a girlfriend in the past that loved to slam doors and point in my face to reinforce her messages.
In Chapter six I learned a great deal of important information about the stages of relationship development and the factors that contribute to conflict. The stages in coming together show the development of relationships and the type of communication that takes place between two people (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003). I have learned the stages in coming apart well due to the group project we did on the movie The Break Up. I had never realized how many stages were involved in relationships coming together and coming apart. I will definitely be able to detect what stages I’m going through or let a friend know that their relationship is stagnating or has stopped growing (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003).
Finally I found the Johari Window, which is designed to be a visual presentation of the self to be very important and useful (Dunn and Goodnight, 2003). I think it is a great model to help look at...