C. Disclosing Yourself More Effectively

(A) Know yourself: say what you want to share, and feel certain about; when disclosing, remember that you affect lives and relationships of others.

(B) Know your audience: say what you think can be well-perceived;

(C) Don’t force others to self-disclose;

(D) Don’t presume gender preferences;

(E) Be sensitive to cultural differences;

(F) Go slowly.

VII. Goffman’s Dramaturgy Metaphor (Michael’s Sound Bite 2-5):

View the process of presenting yourself as theater: (a) teams of actors cooperate on putting together a show on stage; (b) there are three stages: front, back, and outside: on front stage you perform for the audience; on the back stage you rehearse the show; outside you are disengaged from your performance; (c) each team establishes borders for admission to the show with certain rites of passage; (d) each person plays a role (informer, shill, spotter, mediator, non-person, service specialist); (e) backstage you go out of character (refer to those absent derogatorily, discuss technical aspects; argue about team roles; determine actions); (e) teams work to create impressions (maintain loyalty, discipline, exercise circumspection – prepare for problems).

Carefully plan and think through all these aspects of your performance.

VIII. Online Test of Your Johari Window (Michael’s Sound Bite 2-6):

1. The online version of the Johari window makes you work with other people from a finite list of descriptions. Ask them to select five of fifty five characteristics at http://kevan.org/johari and then you will see how they see you and which aspects remain hidden or unknown.
   
   
2. My student Tatyana Natarova hypothesized that selection of the criteria is based on several factors: (a) where you and that person are on the Buber continuum; (b) what contexts you communicate in; (c) what impression they have of you; (d) the number of situations in which your partner could judge your character; (e) what information they have about you from others; (f) how well you meet the other person’s needs; (g) how well I can handle tensions with this person.
   
   
3. These are the aspects you need to consider when presenting yourself to other people.

Practice

I. Opening Story: Starting the Discussion

A. Michael’s Instructions: While not obligatory for reading, the opening story in each chapter sets the mood for the rest of the reading. Stephen chooses stories that relate to several concepts in the chapter and talks about these concepts in general terms.

B. Read the opening story and identify three concepts from the chapter that characterize the communication process in the situation.

C. Then: (a) think of similar examples in your life, (b) remember the actions that the hero of the story, you, and other people around you took when they faced the situation; (c) think of the ways these actions influenced everyone involved; (d) suggest the ways which your naïve knowledge of communication offered you as remedies for whatever did not work in communication in that particular instance; (e) discuss how your scientific knowledge of communication changes your perception, and list three things that you would do now if you faced a similar situation in the future

D. An essay on the opening story can be used as an extra credit opportunity. If you would like to get more points, write a six-paragraph essay answering the questions above in good paragraphs (1 opening sentence, 2-3 main idea sentences, 1 summary and transition sentence). Make note that although this assignment is long and fairly difficult, you will be given only 10 points for it. The reason for it is that the extra credit points must be extra hard to get.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30