Controlling Interpretation

Message elements can be vivid and compelling, but if the message as a whole is unintelligible or unacceptable, it will not be effective. Receivers often interpret and evaluate messages in ways the sender did not intend. Senders can overcome this problem by making sure that the message is easy to understand and that the information it contains is valuable and relevant.

Increasing Comprehension

A sender can increase message comprehension in a number of ways. The first is to relate new information to old. Our discussion of schemata has suggested that we make sense of messages by relating them to what we already know. When we encounter new information, we search for schemata that will make sense of it. A skillful message sender helps the receiver find such schemata by using anal­ogy, comparison, and contrast – methods that help receivers interpret new expe­rience in terms of prior meaning structures.

We all have different levels of experience to draw upon, so we all process information at different levels. A fundamental principle of good communica­tion is that effective senders adapt to the learning level of their listen­ers, using familiar, concrete, and clear language and appropriate and unambiguous images. This does not mean that speakers should talk down to an audience, but it does mean that they must make a rea­sonable assessment of audience members' intellectual ability, degree of expertness, and past experience with the topic.

When complex information is presented, it is often necessary to link ideas and to construct interconnected arguments. Use of a clear-cut organizational pat­tern that guides a receiver through a message enhances comprehension. Whether we are reading an article, listening to a story, or hearing a joke, we expect the mes­sage to be delivered in a logical order. Organization is as important in a comedy routine as it is in a persuasive speech. The organizational patterns used are rela­tively informal in some kinds of communication (such as everyday conversa­tion) and relatively formal in others (such as a news broadcast), yet some degree of structure is always necessary. All communication must exhibit coherence.

Relatively informal, interactive discourse such as conversation depends less on formal structure because direct feedback is possible. Indeed, message comprehension can be increased by providing opportunities for feedback. A good com­municator watches receivers for signs of understanding. If possible, he or she encourages receivers to state their understandings ex­plicitly. A person asks a friend, “Do you understand what I mean? Have you ever felt like that?” and encour­ages the friend to respond. A person on duty in an in­formation booth offers directions and then listens to make sure they are dear as they are repeated back. A teacher quizzes students to see whether or not they understand. In each case the communicator is prepared to offer more informa­tion if the original message was unclear.

Ensuring Acceptance

A receiver may understand what is said but may still block out or dismiss a mes­sage. Effective senders do their best to ensure that receivers accept message content as worthwhile or relevant. One way to increase acceptance is to show receivers how the information presented fits with other elements in their belief systems. Most of us find it difficult to accept information that contradicts prior beliefs, attitudes, and values. Often our first response is to discount that information. If you were to hear something shockingly negative about a close and respected friend, you probably wouldn't believe it – at least not initially. If you were to take a course with a pro­fessor who contradicts everything you have been taught, you would not know whom to believe. To accept radi­cally new information, receivers often must abandon or reorganize old beliefs and values; this is usually a difficult process. Senders can make this process easi­er by showing how new information is supported by old beliefs or, when cogni­tive realignment is necessary, by helping receivers reorganize belief structures.

Acceptable messages offer receivers an incentive. It is important that receivers see value in a message. Therefore, message content should offer some reward to receivers; receivers should understand why the information conveyed is useful to them. After all, message processing takes time and effort, and receivers see no reason to expend that time and effort on irrelevant or erroneous messages.

Persuasion theorists called cognitive response theorists point out that people accept messages not on the basis of what a speaker says but on the basis of their own responses to the speaker’s message. When I listen carefully to a speaker, I hold a kind of internal conversation with myself. I agree or disagree,

supplying supporting examples or counterarguments. These cognitive responses ultimately convince me to accept or reject the speaker's message. The cognitive response principle suggests that senders who wish to increase acceptance should en­courage favorable cognitive responses. This is often achieved by asking receivers to become actively involved in mes­sage processing. Teachers, for example, may give students “hands-on” experience with experiments or exercises, be­cause what people find out for themselves is often more powerfully convincing than what they are told. Therapists may use role-playing for the same reason. Public speakers may ask audience members rhetorical questions to make them think about a topic.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16