Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Pragmatic Perspective



I feel that it definitely makes sense to think of communication as patterned interaction.  For instance, I feel that certain relationships I have bring out different sides of my personality and consist of different and unique banter.  With one person I may be sarcastic and witty, whereas another person I may be serious and compassionate.  I think communication is very much like a game because as in a game where you are contemplating your next move, as we listen to others communicating with us we are contemplating what we will say next.  It takes equal shares of listening, talking and respect in order to engage in successful dialogue.  The difference between patterned interaction and a game is that there does not need to be a “winner” in order for the interaction to be successful.  For example, you can go to a church service on Sunday and listen to your minister deliver his sermon.  Although you are only hearing or receiving the information being delivered and not engaging in dialogue, it can still be effective communication if you take away certain ideas or messages delivered in the sermon and apply them to your daily life.

1 comment:

  1. I definitely agree with your post! I believe that communication is patterned interaction. In my post I talked about how one question can take a conversation just about anywhere, whether the person responding makes it short and sweet or whether they actually try to put in an effort to carry a conversation. I also feel that with certain people/relationships I can carry more of a joking, sarcastic tone. Compared to some people/ relationships I have a more serious or sympathetic manner. I feel that this is determined by the amount of responsiveness I might get from that person or how outgoing they may be. Im a huge talker and can just about carry a cnversation with just about anyone but it always feels good to carry a great conversation with someone you just met vs. that awkwardness you might get from someone that is a little more on the shy side.

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