Essentials of Speech Communication

Sending and Receiving: Chapter 2

For use by Academy High School Students ONLY

Answer briefly- … bullets, charts, etc. are perfect. Do NOTrephrase the questions in order to answer them. E.g. #5 Correct Answer: listener reaction, like stomping out. NOT The term feedback refers to the way a receiver will give the message sender his/her reaction, such as laughing, frowning, crying, slamming the door and stomping out of the room….

Have fun. As often as possible switch the partners you work with. Move around the room. You may print out the questions with space to answer, and then move around with the paper, or answer on a laptop. Just be sure to give credit to whoever you worked with! (e.g. (Joe himself, or, Joe as Mr. Joe the millionaire game show host)

  1. The person with the idea to transmit is called the ______.
  1. What are the basic parts of a communicated message?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  1. The person who is going to get the message is called the: ______.
  1. What are the five channels of communication?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
  6. ______
  1. What is feedback?
  2. What does context refer to in the context of communication?
  3. What does the term noise refer to in the context of communication?
  4. Give an example of NOISE you might experience while talking to a friend in his/her house that does NOT INVOLVE LITERATL SOUNDS!
  5. The word “house” is a symbol for ______.
  6. Three peaks emerge from the mist. The trees surround a river and waterfall. It’s pretty. Based on what I have described, you should be able to replicate the painting on my wall, right? Try.
  7. Will your drawing match my painting? Why or why not?
  8. What is encoding?
  9. What is decoding?
  10. Complete the activity on page 20 with two-three other people. Be your PERSONAS for this activity!! Record with cell phone! (10 minutes)
  11. Based on the paragraph about “Denotation and Connotation,” when someone learns a language by immersion, what are they relying on?
  12. Why might learning a language from immersion only cause some really funny problems (or not so funny!)?
  13. Swap anecdotes with those sitting around you, and list some of the funniest- everyone in this room has been exposed to foreign languages! (Spanish, if no other!)
  14. You walk into a classroom. Your teacher looks at you, and immediately says, “I’m sorry about the quiz you guys just had. Take a moment to shake it off” How does your teacher know if she/he didn’t see you taking the quiz, talk to the teacher who gave it or to any other students? List the clues this teacher is using.
  15. Choose a partner. Using only body language (facial expressions, shrugs, etc.) communicate to your partner a mood (e.g. frustration). Each should do this activity for 5 different moods. How often were you correct?
  16. Redo this activity, only BE YOUR PERSONA! What differences did you notice in your abilities to convey emotions when you were already acting?
  17. What are the five categories of nonverbal communication? Define each briefly.
  18. What are the five categories of Kinesics? Briefly define each, or cite an example.
  19. With your partner, and a third person, do the following. Stand a comfortable distance from each other. Now, look each other in the eyes. The third person should count off seconds (one a thousand two a thousand etc.) until one of you breaks contact. Try this a few times, and switch partners. What is the average length of time before we simply must break eye contact?
  20. REDO this activity with other people in the room, who are now IN THEIR PERSONAS! Was there any difference between genders, social groups, ethnic groups, age groups? Economic status? (based on persona’s socio-economic standing)
  21. Again with your partners (as yourselves first) walk around the room for a minute. Stop a few times to putter with something. Then, approach each other. Stop when you feel comfortable. A third person should watch, and measure the distance between you. Note if you are male/ male, male/female, female/ female. Note if you are good friends, or simply classmates. Pay close attention and see if one or the other continued moving after the first person stopped. Did that person close the distance or step further away? Compare your findings to those noted on page 27.
  22. Redo this activity, but as your persona! See if there is any difference when you are suddenly an adult with a bank account and a Lamborghini!?
  23. What factors have caused you to feel uncomfortable at a specific distance from someone else? Where and how did you actually develop this sense of your comfort zone? (proxemics)
  24. With your partners, think of ways in which proxemics could be used to your benefit as a speaker.
  25. Survey the class—
  26. “How do you greet your relatives?”
  27. “How do your relatives greet you?”
  28. Do you know anyone who is always reaching out to touch you while he/she speaks to you? How does this make you feel? Do you know where this person is from in the world?
  29. On page 29, we learn about an unexpected form of communication—what we wear. Look around you. Based on what each person is wearing today, make a judgment of his/her mood. Then, ask if you are accurate. What was the rate of your accuracy?
  30. What constitutes perception?
  31. Of the 5 influences on perception listed on page 31, which one do you do most frequently? Give an example.
  32. Of the mistakes in perception discussed on page 32-33, which do you think is most common? Give an example.
  33. Define: pitch, volume, rate, and resonators.
  34. What are three common problems involving the mechanics of speaking? (34)
  35. Read the “In Careers” on page 35. Why do you think that being bilingual, or learning a second language can help us be better decoders?
  36. Do some voice games with your partner. Try to change the resonance of your voices. Try to muffle your voice. Make your voice twangy! Move your tongue, lips, and jaw, and see how that changes the sound of your voice. Reba claims that her unique sound comes from how she holds her jaw- watch her sing, and you can see her jaw moving forward and back as she creates her haunting sound.

STOP TO WATCH SOME REBA LIVE! 