The purpose of this assignment is to help you understand how the five principles of interpersonal communication function in real life, by listening to a “real-world” (albeit fictionalized, but still realistic) example of two people communicating.
Listen to this section of the This American Life podcast that is linked from this week’s module, and note that you only need to listen to the section from about 23:00 to about 28:00 (the two versions of the fictional phone conversation).
After listening, write a 1 1/2 to 2 pg. (double-spaced) discussion about how the two versions of this conversation illustrate the Five Principles of Interpersonal Communication discussed on pgs. 18 through 20 of your textbook, if you have the soft-cover print version (16th Edition), or in the online version of the textbook, Section 1-4a “Communication Principles”. (These are also covered in the PowerPoint on slides 9 and 10.) In other words, how does this conversation illustrate ways in which interpersonal communication can be intentional or unintentional, the fact that it is impossible not to communicate, that communication is irreversible, etc. (covering all Five Principles of Interpersonal Communication)?
link to podcast
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/462/own-worst-enemy/act-two-7
Please listen to the linked section of this podcast (This American Life); the whole piece is about 14 minutes long, and you are welcome to listen to the entire thing, but the section that is relevant to your first written assignment (linked below) is from about 23:00 to 28:00 (two versions of a phone conversation between a man and a woman). Note that these are FICTIONALIZED versions of a conversation that, nevertheless, illustrate some important principles of interpersonal communication.
NOTE: When you click on this link, you will see a page that says the main title of this act (Act 2) of the podcast, “The Conversation”. If you click the large “Play” arrow just to the left of the words “The Conversation,” this section of the podcast will begin playing, and you can stop at around the 28 minute mark. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to listen on your phone through Apple Podcasts or another podcasting service, just search for the “This American Life” podcast, Episode 462, and go approximately 23 minutes in to find this section.
