Creatures of our Culture

Breaking the "limits of our culture" takes keeping an open mind. It takes experiences, traveling, education, and variety in life, you need to be open for the unknown and the new and then you won't be limited. It can be very challenging to do because a lot of us, as humans get very stuck in “our ways”. I think the best ways to incorporate breaking through the limits of our cultures are by trying new things and breaking through what society calls “The Norm.” We all need to break out of the box of our cultures because getting out of your comfort zone is not a bad thing and can really open all of us up to new and exciting things.I do believe that Ruth is right about that we are “creatures of our culture.” And that what we do as a whole has shaped what we have become and how we are perceived to everyone else as "our culture".

Nonverbal Codes and Verbal Messages

In chapter 5, the book goes on to talk about Nonverbal Codes and Verbal Messages, and I have always found nonverbal communication very interesting and also very fascinating. The book says that “ Sometimes we use nonverbal cues to repeat what we say verbally and we also use nonverbal cues to contradict verbal messages.” It really all depends on your tone and facial structure as the book notes. You could be having a fun and joking conversation but say something that could be taken very seriously. If the person you are talking to sees your face and your body language, that way they will know that you are joking around and being sarcastic. “Joking and sarcasm are culturally recognized patterns, most people understand what their meaning really is.” I think it really depends on the situation and circumstance also it has a big influence on whom you are speaking to. Someone who is light hearted and can take a joke would be someone that you could maybe be more sarcastic with as to a person who is more sensitive probably wouldn’t think you were joking. It really all depends on your surroundings.

Perceiving/ Judging

I am not sure if perceiving and judging might not be the same thing? When I perceive someone, I am somewhat taking them all in. Whatever that may mean and can be taken as a judgment of some sort. When you first meet someone and then start to get to know them I think that without even realizing it you categorize them and in some ways are judging them. In order, to not do this you have a to make a conscious effort all the time and force your brain not to do it. I think that it just happens, and there is no stopping some people’s thoughts. In order to make it more fair we need to get to know the people before we make assumptions about them. Our brain makes it very difficult for us not to instantly place judgments on people. I wish that we could all make a more conscious effort and not judge people right away.

Men vs Women

I do think that men and women use languages differently in many ways. Woman talk, explain and describe using their words in abundance, where as men will use as little of their words as possible to “cut to the chase” and get right to what they want or need. Women love to discuss and men just want the answer short and sweet. Women need verbal stimulation where as men require very little of it in my opinion. This is what I have experienced in my my own life and have observed through time.

I have an example if you ask a man how his work day was and usually the answer is short, to the point and with not much detail. Ask a woman about the same things and she will tell you from beginning to end, plus what everyone had for lunch and what everyone was wearing in the room!

ch.10

In Chapter 10 “Preparing and Presenting Public Speeches” there were a lot of parts of this chapter that were very important. One part of the chapter that really stood out to me was the part on Speech Anxiety. I personally can relate to have anxiety when it comes to speaking in public. The book goes on to list 6 ways to calm yourself before your speech. Rule three is redirect your attention, for example by concentrating on a given audience member or an object with help you keep calm. My favorite of all the steps is concentrate on your message more than yourself. I will constantly worry about the way I look or the way I am talking during the time of public speeches. If there was a way for me to just concentrate on the topic at hand, I know that I will feel a lot more confident and would feel more at ease during my speech. Another part of the chapter that I know will be helpful for me in the future is when the author says “ If you do blank out, try and summarize what you’ve said so far, as this will generally reawaken your memory” This is a common issue when I make speeches, I get nervous and blank out but this is a good strategy to prevent this from happening in the future.

Communication Building Worlds

Communication is definitely not just the words you use and how you use them it is also in the way we handle and carry our selves that helps us communicate better. The book gave a good example of communicating through crying and if you know about what happened before the person had started crying you could better understand the person and what has made them sad and this is all through the act of communication.

In some cultures it is disrespectful to shake someone’s hand when being introduced to them and at the same time, in others it can be rude not to give someone a kiss or hug. I think these concepts can make us either feel more comfortable and at “home” or very uncomfortable and stand offish with communication. Communication has a funny way of making us and our surroundings feel more secure. I have experienced lack of communication while traveling and when you meet someone that can understand you better than the last person you most likely feel a sigh of relief.

Steve Jobs

Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to hear many different speakers, in many different places. It can be very challenging capturing the audience’s attention and keeping the audience with the speaker at all times throughout his or her speech. In 2005, my cousin graduated from Stanford University. The commencement speech was made by Steve Jobs, who is the co- founder, inventor and chief executive officer of Apple. At the time I did not know who Steve Jobs was. In his speech he speaks about how in life you should never settle, whether it is with your job that you hate or in a relationship that isn’t working. This has always and will always stick with me in my life. Something else Steve says that I think is very powerful was “you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” This speech can really be meaningful to anyone because we all want to be happy and doing working in an environment that makes us happy. I think because Steve had accomplished so much in his life, and he himself has been the one who made it happen. I think his story if very inspiring and the way he told it will forever have a lasting impression on me and my life

One of the worst speakers was a past boss of mine. She has to get in front of all her employers and talk about new important company changes. She was clearly very nervous and had no idea what she was going to say. She kept reading off her note card and showed no eye contact. This was the kind of speech that did not keep the audience directed towards the speacher at all. Everyone was talking amongst themselves. If you want to have a good speech you need to engage with your audience and act like you care about what you are talking about rather than stumbling around reading a card.

Hello Comm World!

Hello Class,

My name is Morgan and I am currently a senior at San Francisco state with a major in Comm, and this will (hopefully) be my last class of my undergraduate career. I am over the moon excited! I have been attending to SF state for 5 years now ( super senior) and have loved every moment of it. I took a winter session class online through SJSU but have never actually been to the campus. The teacher who recommended this class to me actually had Professor Perez as her grad student when she taught at San Jose State, talk about a small world. I look forward to getting to know all of you and I am very interested in what this class has to offer.