Chapter 1: The Importance of Interpersonal Communication in Pursuing Personal Goals

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Chapter 1 The Importance of Interpersonal
Communication in Pursuing Personal Goals
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A Goals Approach

• We use interpersonal communication to pursue our
  personal goals.
• Interpersonal communication is a critical part of
  achieving our goals.
• Goals indicate what we generally seek to
  accomplish in our daily lives.

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• Defining Interpersonal CommunicationInterpersona
  l Communication the exchange of symbols used, at
  least in part, to achieve interpersonal goals.
  (This is based on six assumptions.)
• Point Goals are the driving force underlying
  interpersonal communication.

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Assumptions of Interpersonal Communication

• Assumption 1 Interpersonal Communication
  requires an exchange between people.
• Assumption 2 Interpersonal Communication occurs
  between people who are themselves developing
  (changing.)
• Assumption 3 Interpersonal Communication
  involves the use of symbols. Symbols include
  verbal and nonverbal representations of ideas,
  emotions, or events. Meaning are in people.

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Assumptions Continued

• Assumption 4 Interpersonal Communication is
  strategic.
• Assumption 5 Communicators must be competent in
  order to achieve their goals. Competence means
  being both appropriate and effective.
• Assumptions 6 People should consider how their
  communication affects others. Ethics are a part
  of interpersonal communication.
• Ethics the use of principles to guide
  action.

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Defining Goal/s

• Goal a state you want to achieve. Goals have
  both cognitive and emotional elements they
  combine thoughts and feelings.
• People who share interpersonal goals are
  interdependent.

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The Nature of Goals

• Goals vary in their degree of abstractness
  general to specific.
• Goals differ in clarity.
• Goals vary in their degree of challenge.
• Self-efficacy the achievement (attainment) of
  a goal.
• People often engage in multiple goals.
• Primary goals the most important to the
  communicator.
• Secondary goals less important to the
  communicator.

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The Nature of Goals Continued

• 5. Goals vary in terms of immediacy. Goals that
  occur in the immediate future are called proximal
  goals. Goals that are realized in the distant
  future are called distal goals. We are more
  likely to focus on proximal goals than distal
  goals.6. Peoples goals are affected by the
  communication event itself. Goals can be changed
  or modified during interaction.7. Goals prompt
  plans for action. Plans differ in complexity and
  completeness. Plan the production of one or
  more mental models detailing how you might
  achieve your goal through interaction.

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Types of Interpersonal Goals

• Self-presentation goal (identity management) we
  perform facework. i.e. competent friendly
  intelligent funny, etc.
• Relational Goal we maintain or neglect our
  relationships. Relationships are the products
  our interpersonal communication. How we
  communicate depends in turn on the nature and
  quality of our relationships.
• 3 Types of Relational Goals
• Escalating growing more intimate and more
  interdependent
• Maintaining activities and communication
  behaviors used to sustain a healthy
  relationship
• De-escalating drifting apart

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Types of Interpersonal Goals Continued

• Instrumental goals we try to get others to do
  us a favor or offer some kind of resource
  desires for self-advancement. i.e. getting a
  ride to school, obtaining a day off from work,
  persuading someone to help you print something
  from the computer.
• Communicators sometimes pursue one type of goal
  at the expense of other goals.
• People communicate to achieve multiple goals.