1. Moving along buber continuum

Michael’s Instructions: Bear in mind the content of Sound Bite 1-8. Impersonal communication is not always bad. Choose the relationship that SHOULD be personal but is impersonal due to the fact that you perceive your friend as a role. Work from there.

This exercise helps you shift your communication from I-It to I-Thou.

➊ Think of someone whom you perceive as I-It.

➋ Identify the characteristics that lead you to see this person as fundamentally different from or inferior to you.

➌ Critically analyze these presumed differences. Are they really a cause for concern?

➍ Identify the fundamental similarities that you share with this person.

➎ Develop a plan for communicating with the person in ways that respect differences while also appreciating similarities.

2. Conflicting perspectives on communication

Michael’s Instructions: Bear in mind the content of Sound Bite 1-7. Think of the way both of you consider your relationship and discuss the perception differences.

This exercise is designed to help you convey relationship information.

➊ Recall an encounter in which the relationship information you conveyed clashed with the other person’s view of your bond (you communicated too much or too little intimacy or a different status from that which the other person perceived you as having).

➋ Identify your own feelings about the relationship. Why do you view the relationship in this way?

➌ Consider the other person’s perspective.

➍ Determine how you can communicate in ways that strike a better balance between his or her view of the relationship and yours.

➎ Communicate in these ways in your future encounters.

3. Identifying causes behind online problems

Michael’s Instructions: Try at least two or three instances of communication. Carefully identify the factors that get involved in the process.

This exercise helps you use communication research methods to analyze online communication challenges.

➊ Identify a problem you commonly face when communicating with others online—a situation or person you find perplexing or difficult to deal with.

➋ Identify all the factors that seem to contribute to the problem.

➌ Carefully observe online encounters in which the problem occurs, “testing” whether the factors you’ve identified are really the causes.

➍ Identify ways you can change or control the factors that cause the problem.

➎ Test the effectiveness of these solutions by trying them in your future online encounters.

VII. Extra Credit: Quiz

Take one of these quizzes and write a one-page reflection on your results referring to at least THREE concepts in the chapter (10 points).

Quiz 1. Ethics of Interpersonal Communication

Place a check mark next to each of the qualifications you think is an important part of being an ethical interpersonal communicator.

______ Striving to communicate in truthful, accurate, and thoughtful ways

______ Striving to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages

______ Accepting responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences of our own communication

______ Sharing information, opinions, and feelings when faced with important relationship choices; but also respecting privacy and confidentiality

______ Condemning communication that degrades people through distortion, intimidation, or expressions of intolerance