Practice

I. Opening Story: Starting the Discussion

A. Michael’s Instructions: While not obligatory for reading, the opening story in each chapter sets the mood for the rest of the reading. Stephen chooses stories that relate to several concepts in the chapter and talks about these concepts in general terms.

B. Read the opening story and identify three concepts from the chapter that characterize the communication process in the situation.

C. Then: (a) think of similar examples in your life, (b) remember the actions that the hero of the story, you, and other people around you took when they faced the situation; (c) think of the ways these actions influenced everyone involved; (d) suggest the ways which your naïve knowledge of communication offered you as remedies for whatever did not work in communication in that particular instance; (e) discuss how your scientific knowledge of communication changes your perception, and list three things that you would do now if you faced a similar situation in the future

D. An essay on the opening story can be used as an extra credit opportunity. If you would like to get more points, write a six-paragraph essay answering the questions above in good paragraphs (1 opening sentence, 2-3 main idea sentences, 1 summary and transition sentence). Make note that although this assignment is long and fairly difficult, you will be given only 10 points for it. The reason for it is that the extra credit points must be extra hard to get.

PUBLIC FIGURE STORY

Cesar Chavez never earned more than $6,000 a year. When he died on April 23, 1993, Chavez left no savings, yet he had transformed the lives of thousands. Through his interpersonal communication competence, Chavez persuaded powerful people to act on behalf of the poorest laborers in America.

During the Great Depression, Chavez’s family suffered financial ruin. Leaving their hereditary homestead in Arizona, the Chavezes traveled across the Southwest as migrant workers.

Conditions were intolerable. Regularly doused with pesticides by crop-dusting airplanes, workers had to use shorthandled hoes that forced them to bend over for hours, which inflicted spinal injuries. Although young Cesar’s home life was poor in material terms, it was interpersonally rich. Cesar’s mother, Juana, taught him to communicate toward others with kindness, regardless of their background or beliefs. In the late 1940s, Chavez read works by Gandhi, St. Francis, and St. Paul, as well as books on the labor movement. These writings bolstered his belief in the importance of interpersonal communication, in labor unions as a means for achieving social justice, and in nonviolence. Chavez rallied migrant workers to form a union. From the outset, laborers were inspired by Chavez’s word-craft. When he boldly told Euro-American politicians, “It is ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves,” workers knew they had a leader who could communicate in ways that would achieve social justice on their behalf.

In 1962, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW), one of the most powerful unions in the country. Chavez organized strikes and marches protesting work conditions. Although landowners attacked him and his fellow workers with shotguns and dogs, he steadfastly maintained his ethic of nonviolence. His patience and perseverance paid off in the form of legislation ensuring fieldworkers better working conditions and higher wages. In 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed use of the short-handled hoe.

Although Chavez’s successes were public and political, they derived from his interpersonal competence. One UFW volunteer recalled a chance encounter she had with Chavez in Washington, D.C. After delivering a speech, Chavez was ushered away by his bodyguards. When he saw workers who had been volunteering at UFW tables all day, he veered toward them, even as his guards tried to force him toward his car. Chavez shook the workers’ hands, saying, “I noticed how you stayed here all day and worked so hard. It is because of you there is a movement. I may be the one who does the speaking, but it is you who make the movement what it is!” The volunteer marveled that Chavez— who by then had attracted worldwide renown—”took the time to learn about each of us; our names, backgrounds, who we were and what we did. I will never forget his humility and kindness.”

Before and after his death, Cesar Chavez received many honors, including the Aguila Azteca—the highest civilian award in Mexico—and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. But his legacy is not just of an American dedicated to justice, nonviolence, and help for the needy. It’s proof of the power of interpersonal competence, which can enable any of us to translate the most honorable of personal intentions into interpersonal actions that change the world. Expressed in the simple elegance of Chavez’s personal motto, Si se puede—”It can be done.”