Comm Theory Blog

 1) Based on the principles of communication accommodation theory , I could offer several useful suggestions to a person going on a job interview. For example, I would advise an interviewee to utilize convergence during their interview process in order to appeal more attractive and similar to the interviewer. Convergence is, "a strategy of adopting your communication behavior to become more similar to another person (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 424). However, I would advice the interviewee to carefully sparingly use  convergence because it may be misused as a result of stereotyped perceptions of the interviewer themselves or the company at which they are interviewing at. Also, I would advise the interviewee to participate in divergence . Divergence is "a communication strategy of accentuating the differences between you and another person (Griffin, et al., 2019, pg. 425)." Participating in divergence during the interview process would cause the interviewee t

 1) In many ways, Deborah Tannen's theory of genderlect styles makes us better communicators . The central idea to Tanner's theory is that, "...masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 385). By being aware of genderlect , one would be knowledgable enough to recgognize the different conversation styles used by men and women. Therefore, by being aware of genderlect , one would be a better communicator because they would be able to communicate in the most efficient way possible when engaging in an interaction with individuals of the opposite gender. Generally speaking, men engage in report talk, while women engage in rapport talk . Report talk "seeks to command attention, convey information, and win arguments (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 386)." Rapport talk "seeks to establish connection with others (Griffin et a

 1) Generally speaking, I would describe myself as a heavy television watcher because I tend to spend less time on social media, and rely on television as my main source of entertainment and information. According to our textbook, there is a typology of eight motivations that describe why most people watch television (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 350). These motivations include: passing time , companionship , escape , enjoyment , social interaction , relaxation, information , and excitement (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 350). From this list of motivations, the escape typology best describes my heavy television viewing habits because I rely on television as a way to get my mind off of daily stressors. Whenever I am stressed about school work, I will utilize watching television as a way for myself to unwind and briefly forget about my responsibilities. The escape typology can be related to the safety need of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.  For example, feeling breifly escaped

1) When considering Marshall McLuhan claim, "the medium is the message," "...he wanted us to see that media -regardless of content-reshape human experience and exert far more change in our world than the sum total of the messages they contain (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 310)." In other words, the medium in which the message is communicated speaks louder than the message itself. In the case of the BMW advertisement that I am analyzing in this blog post, the medium impacts the content and meaning of its overall message. For example, because it is a print advertisement, one can only gain a limited amount of information it. This advertisement only provides its viewers with an image of the exterior of the vehicle, and a brief explanation of how there is an "exclusive drive-away offer," for those who purchase the car. This advertisement vaguely implies that the vehicle is fast because of the statement, "release the power within." Other th