Effective Communication
Effective communication is characterized by the ability of a person to effectively articulate his or her ideas (Honeycutt 88). The most important part of communication is how you view yourself as well as other people (Liu 114). There is both interpersonal and intrapersonal communication as will be seen in the discussion in this paper.
The Conversation
The analysis done in this paper was an interaction between a man and a woman. The woman was standing beside me outside a club. She was smoking cigarette. A man walked out of the club and stood next to the woman. He looked at the woman and mocked her claiming that cigarette smoking is bad for her health. The woman was informed that it is a primary cause of breast cancer. She responded by telling the man that he can also get prostate cancer through passive smoking. She quickly diverted the dialogue and asked the man why he had come out of the club. The man claimed that he was out to get fresh air. The woman termed this as an ironical statement. Her argument was that the man was out to get fresh air yet he stood next to a smoker. The statement made the man leave and go back to the club.
The Messages
There are several messages communicated in this conversation. For instance, cigarette smoking causes both breast and prostate cancer. Both active and passive smoking subject someone to the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. The meaning of this information is that it is not safe to either actively or passively smoke.
Individual Understanding
Both the man and the woman had a clear understanding of the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. Although it is not clear whether the woman knew that cigarette smoking could cause breast cancer, she was aware that it could cause prostate cancer. Perhaps, she used a counter-argument to keep off the man from her since he was a stranger to her. There was no coordination during this interaction. Their point of reasoning was independent of each other. The meaning associated with the message communicated was out of context. The man was aimed at getting fresh air yet he introduced a topic about cancer.
Evidence of Minding
There was clear evidence of minding in this interaction. For instance, the man was aware that by introducing a health-related topic, the woman must respond. On the other hand, the woman decided to use a counter-argument to keep off the man. She must have thought carefully about the best way to get rid of the man from her presence. Her response was in line with the argument by Griffin that an inner dialogue is used to anticipate the reactions before responding (Griffin 62). In this regard, it is evident that there was both interpersonal and intrapersonal communication in this conversation.
Works Cited
Griffin, M. "Art as Communication." The International Encyclopedia of Communication, 2008, doi:10.1002/9781405186407.wbieca055.
Honeycutt, J. M. "Imagined Interaction Theory: Mental Representations of Interpersonal Communication." Engaging Theories in Interpersonal Communication: Multiple Perspectives, pp. 77-88, doi:10.4135/9781483329529.n6.
Liu, M. "6. Analyzing social interaction data." Interpersonal Communication, doi:10.1515/9783110276794.127.
