8 Intro to Communications Studies
Learning Objectives
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Discover communications studies and several of its pragmatic applications for college and career.
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Use metacognitive reading strategies before, during and after reading fiction, non-fiction and graphics.
Chapter & Discussion
This chapter includes a presentation that can be navigated in a classroom setting or independently. You can access the presentation via the link below.
Work through the different sections of the chapter and discuss ideas and topics as they arise. If you’re working independently, take notes instead. Notes and active discussion will be helpful in navigating this week’s assignments.
Background
- Communications Studies is a social science that looks at human behavior by studying patterns of communication in:
- Personal Relationships
- Social Situations
- The Media
- World Cultures
Communication plays a role in nearly all human activities. The study of communications can help us to:
- Build stronger interpersonal relationships with others
- Become better writers and be more clear in our professional communications
- Articulate your ideas so that you can use them to
- create positive change
- Develop media literacy so that you can learn what messages to trust
Careers in Communications
There are also a number of career fields available to those who study communications, including:
Advertising
Journalism
Education
Public relations
Sales
Government
Politics
Human resources
Code
Whenever a message is created, it is encoded by the creator and decoded by the receiver. The code that’s used is usually language.
We code our messages with cues.
Verbal cues use language to make meaning (this includes writing)
Non-verbal cues use tone, gestures and other signs (like our clothing) to make meaning
The Transactional Model of communication is the idea that the sender and the receiver create meaning together.
This means that there are many factors that can affect how the receiver decodes your message. And they may not get it as you intended.
Making Meaning
We don’t communicate in a vacuum. Many other factors can affect how someone interprets our messages.
MESSAGE. This is the thing we’re trying to say. It also includes the verbal and nonverbal cues that we encode.
CONTEXT. The context of our message can include the setting, circumstances, and relationships of the receivers. It can also include a person’s worldview, culture, and lived experiences.
CODE. The code itself is usually the language we use.
CHANNEL. This is the medium used to relay the message. It could be audio, writing, sign, or even touch.
Understanding how all these factors come together can help us develop communications awareness, which can have an impact on how people respond to what we have to say.
How to Use Communications Studies
Here are some of the goals of communications studies. For each, I’ll include action items to practice in working towards that goal.
Goal #1: Strengthen Interpersonal Communication Skills. You can w