2. Six Principles of Verbal
Messages
Meanings are in people
Messages meanings are denotative and
connotative
Messages vary in abstraction
Messages vary in Politeness
Message meanings can deceive
Messages vary in assertiveness
3. Principle 1 –
Meanings are in people
Everyone has a unique worldview and style of
communicating
When we interpret a message, the message is
filtered through our
beliefs, values, morals, and the way that we
see the world.
Language is ambiguous, so words can have
multiple meanings and it is up to the message
receiver to choose a meaning (interpretation)
for the message.
4. Meanings are in People
We have a model that we use to
understand how people differ in
interpreting messages.
This model is known as the Ogden and
Richards Triangle of Meaning.
This model demonstrates how interpreting
a message works on an individual level.
5. Ogden and Richards Triangle
of Meaning
Thought (reference)
Symbol (word) Object (referent)
6. Thesymbol is the word that you are
using, such as “dog.”
Dog - Symbol
7. The object would be that we are referring
to an actual animal known as a dog.
Symbol (word) Object
8. The thought is the way you feel about the
object or the meaning you associate with
it. For example, I think of a dog as “man’s
best friend.” But my grandmother, who
was attacked by 3 pit bulls, thinks of all
dogs as dangerous.
“Man’s best Thought
friend” cuddly
puppy
Dog - Symbol Object
9. Principle 2 –
Message Meanings are
Denotative and Connotative
Denotative refers to the literal meaning of
a word or it’s dictionary meaning.
For example, if I look up “dog” in the
dictionary the definition is: “A highly
variable domestic mammal closely related
to the gray wolf.”
The denotative meaning of the word dog
means that we are literally talking about a
dog.
10. Message Meanings are
Denotative and Connotative
The Connotative meaning refers to the
individual interpretation or association with
the word.
For example, when I say the word “dog”
some people may think “man’s best friend,”
“cute,” “lovable,” spoiled,” or “dangerous,”
“annoying,” “dirty,” “drool factories.”
Some people may not think of an animal at
all, but may interpret one of the cultural uses
of the word “dog” such as an insulting name
or what you call your “home boy.” (insert
laugh here)
11. Denotative and Connotative
Meaning
On the Ogden and Richards
Triangle, denotative and connotative
meaning would fit in like this:
Thought
Connotative Meaning
Dog - Symbol Object
Denotative Meaning
12. Principle 3 –
Messages Vary in Abstraction
Words vary in description from concrete to
abstract
Abstract terms are general and refer to ideas
that can’t be physically described. Examples
of abstract terms would be “love,”
“democracy,” “animal,” “human.”
Concrete terms are very specific. They can
be perceived by the senses and described.
Examples might be “Valentine’s Day card,”
“President Barack Obama,” “chocolate
brown Labrador Retriever,” or “five month old
baby girl named Chloe.”
13. Abstraction
Words and messages vary in how abstract or
concrete their meaning is – some are more
abstract than others and some are more
concrete.
For example the term “leisure activities” is very
abstract because it is so general and could
include any number of different activities such
as “sports,” “hobbies,” “games,” or “clubs.”
The more specific you get, the more concrete
the term becomes.
14. The Ladder of Abstraction
TheLadder of Abstraction is a model that
helps demonstrate how descriptive terms
and words vary in how abstract their
meaning is. The word at the top of the
ladder is the most general or abstract
descriptive term; the term at the bottom is
the most specific. The terms in between
demonstrate how word meanings can
move from abstraction to being more
concrete.
15. The Ladder of Abstraction
Leisure Activities
Hobbies
Abstract Art
Painting
Landscape
Painting Watercolor
Landscape
Painting
Concrete
16. Principle 4 –
Message Meanings Can Vary
in Politeness
Politenessmeans helping others save face
or avoid embarrassment.
Building on that concept, are the
methods of directness and indirectness in
messages.
17. Directness and Indirectness
Direct communication can be very
helpful in contexts where staying on
task or on topic is key, however -
Direct communication is usually very
blunt and to the point – which can
often be interpreted as rude.
Comments such as
“How much did you pay for that purse?” or
“Write me a recommendation.” are
direct, but can also be rude.
18. Directness and Indirectness
Indirect communication is usually more
helpful in socially sensitive situations and is
a way to get information in a “round-a-
bout” manner without causing
embarrassment.
Examples might be:
“I like that purse, do you mind if I ask where you
bought it?”
“I’m currently applying for a new position, would
you be interested in writing a recommendation
for me?”
19. Principle 5 –
Message Meanings can
Deceive
Deception, or lying, is one of the
unfortunate drawbacks to interpersonal
communication.
Lying is when you intentionally send a
message with false information.
There are many different motives for
lying, which your textbook groups into four
main areas.
20. Types of Deception
Pro-Social – lying to achieve some good
Saying that you think your friends new haircut
looks good, when it actually doesn’t.
Excessively praising a mediocre achievement to
build confidence.
Self-Enhancement – lying to make yourself
look good
Exaggerating your accomplishments or
Only talking about the good stuff and
leaving out the bad
21. Types of Deception
Selfish – lying to protect yourself
Saying that you did something you did not
(or vice versa) to keep from disappointing
someone.
Telling a prospective employer that you
resigned from your former position when
you were fired.
Anti-Social – lying to hurt someone
Spreading false rumors
Falsely accusing someone
22. How People Deceive
Exaggeration - falsely expanding on the truth
Minimization – Falsely covering up information
Substitution – telling a lie in place of the truth
Equivocation – being ambiguous about key in
formation or shifting the focus to somewhere
else
Omission – avoiding telling the truth.
23. Principle 6 –
Messages Vary in Assertiveness
The term “assertiveness” often has a
negative connotation, but assertive
communication is actually healthy
communication that you want to strive
for.
Messages vary in their level of
assertiveness from nonassertive to
aggressive.
24. Nonassertive Messages
Nonassertive means that the
communicator doesn’t assert themselves
in their communication style.
Communicators who are nonassertive
tend to have a “you win, I lose” attitude
towards interaction with other people.
Nonassertives typically comply with what
others want, regardless of their own rights
and/or needs.
25. Aggressive Messages
Aggressive communicators would be on
the other end of the balance.
These communicators tend to have an “I
win, you lose” approach to conversation.
Agressives often abuse the rights or needs
of others to get what they want at any
cost.
26. Assertive Messages
The assertive communicator strives to stand
up for their own rights while still respecting
others.
Assertive communicators strive for an “I
win, you win” solution to interpersonal
difficulties
Assertives seek to find a solution that will
benefit everyone involved or find a
compromise that works.
See table 5.2 on pg 113 in your text for
examples of assertive messages
28. Confirmation
Confirmation takes place when you
acknowledge others and accept the way
this person views themselves.
An example of a confirmation might be
an athlete sees himself as a good football
player and then makes varsity or -
When a child brings home art work that
her mother puts on the fridge.
29. Disconfirmation
Disconfirmation takes place whenever you
ignore or devalue someone else’s
contribution or self-concept.
Using the previous examples, disconfirmation
could take place when an athlete who thinks
he is a good player stays on the bench for
most of the season, or –
When a child brings home artwork from
school and her parents ignore the child’s
effort or devalue it in their remarks.
30. Disconfirmation, cont.
Culturally,our language and behavior are
often guilty of disconfirmation of
individuals in these areas:
Racisim
Heterosexism
Ageism
Sexism
31. Racism
Racism is when you hold negative
attitudes towards a race(s) different from
your own.
Racist language devalues other
ethnicities or cultures and is often
derogatory.
Racist language can often occur when as
assumption that one group is superior
shows up in the language we use.
32. Heterosexism
Heterosexism is prejudice against people
of alternate sexuality –
homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, and
transsexuals.
Heterosexist language is usually
derogatory in nature, but can also come
from exclusive language.
Exclusive language is language that
places individuals outside the “group.”
33. Ageism
Ageism is discrimination based on
age, usually people who are older.
Ageism often occurs when we mistakenly
assume information about an individual
based on their age.
For example, not all older people are
hard of hearing, but younger people
often speak loudly around an older
person, assuming that they are deaf.
34. Sexism
Sexism is derogatory or dismissive
language directed at members of the
opposite sex.
Sexism occurs both on an individual level
and an institutional level.
Many translations of the Christian Bible are
examples of institutional sexism because
all humans are referred to as “men” or
“man-kind.”
36. Effective Messages
When communicating, there are some pitfalls
that we can avoid to improve the way we
communicate with others. These are:
Extensionalizing
Recognizing complexity
Distinguishing between facts and inferences
Discriminating productively
Avoiding polarization
Avoiding static evaluation
37. Extensionalize – Avoid
Intensional Orientation
Intensional orientation is our tendency to
label people based on their group or
ethnicity
To extensionalize, look at a person as an
individual before looking at the label or
group they belong to.
38. Recognize Complexity –
Avoid Allness
We sometimes have a tendency to make
universal statements or assume that we know
everything there is to know on a given topic –
this is known as “allness”
To avoid allness, don’t assume that you have
all the information – use the term “et cetera”
to acknowledge there may be more
information available.
Avoid using universal or blanket statements
that include words like “everyone,” “no-one,”
“all,” or “none.”
39. Distinguish Between Facts and
Inferences
Facts are observable, provable
information.
Inferences are assumptions that we make
based on the facts we observe.
Inferences are not always true and so
should not be treated as fact, but as a
possibility.
40. Avoid Indiscrimination
Often the word “discriminate” has a
negative connotation.
But failing to notice differences between
individuals is a form of stereotyping.
Healthy discrimination would be to
discriminate (notice the differences)
between individuals instead of
discriminating against (thinking you’re
better) than other individuals.
41. Avoid Polarization
We often have the tendency to see things
in black or white or as opposites.
Usually there is a lot of gray area in
communication that doesn’t fall on either
side of an extreme.
Using words that communicate more of a
middle ground helps to keep from
alienating others.
42. Avoid Static Evaluation
Static evaluation is when you retain a certain
image of an individual and don’t allow them
room for change.
For example, one of your popular high school
classmates may have been stuck-up and self-
centered in school – static evaluation would
be when you assume they are still the same
as they were then and did not change.
It’s important that we update our images of
people and allow them room for change and
growth.
