Interpersonal communication project

1. Interpersonal Communications
Project
Report by Lolita Hansen

2. Movie/ Clip Summary
• Bella has just moved to forks and meets the school hottie Edward.
Edward (vampire) refuses to kill humans and Bella’s blood smells like
how a sizzling T-bone steak would to a homeless man, making it hard
for him to control himself. He can not read her mind like he can
everyone else, which also makes her a complete mystery. He is
attracted to her but is worried about sucking her dry and exposing his
family.
• Clip Summary: In the clip, Bella and Edward have their first real
conversation together in biology class after Edward has spent the past
week ignoring her by staying out of school. This of course, annoys the
hell outta bella.

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWkxaD Az3FQ

4. Communication Vocabulary
1. Acquaintances: People we know by name and
talk with when the opportunity arises, but with
whom our interactions are limited.
You know there’s
Ex: Bella and Eric have known each other no way in hell
I’m dating you
only for a few weeks, they don’t yet right?
hang out outside of school and their
interactions are limited. She is not yet
comfortable enough with him to call
him a friend.

5. Communication Vocabulary
2. Turn Taking: alternating
between speaking and listening
in a conversation.
Ex: Bella asks Edward where he has been for the last week
while Edward listens. Edward then responds that he had been
out of town for his own personal reasons.

6. Communication Vocabulary
3. Small Talk: Message exchanges on
inconsequential topics that meet the social needs
of participants with low amounts of risk.
Ex: In order to try to start up a conversation with
Bella, Edward asks her how she is
enjoying the rain. Asking about
the weather is a common way of
starting a conversation with
someone you don’t know very
well since it doesn’t apply to anything personal.

7. Communication Vocabulary
4. Probing Question: Question by which we
Does he smell
search for more information or try to resolve the onion omelet
perceived inconsistences in a message. on my breath?
Ex: Edward asks Bella why she
chose to move to the “wettest place
in the continental US” if she hates the
cold and the rain so much. He is trying
to get more information about why
she made that decision since he can
not read her mind and doesn’t understand why she made that choice. It
doesn’t make sense to him.

8. Communication Vocabulary
5. Eye Contact: How and how
much we look at the people with
whom we are communicating.
Ex: There is a tremendous amount
of eye contact in Bella and Edward’s conversation and throughout the
entire movie. (meadow staring scene) Edward is trying very hard to
figure Bella out and he is very attracted to her; he focuses intensely
on her when they are talking with those sweet golden eyes. Mmmmm

9. Communication Vocabulary
6. Self Disclosure: Sharing biographical data, personal
ideas and feelings with others.
Ex: When Edward asks Bella why she
didn’t move with her mother and
stepfather, she says that he was a
baseball player that moved around
alot; because staying home with her
made her mom unhappy she moved in
with her father. This is personal
information about herself and her family she has revealed to Edward so he
can understand her better.

10. Communication Vocabulary
7. Topic Change: Method by which people
introduce new topics into a conversation.
Ex: When Bella asks if moving
to Forks has made her unhappy,
she gets uncomfortable. She then
abruptly changes the topic from
herself to the fact that Edward’s
eyes have changed color since
the last time she has seen him from black to gold. This is a
completely different topic from what they were discussing made
possible due to all the eye contact they maintained during their
conversations. (She noticed the difference)

11. Competent or No?
I thought the communication between Bella and Edward
was competent.
• Remained respectful
• Attentive to each other
• Showed genuine interest
• Asked honest questions and gave
honest answers
I can relate to Bella and Edward in regard to being hesitant
about talking about yourself.

12. Conclusion
Scene represents a good example of how most romantic
communication in relationships begin, with simple
conversation, strong eye contact, and demonstrating sincere
interest.