1. G R O U P 2
P R E S E N T E D B Y : A R O N W H I T E , E L L I O T
J O N E S , C A R L A A R A N G O R E N ,
B E K A H W A C H H O L Z , & J O S E B E N I T E Z
Coordinated Management of
Meaning
(Chapter 6)

2. Hierarchy of Meaning
 Communication is vast and full of many different
categories.
 The category we’re going to focus on is the
Hierarchy of Meaning
 The Hierarchy of Meaning can be divided into
four separate contexts

3. Hierarchy of Meaning
 The Hierarchy of Meaning is a ranking order of
the relative significance of four contexts- episode,
relationship, identity, and culture- that encompass a
given story as an aid to interpretation
 Speech Context (The center of the above stated
contexts) is any verbal or nonverbal message as part
of an interaction; the basic building block of the
social universe people create; threats, promises,
compliments, etc.

4. Four Context in the Hierarchy of Meaning
 The Hierarchy of Meaning is created from 4 contexts
 Episode
 Relationship
 Culture
 Identity

5. Four Context in the Hierarchy of Meaning
 Episode
 An episode is a sequence of speech acts with a beginning and
an end that are held together by story.
 Another way to explain it is the setting that is created by
people within a conversation.
 It involves time and place
 Being in a classroom
 Going to the Military Ball
 Every setting has a different meaning to each individual.
 For someone that has no family or friends in the military, they
may not see it as important compared to someone who has a
boyfriend in the Marines.

6. Four Context in the Hierarchy of Meaning
 Relationship
 Depending on the persons within the conversation suggests
how the speech act might be interpreted.
 Simply put, depending on the relationship depends on the way
you talk.
 Employer/Employee
 Parent/Child
 Boyfriend/Girlfriend
 The way you talk to your boyfriend or girlfriend is completely
different than the way you talk to your boss or your mother.

7. Four Context in the Hierarchy of Meaning
 Identity
 Our identity is continually crafted through the process of
communication, and our self-image becomes a context for how
we manage meaning.
 If an individual thinks that they are hilarious, they will try to work
that into the conversation
 When re-telling a story an individuals ‘self’ might be altered to
make them look better, or how they want to present themselves to
the person they are communicating with.

8. Four Context in the Hierarchy of Meaning
 Culture
 Due to differences in meanings, norms, and values, people
from different cultures won’t interpret messages exactly the
same way.
 Muslims tend to speak more closely to each other when speaking
as a sign of trust, while in America it is an invasion of personal
space
 Or if you ask for a bathroom in England they won’t understand
because they call it the loo, or the water closet. Even though they
speak the same language as Americans, they only use the term
bathroom if it has a tub in it.

9. Examples for Situational Ranking
 You are sitting in a classroom while your favorite
professor is lecturing.
 In that situation:
 The episode (the classroom and material you’re being taught)
is the most important feature.
 Next in ranking since it is your favorite professor you might
hold relationship above the others compared to a professor
you don’t care for.
 Perhaps you really enjoy the education process and learning
new things so you would hold that culture of learning above
your identity where you are one student in a classroom of 30.

10. Examples for Situational Ranking
 A girl and a boy that are friends went to Fiesta Texas.
She has never been to an amusement park, is afraid
of heights and only went because she likes the boy.
 For her, the number one in her Hierarchy of meaning is
Relationship. She likes this boy and is trying to figure out if
he likes her as well.
 Second might be her self Identity as she could be assessing
herself wondering what he might like or dislike about her.
 Third and fourth might be Culture and Episode considering
how she has never experienced an amusement park, the idea of
waiting in line might bore her. In the same sense she doesn’t
like heights so the actual place isn’t as the relationship or her
identity.

11. As We Learned
 The Hierarchy of Meaning is a ranking order of
the relative significance of four contexts- episode,
relationship, identity, and culture- that encompass a
given story as an aid to interpretation.
 Our Speech Context is the building block of our
communication, and how we interact during
conversational situations.
 Within our Hierarchy of Meaning we have four
contexts:
 Episode, Relationship, Identity, and Culture

12. As We Learned
 We apply Episode, Relationship, Identity, and
Culture to the situation and who is involved.
 Episode- being the setting of the situation.
 Relationship- being the nature of the relationship you have
with the other person depends on what you say or how you say
it.
 Identity- Our perceived self reflects how we act within
conversation.
 Culture- can completely alter the meanings within a
conversation.