Ch. 11, pg. 344, post #4
Chapter 11 begins with a discussion of mindful and mindless communication including a role play of a phatic conversation. One thing that I disagree with in the book is their negative spin on phatic communication. "However, [phatic communication] also shows disregard for each other because nothing that is said really matters to either person." Although it is not possible for two people to really get to know each other through phatic communication alone, it definitely has its place in the communication world. Imagine if you were at the library and some stranger walks up to you and begins to tell you all about their Aunt Millie and how she loves to visit the farmers market on Friday... you may feel differently but I would think this person is crazy and wouldn't be very interested in talking to them more. However, if this same person walked up to me and started with a "hi, how are you? Isn't it a beautiful day outside?" I would be much more interested in starting a conversation with them. So, although people shouldn't rely entirely on phatic communication, it is still an important aspect of developing an interpersonal relationship.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Phatic Communication is an interesting concept, I think this is similar to what we call "small talk" or "ice breaker". These words or phrases can be: "hi", "how are you doing", "have you heard the news", "how was work", "how was school"; these words and phrases are used to strike up a conversation and/or sometimes just to acknowledge each others presence. I disagree though "nothing that is said really matters to each person". Sometimes phatic communication can mean something depending on who is saying it to who and what the situation is.
ReplyDelete