4. Communicating and Convincing

What are the four pages (aspects) of a message?

Name six non-verbal forms of expression.

Explain the SEEC arugment building model

Which of the following statements on communication is most relevant?

• According to Watzlawick, every message has four sides.

• In human communication, it is obvious at all times who is the sender and the recipient of a message because the sender is speaking while the receiver is listening.

• The sender-receiver model captures the essential aspects and characteristics of human communication.

• Human communication takes place at both the factual level and the relationship level.

What should you pay attention to in order to communicate in a comprehensible manner?

• For this purpose, attention must be paid primarily to verbal expression; para- and non-verbal communication do not play a significant role in being comprehensible.

• The mind needs a clear, objective presentation of any content in order to work optimally. Stories are only helpful if emotional messages are conveyed in a targeted manner.

• It is advisable to formulate important content as briefly and objectively as possible and to dispense with visual illustration, as these only distract from the essential.

• Feelings are important for comprehensible communication also because they appear involuntarily in facial expressions and can confuse the other person, e.g., through incongruence between verbal and non-verbal communication.

What significance does the internal attitude have for successful communication?

• None, because for communication it is irrelevant what one thinks about another person; in the end, only what one says and how one expresses it is important.

• An internal attitude is very important because you can only achieve your own goals with a sufficient amount of skepticism and distance towards others.

• An open, empathic attitude helps to shape favorably communication situations with another person with regard to the respective goals.

• The internal attitude plays an important role but can hardly be influenced because it depends on external circumstances, previous experiences and the resulting tendencies of judgement.

What comprises active listening?

• Ensure understanding: Ask if something has been understood or not.

• AAO generosity: be alert, argue, and stay open.

• AAO generosity: i.e., above all, to listen attentively to the thoughts and experiences that are stimulated by what you are hearing.

• Summarize: supplement what you have heard with your own words and similar experiences.

What makes an argument convincing?

SEEC: Statement, Example, Explanation, Constraint

SEEC: Statement, Example, Explanation, Conclusion

SEEC: Statement, Explanation, Example, Conclusion

SEEC: Statement, Explanation, Example, Constraint