Intrapersonal Communication 22l2t

Intrapersonal Communication Nature of Intrapersonal Communication Intrapersonal communication is language use or thought internal to the communicator. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and loop. Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or more individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of communicating with oneself and problems concerning communication with non-sentient entities such as computers have made some argue that this definition is too narrow. In Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry, Jurgen Ruesch and Gregory Bateson argue that intrapersonal communication is indeed a special of interpersonal communication, as "dialogue is the foundation for all discourse."

case

Intrapersonal communication can encom: 

Day-dreaming

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Nocturnal dreaming, including and especially lucid dreaming

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Speaking aloud (talking to oneself), reading aloud, repeating what one hears; the additional activities of speaking and hearing (in the third case of hearing again) what one thinks, reads or hears may increase concentration and retention. This is considered normal, and the extent to which it occurs varies from person to person. The time when there should be concern is when talking to oneself occurs outside of socially acceptable situations.

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Internal monologue, the semi-constant internal monologue one has with oneself at a conscious or semi-conscious level.

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Writing (by hand, or with a wordprocessor, etc.) one's thoughts or observations: the additional activities, on top of thinking, of writing and reading back may again increase self-understanding ("How do I know what I mean until I see what I say?") and concentration. It aids ordering one's thoughts; in addition it produces a record that can be used later again. Copying text to aid memorizing also falls in this category.

Writing need not be limited to words in a natural or even formal language. Doodling also falls into this category. Children may be communicating intrapersonally when they doodle and adults sometimes argue that they do. 

Making gestures while thinking: the additional activity, on top of thinking, of body motions, may again increase concentration, assist in problem solving, and assist memory. Again, routinely observed in children, the equivalent of doodling without writing. Everyday images are transformed by gestures that form a new lens through which to view the images.

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Sense-making (see Karl Weick) e.g. interpreting maps, texts, signs, and symbols

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Interpreting non-verbal communication examples gestures, eye

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Communication between body parts; example. "My stomach is telling me it's time for lunch."

 Communication Stimuli There are two types of stimuli that incite you to communicate with others:internal and external.

o Internal Stimuli Internal Stimuli are nerve impulses received by the brain.These stimuli may be psychology or physiological in nature examples;Psysiological feelings of anticipation,apprehension,tension ,joy or happiness may stimulate communication,joy inj winning a lotto excitement from ing a marathon,and so on.The thirst that making your throat ache may result in your asking for a glass of water even from a stranger. o External Stimuli External Stimuli,which are received from sources outside the communicator’s body,impinge upon his/her immediate environment.External stimuli may be overt or covert.

o Overt Stimuli You get overt stimuli at your conscious level and you received them through one of your sensory organs that ransmit them through your brain.Examples are preety girl walking down the street and the sign in a strore window.The preety girl may become an overt stimulus to a young man who is approaching her so that he may feel a desire to communicate upon seeing her.The sign,in the ither hand,can be an external stimulus to a prospective buyer.

o Covert Stimuli On the other hand,you receive covert stimuli at the preconscious or subconscious level.Reading while thinking of something else is good example of this type of reception.It is not always an assurance that you can what you have read,even if the stimuli the words on the printed page are right in front of you,You cannot deny that your eyes received the stimuli,but you received them at the subconscious level.The information was strored in your central nervous system without your knowing it.And psychologists believe that this information can be transmitted to your conscious level through hypnotism.

Importance of Self-talk Positive self-talk is incredibly important because it helps to positively reinforce certain behaviors; behaviors that are necessary to self management. It has been my experience in coaching others that negative self-talk allows a person a reason to cut themselves slack, to be “off the hook” for their behavior, for their lack of self management and thus of outcomes. I have found that people with positive self-talk are much more willing to create a personal development plan for self-improvement and are better at managing and turning negative work situations into positive outcomes. I believe positive self-talk results in positive outcomes because it helps us control our behavior and thus control our environment.Here are some points which emphasize the importance of self-talk:affects our performance,influences our communication with others and it makes a deep impact on our personality.

Common Problems With Self-Talk (taken from USOC, 2002) • Focusing on the past or future. For example – “I can’t believe I missed the break!” or “If I’m going to podium I can’t let him me.” All you can control is what you do in the present.

• Focusing on mistakes or weaknesses. For example, “My start sucked.” or “I hope this doesn’t end in a sprint, I suck at sprints.” Acknowledge areas in need of improvement in practices, but beating yourself up, especially in competitions, will erode your confidence. • Focusing only on outcomes. For example, “I have to win” or “I have to beat her.” You can only control your own performance, not the performance of others. Concentrate on what you can do. 

Focusing on things out of your control. For example, “I hate racing in the rain.” or “Why did he have to show up – now I’ll never win.” This takes your mind off of what you can do to improve your performance.

• Demanding perfection from yourself. For example, “I must win.” or “I have to this guy in the next mile.” This can set you up for frustration.

Before you can change your self-talk, you have to know what it is. There are several ways to become more aware of self-talk and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. • The “Paper Clip” Technique – Take a pocketful of paper clips and put them in your left pants pocket when you get dressed in the morning. Each time you have a negative thought during the day, take one out and put it in your right pants pocket. When you get undressed at night, count the paperclips in you right pocket. Repeat this exercise for four or five days. This is a quick and simple technique that can help you discover the extent of your negative Thinking, although it doesn’t provide you will any details of the content of your thoughts. • Recall Through Imagery – Take a deep breath, close your eyes, slowly exhale and relax. Imagine an especially good competition. Imagine it as vividly as possible, that is, what it looked like, how it felt, and what you were thinking. As you relive this experience in your head, become aware of your self-talk. Take several mi and write down what you were thinking and what was going with you and around you at that time. Repeat this exercise, but now imagine one of your worst performances. For even more detail, try recalling two or three best and worst performances, and then compare your self-talk. This technique can be done rather quickly and has the advantage of focusing on particular performances, although it does presume you are competent at imagery.

• Self-Talk Log – In your training log, make a page with four columns with the headings “Positive,” “Negative,” “Distracting,” and “Situation.” As soon as possible after training or competitions, write down the date, where you were, and whether it was training or a competition. Write down what you said to yourself under the appropriate columns. Next to each thought, in the “Situation” column, write down what you were doing and what was going on around you at the time. Pay special attention to when you are performing well or performing poorly to see if your thoughts differ at these times. Journaling is probably one of the most comprehensive and accurate ways to assess self-talk, but it does take a good deal of preparation and time to complete.

Taking Charge Of Your Thinking After you have assessed your self-talk in various situations and developed an understanding of the connection among your thoughts, feelings and behavior, the next step is to take charge of your thinking and use it to maximize your performance. Research has shown that the best athletes are able to stop their negative thinking and quickly change it to more positive and productive thoughts without beating themselves up. Two of the most common and easily learned methods to help you take control of your thoughts are thought stopping and thought replacement. • Thought Stopping – This procedure involves three steps: (1) Identify the Thought. The first step in changing negative thinking is to become familiar with what you say to yourself so you can recognize it quickly. After you’ve assessed your self-talk you should be able to recognize it when it starts and even anticipate it as you get into situations that typically bring it on. When bad things happen it’s normal to have some feelings about it, so it’s OK to have a negative thought or two. In fact, discharging some of the negative feeling is important to help you move on. What you want to do is prevent yourself from spiraling down into a black hole of negative self-talk. To do this, you must first stop the negative thoughts. (2) Stop the Thought – Think of a signal that will tell you to stop. For example, picture of a stop sign, imagine yourself or your coach yelling “STOP!,” imaging hearing a buzzer or shake your head “NO.” Choose any stop signal that works best for you. Every time you notice yourself having a negative thought, immediately use your stop signal. (3) Practice. To become effective, you must practice this technique over time. As a way to begin, try imagining yourself in a situation that typically produces negative thoughts and rehearse thought stopping in your imagination. Continue doing this over time until the process becomes automatic. If you have a verbal stop signal, it’s best to say it out loud at first. This will make you more conscious of stopping the negative thinking. that old thoughts, like old habits, die hard. Don’t become discouraged if your negative thoughts take time to stop. If you get to the point where you are beating yourself up for beating yourself up, it will

only make the situation worse. The best attitude to take is to be ive of yourself and treat yourself like you would treat a teammate struggling with their self-talk. • Thought Replacement – A stop signal is necessary to stop negative thinking, but insufficient to keep it from coming back. At times telling yourself not to think something can backfire - it’s like trying not to think of a white rhinoceros. Therefore, after stopping the negative thoughts, you need to replace them with thoughts that are more productive. Think of alternative thoughts that are both more positive and realistic. For example, what might you say to a teammate? What might your coach say to you? To help with this, use the list of negative thoughts you created during the assessment phase. Next to each one, write down at least one positive and realistic alternative thought. For example, if you thought, “I suck at time-trialing.” You could replace the thought with, “I’ve improved in many areas through hard work. If I stick with it, I’ll improve this skill too.” Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones will help you stay motivated and refocus your attention to what you need to do right now that you can control. Finally, since negative thinking can produce anxiety and physical tension, it can be helpful to use a quick relaxation technique (like diaphragmatic breathing) between stopping the thought and replacing it.

Making Positive Self-Talk Even More Positive Mikes (1987) suggested six rules for self-talk for improved performance: • Keep your phrases short and specific • Use the first person and present tense • Construct positive phrases • Say your phrases with meaning and attention • Speak kindly to yourself • Repeat phrases often

Practice Make Perfect As with any mental or physical skill, practice is required. Use the following as a guide to incorporate self-talk into your sport. First try the technique out in imagery. Practice using the technique successfully in situations that typically produce negative thinking. Strive to master the technique so that is can be used without thinking or hesitation. The goal is to make it automatic. Next, try the technique out in practices. For example, if

you tend to think negatively before and during a hard climb, practice the technique in these situations in training. Do it several times in several different situations that you’ve found lead to negative thinking in the past. Next, practice the technique in simulated competitions, like during group training. Finally, incorporate the technique in a competition. You may wish to try it first in a “B-race,” that is, a competition that is less important, so that you can evaluate the effectiveness of the technique and make any changes necessary before using it in an important event. Positive Self Talk for Confidence        

I am as capable as anyone else out there I know with time and effort I can accomplish anything I am comfortable in front of people and say the right things I know who I am and I am special Anyone who meets me will how fascinating I am I can accomplish any task set out before me I find things out when no clear answer is defined I am worthwhile, successful, and happy

Positive Self Talk for a Healthy Life Style        

I eat food that has a lasting benefit for me I love to eat healthy food! Occasionally I indulge myself in tasty food Vegetables and fruits strengthen me and I love to eat them I love going for a walk and seeing the outdoors Exercise is a time for me to get stronger and reflect on life Running makes me feel good I only eat what I need to sustain myself

Positive Self Talk for Financial Freedom    

I only spend money on what is essential I constantly seek other ways to make money I am generous with my money and give back to others I am confident in my career and I am worth a lot

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I am successful in anything I try I always keep plenty of money on hand I am able to make money because I am smart and talented Money helps me do great and wonderful things

Positive Self Talk for Overcoming Fear/Doubt  

I don't worry about anything I accept the things I cannot control I always give my best effort and that is good enough

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I am smart, confident, and capable

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I seek the best in other people and accept their weaknesses I love challenges and the gain from overcoming them I can solve any problem Anything is possible with a little faith

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Positive Self Talk for Being Stress Free 

I am always cool, calm, and understanding

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I always observe before reacting Being busy means I am important I am organized and know what I need to do I know where I am going in life I accept the choices of other people I am learning and growing I love to meditate and reflect on life

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Positive Self Talk for Dealing With a Break Up      

I am stronger and more intelligent because of this I am special, unique, and very important I do not require the approval of anyone, except myself, to be happy I love myself for my own uniqueness and value I am beautiful, both inside and out I am kind, loving, and smart, and that is who I will be with

INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION MODEL

Internal Stimuli

T R E

Ideation Discrimination

A

C External Stimuli

N Life

E P

R

Regrouping

T I

Symbol

N

Decoding

Incubation

Orientation

S M

Symbol

M

Encoding

I S S I O N

Internal Self-

External Self-

The model is a visual representation of intrapersonal communication as designed by Wiseman and Barker. What follows is a discussion of the stages shown in the process. Reception is the process wherein the stimulus is received by the body. It takes place in each of the five senses. The stimuli received by the body are converted into nerve impulses before they are transmitted to the brain. In intrapersonal communication, both internal and external receptions transmit information to the central nervous system. Internal receptors such as nerve endings relate information in the form of feelings and/or sensations, which reflect the state of the individual communicator. On the other hand, the external receptors, located on or near the surface of the body, react to physical, mechanical and chemical stimuli and provide information as to relations between the communicator and his/her environment. Since at a given instance numerous externaland internal stimuli are reaching you, there must be some processes which enable you to cope with all of these. It is obvious that you do not communicate as a result of every stimuli you receive though you receive all stimuli that are present in the physical communication situation. The question is, what then determines which stimuli are allowed to reach the conscious level and stimulate thought? One factor is the relative strength of stimulus. For verbal stimuli, this could mean the actual intensity or loudness of the message. For visual stimuli, this could be the size of a visual aid or the magnitude of a gesture on movement. Discrimination determines the stimuli that will stimulate your thought and it happens below your conscious level. This process helps you discrimnate which between the two stimuli (the aching of your head or the attire of the speaker) that reached you is worth your attention. In other words, this process seperates the significant from the insignificant. Examples are at a given moment you feel your head being dishevelled by the ceiling fan, your head is aching, there are people engaged in a rally outside the buliding, you hear the hum of the air-conditioning unit, the window curtains are pretty and the speaker in front of the room is wearing a pink blouse and a checkered green skirt. These stimuli, as well as countless others, are all reaching you simultaneously and it is impossible to take time to think about each one. Of these, perhaps the strongest stimuli are your aching head, the words of the speaker and her pink blouse and checkered green skirt. The discrimination process screens out all of the insignificant or weak stimuli without your being aware of them This process occurs below your conscious level. Without this discrimination process, your mind would literally be muddled with so many thoughts that you could not devote enough attention

to anyone of them. A second process which operates almost simultaneously with discrimination, is the process of regrouping. Regrouping lists or rates the stimuli in order of importance and strength. In the situation descibed above, you are now vaguely aware that there is pain in your temples and that the speaker is wearing an incongruous attire, but her words are attracting most of your conscious attention. Once the strongest or most important stimuli reach your conscious level, the process of regrouping will put the stimuli in a meaningful order for you to act on the strongest and most important stimuli before the weakest stimulus. Note that the stimuli are notreceived in a preconceived order and follow no pattern of arrangement. Now, through the regrouping process, some kind of order is made out of the many chaotic and diverse stimuli received. After the completion of the discrimination and the regrouping processes, the symbolis transformation occurs. Symbol decoding assigns symbols to the raw stimuli-ideas, places, sounds, things and so on. According to most biologists, our thought symbols are in the form of electrochemical impulses. Ideation is the process of planning, thinhking and organizing your thoughts. It involves thinking of all ideas as tentative solutions or as leads to other ideas. This process, according to Osborn, is a “freewheeling of the mind”. The store of knowledgefrom your past experiences particularly your readings and eveything else you know will help enrich the ideas you wish to convey in a given situation. Incubation is the process of thinking and collecting information which can be associated with the present. You may have finished your research work and are now ready to submit it, but new ideas that are truly relevant to your work crop up your mind, certainly for additional information, so you have to revise your work. A touch of new ideas added to old ones for the sake of clarity and information is worth waiting for. As the saying goes, ”the longer the preparation, the better the result”. Wiseman and Barker consider this process as a period for hatching or for arousing before being put forth.If you do not go through this process, you can commit the error of speaking without weighing your ideas first. Symbol encoding is the process of putting an idea into words or gestures that convey meaning to a listener. It is the important and final step in the transmission of the message. Transmission is the process of sending messages through medium. The transmission may be through brain cells or nerve impulses. Life orientation process interacts with all other processes. Your life orientation is the totality of social, hereditary and personal factors that contributed to you

development. We all encounter problems in communication because of the differences in our life orientation. is usually thought of as the reaction of the listener to the message given by the speaker and completes the cycle of communication. In intrapersonal communication, the types of involved are external sel- and internal self-. Exrternal self- occurs when you hear yourself. This is the that can make you correct your own mistakes. Internal self happens “physically”. You know you make a mistake when you mispronounce a word or use the wrong facial expression for a particular utterance.

Understanding self concept DEFINITION OF SELF-CONCEPT Self concept is a set of relatively stable perceptions each of us holds about ourselves. It includes our conception about what is unique and what makes us both similar to and different from others. You are more than your Past Everything that happened in your life is fixed. It remains permanently etched in you. From your pas, you can identify the experiences which have conditioned and influenced your present behavior. You are more than Your Roles and Functions Roles and functions can be considered your areas of contribution, areas where you can feel you are more useful and productive. They likewise, define your present significant relationships and social interactions. You are more than Your Traits Traits are adjectives- certain qualifiers and descriptions about you. Your traits are those that distinguish you from the rest. You are a Mystery in the Process of Becoming You cannot be defined by any of the things like the past, traits, roles, and functions, because you are not a static individual, definable and limited.

***Communication and development of the self concept The Johari Window

The Johari Window illustrates how we can grow as persons through our effective communication with others. It helps us see why xcan be very important instrument for aour personal growth.

The Open Area It contains information that I know about my self and which others know. It is the area for free exchange of information between others and my self. For example, I know my name, and so do you; the knowledge that the window represents, can include not only factual information, but my feelings, motives, behaviors, wants, needs and desires... indeed, any information describing who I am.

When I first meet a new person, the size of the opening of this first quadrant is not very large, since there has been little time to exchange information. As the process of getting to know one another continues, the window shades move down or to the right, placing more information into the open window. The process of enlarging the open quadrant is called self-disclosure, a give and take process between me and the people I interact with. The Blind Area It contains information that I do not know about my self but others may know. As I begin to participate in a group, I communicate all kinds of information of which I am notr aware but which is being picked up by other people. This information maybe in the form of nonverbal cues, mannerisms, the way I say things or the styl which I relate to others. How we others react to my mannerisms, etc. may also be unkown to me. For example, we could be eating at a restaurant, and I may have unknowingly gotten some food on my face. This information is in my blind quadrant because you can see it, but I cannot. If you now tell me that I have something on my face, then the window shade moves to the right, enlarging the open quadrant's area. The Hidden Area The third is a thing that I kow about my self, but which the group is unaware of. I keep this information hidden(ideas, dreams, feelings and experiences) for fear that they might reject me the moment they know my secret. For example, I have not told you what one of my favorite ice cream flavors is. This information is in my "hidden" quadrant. As soon as I tell you that I love Chocolate flavored ice cream, I am effectively pulling the window shade down, moving the information in my hidden quadrant and enlarging the open quadrant's area. As we get to know and trust each other, I will then feel more comfortable disclosing more intimate details about myself. This process is called: "Self-disclosure."

The Area Of Potential The fourth can be called area of potential or the unkown quadrant. It contains things about myself which I am not aware of and which others are not aware of either.

The Johari window, essentially being a model for communication, can also reveal difficulties in this area. In Johari , two people attempt to communicate via the open

quadrants. On the simplest level, difficulties may arise due to a lack of clarity in the interaction, such as poor grammar or choice of words, unorganized thoughts, faulty logic etc. This induces the receiver to criticize you, the sender, by revealing something that was in your blind quadrant. Then, if the works, you correct it immediately, or perhaps on a more long term approach take a course in reading and writing. The process of enlarging the open quadrant is called self-disclosure, a give and take process between me and the people I interact with. Typically, as I share something about myself (moving information from my hidden quadrant into the open) and if the other party is interested in getting to know me, they will reciprocate, by similarly disclosing information in their hidden quadrant. Thus, an interaction between two parties can be modeled dynamically as two active Johari windows. For example, you may respond to my disclosure that I like "Chocolate" by letting me know what your favorite ice cream is, or where a new ice cream shop is being built, kinds of information in your hidden quadrant. Incidentally, it is fattening, so be careful on how much you eat! However, if you must tell your secret to someone, chose that person very carefully. Chose someone whose response will give you some insight into your problem. Unfortunately, such a person is often hard to find. So if you cannot find anyone appropriate, consider this: that keeping secrets is healthy and tasteful, because it is a way of managing your identity, and indicates you are secure and have self-control. But it takes energy, because you have to be on constant guard not to accidentally reveal something that is potentially damaging.

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and the Self ****

Ethos Aristotle once stated: “We might almost affirm that his character is the most potent of all the means to persuasion.” Ethos synonymous with “image”. The ethos of a communicator is a reflection of that person as a communicator as seen by the listener. It emphasizes the importance of “self talk”. Self awareness and awareness of significant of others in determining the other kinds of communication we shall have in life.

Characteristics of an Effective and Credible Speaker 

Competence Judgments Well trained and knowledge of the subject.

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Character Or Apparent Trustworthiness Believable.

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Composure Using fillers (uh, ok)

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Extroversion More interested in the external world rather than his own thoughts and feelings.