1ST Quarter_Week 9_Discussion Q1-Q3

Food for thought: Respect begets respect. If you want a person to follow context when communicating with you, you must also follow the context that you're in.

 Q1.As a senior high school student, what do you think is the advantage of having good communication skills in a variety of contexts? Do you think it will help you improve your personality? Why or Why not?

Communication skills are one of the most important life skills that every person should have. As humans, we are inherently born as social animals, which is why communication plays a huge role in our life. Having these skills will help me socialize with other people, and this gives me the chance to attain life-long friends. This will give me the ability to listen to other people and to be heard by them. With these, messages will be easily conveyed, and conflicts can be avoided.

Not only that, having good communication skills will give me the ability to empathize easier with other people by reading the atmosphere, their expressions, their gestures, their intentions, and many more. With this, I can have the flexibility to adjust my actions and words depending on the situation. In turn, I will become approachable and easy to get along with.

Of course, taking other people’s emotions into account shouldn’t always be my main goal. I should not always prioritize other people’s feelings. Sadly, there are people who take advantage of compassionate and compromising people. That is why I have to be careful in choosing the people I get close with. With this, I have put a line and boundary on how much I can adjust.

Q2. Which of the types of speech context do you find easy and difficult to practice? What should you do to improve your skills?

         As an introvert, I find intrapersonal communication easier to practice. I often go into my own world and ponder about many things. The topics vary from useless thoughts to disturbing thoughts and even deep ones. In my world, I have the freedom to think of what I want to think because no one will judge me. I don’t have to consider other people’s feelings, and I can let out all my pain without bothering anyone. In this tiny bubble that I’ve created, I am safe and sound without other people’s interjections. Talking to myself has become a very comforting thing for me.

On the other hand, I used to find interpersonal communication taxing to do (may it be dyad or small group). My anxiety used to get the best of me when I talk to other people, and I always end up being alone. I used to be a very dense person, especially in reading atmospheres. I would often make inappropriate comments in inappropriate situations. I am a blunt person who doesn’t sugarcoat words, and I don’t stop to think of how other people would feel. All in all, with my awkward disposition and my ignorant nature, even the small acts of socializing with other people exhaust me.

Don’t you even get me started on public communications and mass communications? I always get tongue-tied every time I speak in front of a large group. Their stares feel like needles piercing through my body, and my shyness isn’t helping. The more people that I need to talk to, the more I should watch what I’m going to say so that I will not offend anyone. Again, with my denseness and bluntness, I always leave the stage feeling bad. Although mass communications are much more tolerable (because I can edit it, and it is not in person), my mind still goes blank every time I face the camera. 

Although these things used to bother me, I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and I started socializing with other people. With this, I now have a basic grasp of empathy, and my bluntness is much milder. Even though it is still difficult, I can now speak comfortably with other people without offending them as much as before. I can even advise my close friends by listening to their problems. Public communication and mass communication still give me anxiety, but with determination and practice, I managed to push through. I still have a long way to get to my destination. I will keep up the good work I’ve been doing so far. I will take every opportunity to socialize with other people, and I will not turn down social invitations from my friends. Even if I mess up, I’ll still keep trying. With this, I’ll have a much tighter grasp on how to properly communicate with other people depending on the context.

Q3. In your own words, differentiate LOCUTIONARY, ILLOCUTIONARY, PERLOCUTIONARY and give at least 1 example for each (not copied from the handout).

            The locutionary act refers to the act of speaking a message (can be words, phrases, or sentences) that has a literal meaning and is easily understood by both the sender and the receiver. Examples of this are greeting phrases such as: “Happy birthday!” “Good morning,” “Goodbye,” and “Merry Christmas!”. These examples show brief and concise messages that leave no room for misunderstanding between the sender and the receiver as they have the same understandings of those words. 

The illocutionary act refers to the act where the intention of the message of the sender is showcased. The message’s social function could be spoken to express an opinion, deny or request something, give advice or permission, and many more. Asking someone “How are you?” is an example of a locutionary act where the message is brief and sensible. To make this an illocutionary act, the sender should inform the receiver of their intention by asking: “I want to know how you’re doing” (where the sender intends to show their concern). In short, the illocutionary act shows the intended message of the sender and why they intended that.

Perlocutionary act refers to the reaction of the receiver and the sender (or both) to the intended message based on the context. It reveals the effect of the message (may it be verbal or non-verbal response), which can be shown through the change in feelings, thoughts, or actions. The elicited response can come from inspirations, insults, persuasions, intimidations, and many more. A good example of this would be: “Simply listening only to the things that one wants to hear does not make the person a good listener. To become a good listener, one must listen fully with an open ear and an open heart.” This message intends to persuade and encourage someone to become a better listener and an open person where the receiver would take some time to reflect on their actions. Of course, the response of the receiver may vary depending on the context of the message. If a newbie of a company told this to their supervisor, the supervisor may get offended and take it as a sign of disrespect even when the intended message is to give constructive criticism. That is if the said supervisor is not open-minded to criticism. However, if the newbie of the company told this to an open-minded supervisor, the supervisor would take this as an inspiration for self-reflection and change their ways rather than getting offended easily.