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Minnesota State University, Mankato
Interpersonal and Small Group Communication
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Full-Text Articles in Education
The Art Of Making Conversation: Learning The Skills Small Talk, Kelly L. Mckay-Semmler, Shane Semmler
The Art Of Making Conversation: Learning The Skills Small Talk, Kelly L. Mckay-Semmler, Shane Semmler
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
Although “small talk” is often dismissed as trifling and superficial communication, the ability to converse comfortably with potential relational partners in initial interpersonal encounters is foundational to building closer relationships. In this assignment, students enhance their interpersonal communication competence through the application of six small talk guidelines in two peer-to-peer conversations and in a capstone conversation with the instructor one-on-one. This assignment is appropriate for a variety of communication courses, including the basic course, interpersonal communication, and courses in professional communication, as it develops students’ skills in active listening, self-disclosure, nonverbal immediacy, and anxiety/uncertainty management in interpersonal communication with strangers.
Tomkat!: Linking Theory And Practice In Communication Studies Course Through The Introduction And Application Of Social Exchange Theory, Rita L. Rahoi-Gilchrest
Tomkat!: Linking Theory And Practice In Communication Studies Course Through The Introduction And Application Of Social Exchange Theory, Rita L. Rahoi-Gilchrest
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
This article describes an activity suitable for either high-school or university-level communication courses. Combining outside online research, small group discussion, and class interaction, this exercise uses Social Exchange Theory, applied to examples of celebrity relationships generated by students and discussed in groups, to illustrate the process by which individuals decide whether or not to initiate and sustain interpersonal relationships. Although students should be reminded that the reasons relationships do or do not survive are difficult enough to understand when we are involved in them, let alone when we view them from an outside perspective, the activity proves intriguing and involving …