Communication Theories and Their Usefulness

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Description of the communication event
Communication theories
Usefulness of the theories
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Nowadays, the role of interpersonal communication is huge indeed. People have to be aware of the main components of a successful communication and make use their knowledge on practice. De Janasz, Dowd, and Schneider (2009, p. 131) define communication as the possibility to convey and exchange personal ideas, some information, or knowledge by means of a properly chosen speech or signs.

It is an important process in human life, and it is obligatory to consider personal skills in listening or speaking to succeed in communication. In this paper, the communication between a young girl and a salesperson in the boutique will be analyzed using three different communication theories which are social exchange, politeness, and standpoint; each theory performs its own role and defines the way of how the communication should be developed.

Description of the communication event

The communication under analysis takes place in the boutique where visitors are free to observe different clothes, try them on, and buy them in case customers are satisfied with the quality, style, and other issues. The main purpose of salespeople is to demonstrate their production and persuade customers to buy something. In this particular case, the communication begins as soon as the potential customer (a young girl) enters the boutique.

The young girl demonstrates her listening skills properly in order to meet her main purpose and learn more about the dresses she is interested in. It is the case of passive listening that is described by Bentley (1993, p. 17) as the process during which the listener does not have to respond but does focus on hearing the words.

The young girl, Ms. Smith (2011), admits that she wants to find a particular dress in this boutique as her friend recommended this place yesterday. Unfortunately, the chosen dress has been already sold, this is why the salesperson wants to offer another production for the customer, using the most confident attributes. The results of the conversation are rather successful: the salesperson offers quality product and sales it, and the customer is satisfied with the new purchase.

Communication theories

To understand the dynamics of the observed event and define the main insights, it is possible to use three communication theories which are social exchange theory, politeness theory, and standpoint theory. Each theory is a unique possibility to comprehend the motives and purposes of the conversation. Each participant has his/her own purposes, and the skills used in the conversation help to achieve the best results.

Social exchange theory is based on the idea that the relations which developed during the communication should be based on the satisfaction of its participants’ self-interests. According to such theory, self-awareness is a crucial factor. De Janasz, Dowd, and Schneider (2009, p. 53) point out that self-awareness is all about the possibility to know personal motivation and interests in order to develop the required interaction. In the communication under analysis, the both participants demonstrate the level of their interests in a proper way.

Standpoint theory explains how the social hierarchy may determine the process of communication. Different people are free to view social situations from a variety of perspectives. In this case, the salesperson and the customer of the boutique have different standpoints and occupy different social stages as the salesperson aims at providing certain services, and the customer has to use or refuse them.

Finally, politeness theory aims at explaining why and how people want to promote themselves or their abilities. By means of this theory, the participants of the conversation should introduce their identities and remain to be polite with each other.

In the event at the boutique, understanding of this theory makes its participants rational and more goal-oriented taking into consideration the required respect. Tong Yu (2010) offers a wonderful idea to promote a successful development of any interpersonal communication: people have to be broad-minded in order to expect some outcomes and make conclusions to improve the situation.

Usefulness of the theories

The usefulness of social exchange theory lies into the fact that both participants of the conversation should have a purpose to be satisfied at the end of the process. The satisfaction should not always be a bad or good thing only. It is a desire that promotes a person to develop a powerful and smart conversation setting reasonable goals.

The usefulness of politeness theory is all about the necessity to maintain a kind of sense of the necessary image. People should understand their roles in society and talk to each other on the necessary level. Finally, standpoint theory is useful in the event analysis due to the possibility to evaluate the social positions of the conversation’s participants.

Conclusion

In fact, it is wrong to identify which theory is more or less useful to comprehend the essence of the chosen conversation. People are free to use different techniques, methods, and ideas to succeed in communication; this is why standpoint, social exchange, and politeness theories described in the paper will become a solid background for the analysis of the event that took place in the boutique.

Reference List

Bentley, T 1993, ‘The special skills of listening’, Management Development Review, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 16-18.

De Janasz, S, Dowd, K, & Schneider, B 2009, ‘Conveying verbal messages’ in Interpersonal skills in organization. McGraw-Hill Companies, New York.

De Janasz, S, Dowd, K, & Schneider, B 2009, ‘Journey into self-awareness’ in Interpersonal skills in organization. McGraw-Hill Companies, New York.

Smith, Carol. A student. (Personal communication, 2011).

Yu, T 2010, ‘Being a mindful intercultural communicator – an interview with Prof. Hu Wenzhong’, China Media Research. Web.

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