Communication is not innocent:
By saying that communication is not innocent it refers to communication not just being a transferral process of info ‘ but it also includes hints, history, and feeling. (Reyneke, n.d.)
By referring to the link, for instance, when people are given one specific book to read they will read and view the same thing. But when you ask them what they perceive and what it means to them you will get a wide variety of opinions. These opinions are influenced by age, gender, race, etc. This shows that communication has many reasons to be questioned. (Greeff & Milton, 2015)
In my own personal experience I was at a history class in my high school where we discussed Apartheid and Nazi Germany. Our class consisted out of different races and therefore they had different cultures. When we spoke and watched a video of Germany soldiers that has killed many of the Jews under command of Hitler the whole class were in shock and couldn’t really give their own opinion, for it wasn’t part of our culture or history. But when we spoke about Apartheid it was a different story. The class had different opinions on how Apartheid should’ve been handled and some mentioned that it never should’ve happened in the first place. There was more anger than shock, and through this experience I could see that a certain message is interpreted differently depending on your own race, culture, gender etc.
Communication is not devoid of context:
This means that the context of a message will always have an effect on the meaning that the message has. It can also be about the sender that wants to achieve a certain outcome when communicating. (Reyneke, n.d.)
Communicative events, referring to the link, always evoke reasons for communicating. Communication can make people think about the meaning of their words and actions. It can force people to see other people’s problem as their own. Communication can also interfere with our sense of position, belonging, and citizenship. Depending on where you live or your culture, you will understand certain meanings to messages that other people from other nations or cultures won’t understand. (Greeff & Milton, 2015)
In my own experience by doing design I saw many shock advertising. These advertisements are purposely made to make people think about the problem that has been advertised and to make them feel like if they themselves don’t take action it would be their fault if it all goes to ruin. Examples of these are pollution – , animal extinction – , and child abuse advertisements. There are many more adverts for different causes and it is usually up to designers to give out the messages loud and clear. These messages can manipulate people into thinking that they have to make these problems, ‘their’ problem and not our ‘own’ problem.
Communication is culture:
Communication is culture refers to the fact that your own culture will affect how you interpret information and how you will react to it. (Reyneke, n.d.)
Referring to the link, to make sure your audience understand and have an impact on your message you have to get an understanding of their culture.
The study of communication is not really the ability to speak or read, but to make an impact on others through what we say and to change situations. Words and images can be combined to give different outcomes and these can have an effect emotionally or physically, and can also hurt you. (Greeff & Milton, 2015)
Through my own experience I can definitely say that culture has a huge impact on communication and how we communicate with others. When I was in grade 12, our church gave us a project where we had to make something that will explain our religion. I thought about the fact that other religions won’t understand Christianity if I told them about it, so I decided to use colour and visual representations that was universal so that anyone could understand my religion. I had to make myself open to other cultures so that they could fully understand my message and therefore have an impact.
Communication is a site of struggle:
People contemplate over their meanings of a message to see which meaning is the correct one. This makes communication a site of struggle. It depends on the people you are with and their opinions versus yours, and eventually get the real meaning of an message. (Reyneke, n.d.)
In an attempt to share a message the sender wants the recipient to receive the same meaning of the message he/she has shared. The circulation of these messages forms relations of power ‘ messages or meanings are selected for the function of ideology and processes of hegemony. When thinking of communication and meaning we could easily see that communication is not the issue ‘ power is. (Greeff & Milton, 2015)
In my own experience my best friend, was told by a boy that he loves her. She really started to like him just for the fact that he told her that he has feelings, but he never seemed to really show any affection towards her. Then one day she asked him about the fact that he said, ‘I Love You!’, and he rejected that message by telling her that he meant it in a friendly way. They had many arguments about this and both of them were really sure about their meanings toward the message he gave. At the end my best friend was really heart broken and it was just a good reminder of how easily a message can be interpreted in the wrong way. Therefore, people should be more specific about their meanings toward their message.
Communication is power:
Someone with more power than others, tend to always make their meaning the correct one for the message given. They always seem to get their meaning through when others have different meanings. (Reyneke, n.d.)
The way we see and interpret the world around us has an effect on how we communicate and what we communicate as well as don’t communicate. A decision on how we interpret the world in an entirely different way can have cultural and economic consequences. To give meaning is important in communication. How messages are perceived, depend on the understanding between both sender and recipient. All of them bring their own experiences to the message. Meanings and understandings of the message depends on the one who has more power over the other. Decision of what meanings can circulate has constitutive power, therefore communication is power. (Greeff & Milton, 2015)
Through my own experience, those who have power could never be silenced. When the teacher or your parents give a message and you disagree with it then usually the older and more experienced person is right ‘ and your opinion doesn’t count. Your opinion can then usually be understood by other people, but they would either trust the opinion of the one who has more power.