Question 1: I need a story about an event that occurred during your first week of college. When you're done, rewrite the story using more precise words. Tell the two versions of the story to a friend and ask for feedback. Write about the feedback in your journal entry.
Question 2: List your connotation for each of the following words: assisted suicide, athlete, ballet dancer, censorship, CEO, criminal, date rape, domestic abuse, family values, government, feminist, illegal aliens, media, police officer, politically correct, soccer mom, and welfare. Now look up each of these words in the dictionary. How do your connotative meanings differ from the denotative meanings of the words? Can you determine the source of your connotations? In other words, where did you get the connotations you have with these words?
Question 3: Discuss an experience you've had that involved either cultural or gender differences in verbal communication. Did these differences cause problems in the relationship(s) involved in this experience? How can verbal communication be improved to avoid difficulties that gender and cultural differences may bring?