Discussion 1 : Brittany
The concept of inhaling focuses on how we as people receive information ( Stewart 2012). Inhaling has a lot to do with what we receive, and our perception of it. When inhaling information, though it may be from our perception does not mean that it is always accurate. Stewart explains in his text that while someone may be inhaling information, it is still easy to communicate ineffectively (Stewart 2012). When inhaling information and having poor perception you can make communicating with people very uneasy. You could end up making impulsive, decisions, stereotyping, or making assumptions that could hurt or easily offend someone.
Through reading the text it shows that mindful listening can be the solution to having poor perception ( Stewart 2012 ). Exhaling relates to how us a people relays information in the communication process (Stewart 2012). In the readings it states that exhaling is an important part oh having healthy communication skills. Being able to express your opinion, emotions, and thoughts, is what balances out communication.
With out exhaling communication would be one sided. To have good interpersonal communication skills you have to be able to utilize both skills and at the same time. You have to be mindful to what someone is saying to you, but also be able to express your thoughts about that situation. These two concepts further our understanding of interpersonal communication from the beginning chapters because it shows us how a person grows over time with their communication skills.
When you think about how in the earlier chapters it says our identity comes from our social interactions experiences, apart of those social interactions is inhaling informations, and learning to exhale your thoughts, and feelings on something but having mutual respect for each other when communicating. Exhaling is our self expression, which is the part of our identity that communicate who we are from our own perception and not what other people say or think. Listening plays an important role in the inhaling process because not listening to what a person is saying will corrupt your perception of the information that you are receiving, which in can lead to you not exhaling with a reasonable mind. Instead you will probably be exhaling with an emotional mind which causes impulsive, and judgemental decisions.
References
Stewart, J. (2012). Bridges Not Walls. New York: Mc-Graw-Hill.
Discussion 2: Vincent
We are reminded Per Stewart (2012) "that we're using the metaphor of inhaling and exhaling to explain the receptive and expressive parts of communication.... The first point to remember is that there's much more to inhaling than the passive reception of incoming messages. Inhaling combines the two active, interpretive processes of perceiving and listening...." (pg.163) Sometimes we take in information in a specific way, it doesn't necessary mean that our understanding of the information is correct.
In the process while someone maybe inhaling information, at a point it can be very easy for that individual to be unsuccessful, especially if the discernments are miscalculating or widespread (Stewart, 2012). In the reading, Stewart describes how "a student might come late to class and the instructor might think, "That student is lazy (p.171). This would describe an imprecise inhaling per (Stewart, 2012) "in conjunction with poor perception, can breed attribution forming (p. 171), stereotyping (p. 172), fast thinking (p. 174), making snap judgments (p. 175), making attributional errors (p. 175), and more (Steward, 2012). With erroneous assumptions, can impact the effectiveness of communicating and become offensive to the speaker and could cause the receiver to draw back and shut down.
Exhaling demonstrates and gives us the example the we should communicate information to individuals effectively (Stewart, 2012).
Exhaling is a very import part to interpersonal communication and is key to the development. Stewart (2012) you are open with other persons when you disclose yourself to them, sharing your ideas, feelings, and reactions to the present situation, and letting other people know who you are as a person. (319 words)
Reference:
Stewart, J. (2012). Bridges not walls: A book about interpersonal communication (11th Ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
200-250 word responses to both discussions. APA style and cite references from text used