Communication begins and ends with the self how far do you agree with this statement?

‘Communication begins and ends with the self’ how far do you agree with this statement?

Communication is relative; the way in which it is perceived and interpreted is affected by numerous factors such as the immediate environment, social indoctrination and the individual personality.

Codes are used in conjunction with verbal communication and kinesics to create a message which is sent with an intended meaning to the receiver through multiple lines of communication, whether or not the receiver interprets the intended message will depend on how effectively and clearly the sender has expressed his/herself both verbally and non verbally, the receivers interpretation will also be greatly influenced by his/her own personal experiences and upbringing. The receiver will interpret both body language and verbal messages in a way which is unpredictable to the sender. As it is unknown to the sender whether or not the intended message has been received, a response, be it verbal or non verbal, from the receiver is necessary to assure the sender that there is mutual understanding. If both persons are sure that the correct meaning has been drawn from the original message then this surely is where the communication ends?

Well in this circumstance it is the self, the sender, who initiates the communication, it is then the receiver who interprets the message and communicates a response. The original sender will then him/herself draw a meaning from that message. Until the lines of communication have been severed the communication will continue, as even when deliberate or intentional communication has ended between the two, there will still be non verbal communication whether or not it is intentional. I think that

I think that communication between persons must always have an original sender and receiver, the roles of sender and receiver ...

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I think that communication between persons must always have an original sender and receiver, the roles of sender and receiver however are not fixed. These roles can switch back and forth as conversation continues. I therefore think that communication begins with the original sender, if you the self are the original sender then yes communication begins with the self, however if you are the original receiver then communication cannot begin with the self. With whom the communication ends will depend I think entirely on how it ends. For example if the communication has a mutually acknowledged ending where both parties end with phatic communication such as a simultaneous ‘good bye’ or ‘have a nice day’ then I think that the communication ends with both the self and the other person as neither has anything further to interpret.

Non verbal communication that doesn’t have an obvious or deliberate ending can end with either the sender or the receiver (one or the other being the self) as neither of them has any way of knowing what the other is thinking. One person can carry on interpreting what he thinks or construes to be communication while the other is oblivious to the fact. This means that unless there is a conscious or deliberate terminating of communication by ignoring or not acknowledging potential signs or messages by the self then the communication will end with each the sender and receiver at different times. However the self is likely to suppose that she has ended the communication.

‘The self’ can apply to both the sender and the receiver; we will not always be one or the other. Looking in from the outside at communication makes it much easier to identify the sender and the receiver, when involved a communicative situation it is more difficult to determine who is who as the self is inclined to see his/herself as the sender.

Reading a text is a very different form of communication than communication between humans. The most important difference is that the self is always the receiver and the text always the sender. The most important difference is that the text (the sender) is not alive; it has no conciseness and therefore cannot receive messages or communicate any further than with the message encoded within the text such as in films and posters. This means that in this situation the roles of sender and receiver are fixed, the sender is always the text and the receiver always the self. This also means that in this situation the communication always begins with the text and ends with the self, it is one way communication.

In conclusion I think that when talking about communication between people it is always the original sender who instigates communication if the self is the sender then I agree with the title statement, however if the self is the receiver then no communication does not begin with the self, at least not always. When considering where communication ends or who ends communication you must remember that this is depends on whether the self is the sender or receiver and also on what kind of communication has occurred. I think that in most situations the self will consider his/herself to have ended communication because unless there is a specific conversation or body language to indicate otherwise the self has no way of knowing if the other person considers the communication over.

I think that the only time when communication always ends with the self is in communication between text and the self, and here also the communication always begins with the text and never the self.