Communication Fundamentals: Theory, Conflict, and Persuasion

Posted on Nov 4, 2025 in Arts and Humanities

Elements of the Communication Process

  1. Source (Sender): As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you are communicating and what you want to communicate. You also need to be confident that the information you are communicating is useful and accurate.
  2. Message: The message is the information that you want to communicate.
  3. Channel: Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it is not particularly effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you will quickly cause problems if you criticize someone strongly by email.
  4. Receiver: The person who receives your message.
  5. Feedback: The receiver will answer you, with verbal or nonverbal communication. Feedback is the only thing that allows you to know that the receiver got the message.

Three Types of Communication

  1. Verbal Communication: The use of sounds and words to express yourself, especially in contrast to using gestures. It is used in everyday life to talk with the people who surround us.
  2. Nonverbal Communication: Communication through sending and receiving wordless clues (e.g., gestures, facial expressions). It is also used in our everyday life, but without spoken words.
  3. Written Communication: The fastest growing form of communication due to advances in technology. It is used in email, text messages, social media, and other digital formats.

Conflict Management Styles and Outcomes

  1. Avoidance: Lose-Lose
  2. Accommodation: Lose-Win
  3. Competition: Win-Lose
  4. Compromise: Win-Lose / Lose-Win
  5. Collaboration: Win-Win

Understanding Types of Conflict

  1. Pseudo Conflict

    Occurs due to misunderstandings. The term pseudo means fake or false.

    • Example: You tell someone something, and they interpret it differently, leading them to become offended.
    • Resolution Note: Unless we clarify the misunderstanding by asking for more information, a real conflict might ensue. If we fail to address the misinterpretation, the conflict escalates.

  2. Simple Conflict

    Stems from differences in ideas, definitions, perceptions, or goals.

    • Different Ideas: Bob and Jimbo are college roommates with only one TV. Bob wants to watch football, and Jimbo wants to watch NASCAR. They understand what each other wants; they simply have a difference in ideas.
    • Different Goals: A couple is discussing the name for their future son, but each person wants a different name.

  3. Ego Conflict

    This is when conflict gets personal.

    • Personal Attack: You pick a fight, perhaps by telling your friend that he is bad at football because you want to provoke a confrontation.
    • Progression: Ego conflict usually begins as simple or pseudo conflict. It starts as a misunderstanding that was not fixed and ends up becoming a personal conflict.

Strategies for Managing Conflict

  1. Manage Emotions (Ego Conflict): Realize that you are becoming angry and use techniques like breathing to calm down.
  2. Manage Information (Pseudo Conflict): Describe the conflict-producing events clearly and use “I” language to express your feelings and perceptions.
  3. Manage the Problem (Ego Conflict): Define the core problem and select the best solution for it.
  4. Manage Goals (Simple Conflict): Identify your goal and your partner’s goal, and identify where they overlap to find common ground.
  5. Be Empathic (Pseudo Conflict): Stop to think about the other person’s perspective and find a mutually acceptable solution.

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Appeals (Ethos, Pathos, Logos)

Aristotle developed these principles to help train lawyers and documented them in his book, Rhetoric.

  1. Ethos: An appeal to ethics, used as a means of convincing someone based on the character or credibility of the persuader.
  2. Pathos: An appeal to emotion, used as a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response.
  3. Logos: An appeal to logic, used as a way of persuading an audience by reason and factual evidence.

Common Logical Fallacies in Persuasion

Logical fallacies occur when one attempts to persuade without using sound logic and reasoning.

  • Ad Populum Fallacy (Bandwagon): Arguing that a claim must be true because everyone else is doing it. Example: Bandwagon commercial.
  • Either-Or Fallacy (False Dilemma): Offering only two solutions when other alternatives exist. Example: Coke commercial.
  • Hasty Generalization: Drawing a conclusion with little or no supporting evidence. Example: Claiming a product is “The best golf club on the market” without sufficient data.
  • Appeal to Misplaced Authority Fallacy: Relying on the endorsement of an authority figure who lacks expertise in the subject matter (typically celebrity endorsements). Example: A celebrity endorsing a product like “Canon, the official camera of the U.S. Olympic Team.”

Key Strategies for Persuasion

  1. Cognitive Dissonance

    A strategy used to create mental discomfort, then offer a solution to resolve it. Example: Scrubbing Bubbles commercials.

    • Create dissonance
    • Provide solution
    • Resolve dissonance

  2. Fear Appeals

    Using threats or negative consequences to motivate action. Example: Trident commercials or Public Service Announcements (PSAs).

  3. Appealing to Needs (Maslow’s Hierarchy)

    Targeting fundamental human needs. Example: Gatorade advertising.

    • Safety needs
    • Social needs
    • Self-esteem needs
    • Self-actualization needs