CMST 1565 Interpersonal Communication Submit PDF to D2L Assignment Folder

CMST 1565 Interpersonal Communication Submit PDF to D2L Assignment Folder
Focus Paper
150 points
You will choose from one of three provided topics to write a 3-4 page paper (APA style with complete
bibliography and in-text citations) using terminology from the text and class discussion.
Your essay should include three major sections: Title Page, Main Body, and References Page.
Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5″ x 11″) with 1″ margins on all
sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New
Roman font.
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author’s
last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones,
1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
OWL (Online Writing Lab) Purdue University
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Please choose one of the following topics:
1. Individually interact with a person that you would NEVER normally associate with, and describe
what the experience was like. Include your perceptions of that person or group, how you thought
you were perceived by them, what you talked about, what verbal and nonverbal behaviors you
observed, and how your own self-concept, beliefs, attitudes, and values may have influenced or
affected the interaction.
Suggestions: volunteer at a homeless shelter, hang out at a gay/straight/transgender bar,
visit a home for the elderly, attend a religious/cult/activist meeting, or chat with an
eccentric, intriguing, or peculiar person on campus.
2. Get together with someone you haven’t seen in a long time or with someone you would like to get
to know better, and establish or re-establish the friendship/relationship by slowly disclosing some
(personal) information about yourself in hopes that the other person will reciprocate by disclosing
something personal about himself or herself. Talk about how the act of self-disclosure impacts a
friendship/relationship, what effective or ineffective listening skills you and the other person
engaged in, the type of climate that existed to foster or prohibit self-disclosure, and what types of
verbal, nonverbal, and immediacy cues you were particularly aware of during the interaction.
3. Analyze a relationship you’ve been involved in that is either currently deteriorating or has
terminated, and discuss what is happening or happened in terms of the interpersonal concepts
associated with courtship, conflict, communication climates, power issues, de-escalation and
breaking up. Discuss the reasons you think the relationship is having problems or failed altogether.
Explore the various interpersonal dynamics associated with escalation, de-escalation, deterioration,
and termination of a significant relationship in your life. This paper will hopefully help you to be
able to exercise more effective communication skills in your current and future relationships.