Communications and Media

Communication is a very important process since it helps deliver the desired information. The process of communication enables a person to deliver message and receive a feedback about the effectiveness of the message. The process of communication is a series of events which take a step-to-step procedure. Communication within the organization as well as with the outside world takes different formats. When dealing with strangers, people communicate differently as compared to communication with other people.

Interpersonal Communication
Communication refers to the process of delivering information and receiving feedback about the impacts of the message delivered (Eayle, Preiss  Allen, 2002). It takes place at all levels of human living (Kalbfleisch, 1993). The process of communication takes a process whereby an idea is developed in the mind it is then encoded into a structure. The encoded information is sent to a receiver who decodes the information to know the message contained in it. The receiver gives a feedback about his reaction towards the message. The feedback indicates the effectiveness of the communication process. The sender receives the feedback and the entire process is completed (Spitzberg,  Cupach, 1994). Interpersonal communication may be defined as the communication between two or more people. It can take several forms such as oral, written or nonverbal communication. Interpersonal communication takes place at a personal or face-to-face level. Examples of interpersonal communication within the organizations are staff meeting, project discussion, employee performance review, informal chat among others (Kalbfleisch, 1993). Interpersonal communication can occur at all levels of the society, business or any activity where people are involved (Spitzberg,  Cupach, 1994). People communicate with strangers as well as other people whom they are familiar to. The form of communication with strangers is different from that of communicating with people who are familiar. Theorists have tried to explain the process of interpersonal communication between strangers and other familiar people. There are two theories that explain interpersonal communication between strangers social penetration theory and the uncertainty reduction theory (Eayle, Preiss  Allen, 2002).

Social Penetration Theory 
This theory was developed by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor to explain how people develop relationships through communication (Misztal, 2000). The theorists suggested that relationships follow a gradual process where individuals disclose themselves and become close to each other as they continue to interact. People disclose about themselves consciously or unconsciously through a process of activities. Altman and Taylor identified three steps through which strangers follow to build relationships. The steps do not overlap each other and follow a procedure towards explaining the behavior of people (Culbertson, et al 1993).

The analogy of the onion is used to explain the process of relationship building as well as how people disclose to each other. It explains the many layers of self-disclosure process both in terms of breadth and depth. Removal of the outer skin of an onion leads to a second skin. The second skin is followed by a third skin, and so on. Self-disclosure follows the same trend whereby people disclose information about themselves in a series of activities similar to the peeling of the layers of the onion. The outer layer describes the public self and gives identities such as the height, weight, gender and any other physical aspect of an individual. This is what the public views the personality of an individual (Kreuz  Fussell, 1998). It is a small portion of the entire personal attributes of a person. The inner layers describe the inner self. The characteristics that are hidden with the inner person are the emotions, values, beliefs, self-concept and other personal attributes of a person. People reveal their inner self according to their culture. The inner layers are hard to access and represent an individuals deepest and personal information (Misztal, 2000).

Social penetration theory describes several stages that people take to disclose about themselves. The first stage involves orientation stage. People play safe and like to show perfect characters that are desirable to the other partner. They appear to be simple and harmless. They follow desirable social ethics and have the appropriate habits. The second phase is the exploratory affective stage. Individuals start revealing themselves and express their personal attitude. Moderate discussions start to take place such as government issues, politics, sports and other general topics (Misztal, 2000). At this stage, people are still not comfortable to reveal their entire self characteristics. Casual relationship exists in this stage and may not go past this stage. Affective stage is the third phase of relationship building. Private and personal matters are discussed. People may criticize and argue about each other. People become intimate about each other at this stage. The fourth phase is the stable stage where the relationship reaches a plateau. Personal ideas are shared. The individuals can predict the emotions of each other. The last stage involves depenetration when the relationship starts to break down. The costs exceed benefits at this stage (Kreuz  Fussell, 1998). The parties in the relationship start to withdraw their disclosure to each other (Rogers  Conville, 1998).

Uncertainty Reduction Theory
The uncertainty reduction theory was developed by Charles R. Berger and Richard J. Calabrese. It explains how strangers develop a relationship. Strangers follow certain steps upon meeting and aim at reducing the uncertainty between themselves. At last they form the idea whether they like or dislike each other. Berger and Calabrese identified three stages in relationship development the entry stage, the personal stage and the exit stage (Hewes, 1995).

During the entry stage, the strangers use behavioral norms to develop their relationship. Demographic and transactional exchange of behaviors happens during this stage. The individuals do not involve too much in knowing each other. As the individuals continue to interact, the level of involvement increases and they become more attracted to each other. The personal stage follows immediately after the entry stage. The individuals begin to explore the attitude and beliefs of each other. This stage follows immediately after the individuals have learned each other and have interacted adequately during the entry stage. They probe about the values, moral and personal issues about each other. As the individuals continue to disclose about each other, they become more emotionally involved in the relationship. The last stage is the exit phase where the individuals decide whether to continue with the relationship or to stop. They plan the future progress of the friendship during this stage. If the parties do not like each other they may choose not to continue with the relationship. These stages explain how strangers reduce uncertainty about each other and the process they take to develop a relationship with each other (Feldstein,  Siegman, 1979).

Similarities between Social Penetration Theory and Uncertainty Reduction Theory
The theories explain that the process of interpersonal communication takes procedures. The initial stage occurs when people meet for the first time. They are strangers to each other and are uncertain about the behavior of the other party. They interact with precaution and avoid revealing their inner self. General issues are discussed initially and the personal issues are neglected. As the individuals continue to interact, they discuss more personal ideas and become emotional towards each other. The process continues until the parties are free to expose their inner characteristics and become intimate to each other. After the end of the process, the parties decide whether to continue with the relationship or not (Manstead, Fisher  Parkinson, 2005).

The two theories were co-founded by two people. None of the theories was founded by an individual person. They explain the social behavior of people which takes place either consciously or unconsciously. People follow stages when interacting with others. Interaction is displayed as a series of activities where people follow a step-by-step process to communicate their personal issues (Hewes, 1995).

Differences between Social Penetration Theory and Uncertainty Reduction Theory
The uncertainty reduction theory explains that strangers react to reduce the uncertainty they have towards the other party. Strangers are not aware of the characteristics of the other party and tend to react in a peculiar way which is aimed at reducing the uncertainty they have towards the other people. This theory focuses on reducing the uncertainty that a person has towards the other people. Social penetration theory explains that people follow particular steps towards knowing each other. The theory uses the analogy of the onion to explain how people express their inner self. The outer cover of the onion represents the outward appearance of an individual which displays the physical attribute of a person. The inner layers of the onion represent the inner characteristics which are hidden from the outside world. As people continue to interact, they reveal their inner characteristics until they can no longer hide any attribute about themselves to the other party (Feldstein,  Siegman, 1979).

Social penetration theory is more detailed than the uncertainty theory. It is analogical and uses a more detailed explanation of how people behave in their social set up. Social penetration theory gives five steps that people follow when building new relationships. The steps are interlinked and each step follows the other in a progressive manner. The uncertainty theory explains three simple steps (Manstead, Fisher  Parkinson, 2005).

People should not disclose all their personal information to strangers. They ought to first learn about the strangers so as to express their inner feelings afterwards. The establishment of relationships should follow steps which ensure people have adequate confidence in expressing themselves. People allow others to know their personal information when they disclose personal information. It is only through communication that people can learn about the characteristics of others. Any communication breakdown hinders knowledge about other people. Interpersonal communication is important in knowing and learning the environment as well as the attitude of people within the environment. The culture of the people is displayed through
communication. Interpersonal communication is greatly affected by the culture of the people.

The initial stage of communicating with a stranger involves the physical communication where less information is expressed. As people continue to interact, they communicate more intimate information about themselves. At the climax of the process of communication, people can express themselves freely and give deeper details about their life. Interpersonal communication is important in both formal and informal settings. It helps people know how to live with others within the environment. Organizations should develop systems which allow people to interact properly with each other. The environment for interaction should also allow people communicate freely so that they can learn about each other faster. Informal relationships and friendships that last for a long period of time take time to build up. When relationships are made faster, people are not able to learn about each other and may end up breaking the relationship more easily. However, formal relationships need not take a step-to-step procedure. Formal relationships have legal support and breach of any contract may lead to legal sanctions. The law provides some remedies to people who suffer damages from bad communication and breach of contracts.