Chapter 14-Power In Interpersonal Communication

This chapter discussed the importance of power in interpersonal relationships, emphasizing the nature of power and its principles, its types, and the ways to communicate power. Principles of Power What is power? What principles govern the operation of power in interpersonal relationships?

• Some people are more powerful than others; some are born to power, others learn it.
• Some people are more Machiavellian than others; people differ in their beliefs about the extent to which people can be controlled by others.
• Power can be increased or decreased; power is never static.
• Power follows the principle of less interest; generally, the less interest, the greater the power.
• Power has a cultural dimension; power is distributed differently in different cultures.
• Power is often used unfairly, as in sexual harassment and power plays.

Types of Power

What types of power can one person have over another?

• Referent: B wants to be like A.
• Legitimate: B believes that A has a right to influence or control B's behavior.
• Expert: B regards A as having knowledge.
• Information or persuasion: B attributes to A the ability to communicate effectively.
• Reward: A has the ability to reward B.
• Coercive: A has the ability to punish B.

Communicating Power

How can you communicate power?

• Speaking power includes, for example, avoiding hesitations, disqualifiers, and self-critical statements.
• Nonverbal power includes avoiding adaptors, using consistent packaging, and avoiding excessive movements.
• Listening power includes responding visibly, maintaining eye contact and an open posture, and avoiding interrupting.
• Compliance-gaining and compliance-resisting tactics enable you to influence others to do as you want or enable you to resist compliance attempts of others. Compliance-gaining tactics include expressing liking, making promises, and threatening. Compliance-resisting tactics include using identity management and negotiation.
• Empowering others enables them to gain power and control over themselves and over the environment. Empowering others has numerous advantages, for example, empowered people are more proactive and more responsible. Empowering others involves such strategies as being positive, avoiding verbal aggressiveness and abusiveness, and encouraging growth, and is especially helpful and most often greatly appreciated in cases of shyness or high communication apprehension.

Citation: http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_devito_intrprsnl_10/9/2358/603691.cw/index.html