Case Study: Goodwill Industries International, Inc.

Advanced Insights For Interpersonal Communication Competence

Prof. Robert E. Burns, Instructor

Dear Students: Serious problems will arise when we treat interpretations of people’s feelings and meanings as fact. We should not jump to conclusions about the reasons for people’s behavior nor their oral messages. (Remember: Message sent does equal message received!) Perception Checking provides a better way for all of us to handle interpretations. And, could any of this help you on a future project? (HINT!)

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Perception Checking Has 3 Parts

1) A description of the behavior noticed

2) At least two possible interpretations of the behavior

3) A request for clarification about how to interpret the behavior

e.g. “When I returned from the concert and you started crying and ran out of the room,” (Behavior) “I wasn’t sure whether you were still sick to your stomach,” (First interpretation) “or upset with me for going to the concert without you,” (Second interpretation) “or just happy I was home to spend more time with you and you became emotional because you were so happy.” (Third interpretation) “How did you really feel when I walked in?” (Request for clarification)

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Perception checking is a relatively quick and simple tool for clarifying potential misunderstandings. When working with others or students or fellow workers, especially those from low-context cultures, perception checking is highly recommended. Recall the low-context culture person, like many Americans and Canadians, use more talk, direct speech, more clues verbally, and possesses an expectation that anything important will be talked about. Recall the high-context culture person uses less talk, indirect speech, more clues nonverbally and environmentally, and possesses an expectation of you will observe and learn. Many Middle-Eastern and Asian cultures fit the high-context patterns. For example, when delivering bad news or potentially upsetting news or awkward messages,...