Week 3 – Pragmatic Perspective

According to Trenholm on page 32 of the textbook, the Pragmatic perspective is when communication consists of a system of interlocking, interdependent behaviors that become patterned over time. Scholars who are more pragmatic will claim that communication is a game.
Trenholm says the way communication is like a game is that there are “players” and there are “moves” that each player will make. Each move will then require another move and then another then another. Just like chess, depending on what your move is, will determine my next move and vice versa. The key is that each player needs an opponent, there can be no game without an opponent. Also, if the opponent who is playing the game does not make a “move” that is still considered playing the game, that means the opponent is refusing to move or chooses to forfeit. Each move has a meaning behind it, ignoring, laughing, crying can all mean different things whether they are sincere or a disguise to trick someone. Regardless, when two people are communicating they are playing a game of give and take and each “move” is determined by the last move their “opponent” made. Although some scholars feel that this is an appropriate way to look at communication, it is more than just a game.
What makes communication not like a game is the emotions hidden and the nonverbal cues that cannot be seen or figured out. Pragmatic communicators disregard the “why” and the “how” and only look at the “what,” “where” and “when.” Intentions behind each action does not get considered and what happens outside the box is not even thought of. If someone simply ignores the other person, that does not mean he/she is forfeiting his/her turn to make a move and therefore loses. When someone ignores someone or thing it can mean that they are trying to save a relationship by not saying anything to further escalate an argument, or they are simply tired and does not want to continue with a conversation. Just because someone will make an attempt to compliment someone or to give them a hug, it does not always mean they want to go on a date with them, use them for money, suck up or have sex with them, which is constantly mistaken and that can be because of “the game” that is being played. Intentions can be hidden, and can only be deciphered if analyzed passed “the game.” It can easily have all the intentions of something positive in the long run, but if it is taken the wrong way then the nonverbal cues serve no purpose in “the game” that we play when we communicate.