Metacommunication

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As meta "communication is communication " means. The term originally comes from the Gestalt psychology according to Wolfgang Metzger and the communication theory of systemic therapy . Gregory Bateson first used it in his essay "A Theory of Play and Fantasy" from 1954, in which he distinguished between meta-linguistic and meta-communicative levels. The term eventually found its way into mainstream communication theory . Nowadays it is also used in management and advisory literature . The communication partners shift their attention to a higher level and exchange ideas about how they treat each other or what is currently of great concern to them. An attitude of distance , but also of openness to one's own communication behavior and the motives for this communication behavior is assumed. But metacommunication is also a linguistic instrument for resolving misunderstandings.

Aspects in the context of metacommunication

In the opinion of the linguist Friedemann Schulz von Thun, anyone who engages in meta-communication should think about the following important aspects that make the sender's expression easier to understand ( meta messages ):

  • Simplicity in the linguistic formulation
  • Structure / order in the structure
  • Brief - conciseness
  • Additional stimulation
  • Correspondence between verbal and non-verbal communication ( gestures , facial expressions , posture, intonation, way of speaking, language)
  • moderate, only clearly recognizable irony

According to Friedemann Schulz von Thun, every message consists of four parts, which can be explained using the following example: "The man (= sender) says to his wife (= recipient) sitting at the wheel: 'You, it's green up there!'."

  1. The factual statement: It is the concrete fact; in this case that the traffic light is green.
  2. Self-disclosure: It shows the person of the sender more closely and voluntarily or involuntarily reveals information about the sender. In this example, you learn from the man that he knows the traffic rules, is attentive and speaks German.
  3. The relationship side: It indicates the relationship between sender and recipient. This means here that the man seems to be a helper for the woman and that both of them know each other well.
  4. The appeal: He asks the recipient to accelerate here. If the appeal gives rise to determining and functionalizing the other three areas, one speaks of manipulation .

Paul Watzlawick argues similarly, dividing every message into content and relationship levels. He locates many disturbances in everyday human communication (especially in couples) on the relationship level and sees metacommunication as a solution to resolve them.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ reprinted in: Gregory Bateson: Ökologie des Geistes. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt, 1981.
  2. ↑ Jürgen Bolten: Introduction to intercultural business communication . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-8252-2922-1 , p. 144 .
  3. ^ Paul Watzlawick : The axioms of Paul Watzlawick. Retrieved December 28, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b Friedemann Schulz von Thun: Talking to one another: 1, disorders and clarifications , Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-499-62717-0 , pp. 27-34.