High Plains Food Bank: A Case Study

I chose to spend my three hours of volunteer time at the High Plains Food Bank. I’ve always heard about the many families they help there, as it was getting closer to thanksgiving, I wanted to see how I could help. During my time at the food bank I observed a lot of verbal communication, cultural differences, and interpersonal conflict. People communicate with other people every day, but communicating effectively is what matters. I have been developing my communication skills throughout the semester, and decided to put them to the test. Wilmot (DeVito, 2003) defines interpersonal communication as “the verbal and nonverbal interaction between two interdependent people (somtimes more)” (p.3). This happens between almost everybody throughout the day. At the food bank we were …show more content…
In order to do so, one should always avoid intensional orientation. Wilmot (DeVito, 2003) defines intensional orientation as “ the tendency to view people, objects, and events in terms of how they’re talked about or labeled rather than in terms of how they actually exist” (p.119). During my time at the food bank, I was able to do the opposite. DeVito says in Messages, Extension orientation means to first see the person, how they act, and then look at how that person has been labeled, and how people talk about them (p119). Most volunteers were only there to accumulate community service hours. I could have seen those people as troublemakers, decided not to associate myself with them for the remainder of my time there, but that is not the person I am. I was raised not to judge a book by it’s cover, my parents taught me that you always get to know a person before making judgments about them. Just because several people are saying things about one person, or a group of people, doesn’t make their statements true. I chose to communicate effectively, by avoiding intensional orientation, making small talking, and finding ways to relate to other