Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

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Volume 48, Issue 1 (2025)Read More

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General Interest
20 November 2015

Communication is 93% Nonverbal: An Urban Legend Proliferates

David Lapakko
Perhaps the best-known numbers within the communication field are those that claim the total meaning of a message is “7 percent verbal, 38 percent vocal, and 55 percent facial.” Despite the fact that this finding is derived from two 1967 studies with serious methodological limitations, these percentages have appeared in a wide variety of communication textbooks. This study takes the investigation a step further, beyond the academic environment, to determine if the 7-38-55 “formula” has now become the equivalent of an “urban legend” about communication in our society-at-large. Overall, this article finds that the formula in question has been widely disseminated across the Internet, and in ways that show little or no understanding of the research that generated these numbers. Given the widespread ignorance reflected in how these numbers are used—and abused—we as communication educators must consider how we should respond and what we can do to correct such misperceptions.
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General Interest
25 November 2015

Steve Jobs’ use of Ethos for Persuasive Success in His 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Keith Bistodeau
The use of ethos in persuasive settings has always been a powerful tool in public speaking, especially by those in power and in businesses. Kenneth Burke’s Pentad plays a primary role in persuasive situations, particularly when we as scholars try to dissect and understand specific aspects of a speech situation. In this essay I used Burke’s Pentad as a framework to explore Steve Jobs’ use of, as I term it, “internal and external ethos” as not only a persuasive mechanism, but also as a force to build his persona/mythological legacy.
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General Interest
25 November 2015

Collaborative Theatre/Creative Process

Jimmy Bickerstaff
Theatre production is a collaborative creative activity. Recent theory and research into group creativity recognizes the relationships between individuals, groups, and the contexts in which creativity emerges. It also suggests that between the interactive creative processes of the collaborators and their work, the work itself becomes a kind of creative entity. In this essay, I explain how all creativity is now seen as collaboration, outline this process, and illustrate the differences between seeing theatre as an aggregate, collective activity and the more integrated view, in which the process is synergistically collaborative. An understanding of the cognitive and behavioral processes of group creativity can enhance and facilitate any creative work, making it valuable to the field of theatre, not only for the director, who is primarily responsible for the process, but to anyone working on a production. It
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General Interest
24 November 2015

"No Day But Today:" Life Perspectives of HIV-Positive Individuals in the Musical Rent

Valerie Schrader
This article explores how life perspectives of HIV-infected individuals are portrayed in the musical Rent. A rhetorical analysis of Rent’s script and lyrics reveals that people living with HIV may hold a particular life perspective after learning that they are HIV-positive; they may seek to leave a legacy, to experience life to the fullest or to devote their lives to others. These emergent themes are consistent with those found in previous research. In addition, this analysis revealed one theme that was not consistent with previous research; this theme is connected to the process of grieving. By understanding how people living with HIV/AIDS perceive the world and their purposes in it, we can better learn how to support them as they battle the disease.
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General Interest
25 November 2015

Mission Statement Creation and Dissemination in Service Organizations: Reaching All Employees to Provide Unified Organizational Direction

Julie Walker
Scholars extol the virtues of crafting effective mission statements and the importance of its frequent communication. Especially in nonprofit business settings, mission statements can be an important way to provide goals and purpose for an organization’s staff. Creating and conveying mission statements to unify a staff whose tasks span a broad range is a difficult but important part of visionary leadership. This study explored mission statement dissemination at a university to understand its impact on staff whose tasks included limited academic work with students. Analysis of questionnaires found nonacademic staff members were not exposed to the mission statement often and were not able to connect the statement to their daily tasks.
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General Interest
24 November 2015

Whistleblowers: Loyal Corporate Employee or Disloyal Employee?

Debra Wroge
Whistleblowers have received much media attention and scrutiny during the last decade due to high-profile corporate scandals and reports of unlawful activities in government and private sector corporations. There is a changing trend in the perception of whistleblowers from troublemakers to loyal employee. Interviews, based on a FBI whistleblower case, were conducted with eight employees in a Fortune 200 company. Results of qualitative analysis and findings reported in this paper support the perception of whistleblowers as loyal employees who have a strong sense of right and wrong, and are committed to calling attention to wrongdoing. The solution proposed is a call for corporations to adopt effective policies and procedures for employees to disclose any improprieties or misconduct to maintain the integrity of the organization.
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