Accommodating

A theoretical framework examining the ways in which individuals make adjustments while communicating in a variety of contexts. The communication accommodation theory aims to predict and explain these adjustments and how they create, maintain, or decrease social distance in interactions. It explores the various ways in which individuals adjust the way they communicate, the motivations for the adjustment, and its consequences. There are many social situations in which individuals accommodate or modify the way they speak. Examples include speaking to the elderly or children. Many adults accommodate their speech to the needs of a child, who may otherwise not be able to understand adult concepts. Almost every relationship in every individual's life involves some sort of accommodation of speech and communication, particularly those developed in a job setting. Speech styles, such as intonation, rate, dialect, and volume, can be adjusted for individuals to communicate their feelings, ideas, values, and attitudes.

Accommodating the way individuals communicate is not specific to speech but also to nonverbal behaviors. For example, when speaking to someone from another culture, one may increase the use of arm movements. Motivations for accommodation can include gaining approval and increasing communication effectiveness. In this way, accommodating can be a way to identify with the speaker/listener. Social distance can be maintained, however, by emphasizing differences through communication, such as different speech styles between the speaker and the listener. For more information, see Giles et al. (2005).