Mika answered politely and calmly, "I'm fine thank you."
This first level seeks no real answers from the other person and is often simply known as formal small talk. Such a greeting phrase is simply a greeting phrase--not an exchange of any real information. At level 1, one person says: "How are you?" The other replies, "How are you?" Chapman notes: This level of verbal communication has its usage. It is intended to keep relationships or harmony among fellow men and women on earth--leaving the atmosphere or relationship friendly, safe and amiable.
Meanwhile, the second level of communication is more revealing--but it is only revealing of facts, not revealing of one's feelings at all. In this second level, one is asked, like a reporter, to simply present "the facts".
Questions, like "What did you do today?", are asked with the expectation that one replies with points, like "First, I went to the store. Then I came back to the care. There I noticed that someone had scratched the left side of our car with a key."
It is only at the third level of communications that feelings are delved into. For example, the second partner might state later, "I was surprised to see the long key scratch on our left car door. I think some gang or punks have moved into the neighborhood." This third stage is called the "Do you know what I think?"
The fourth level moves beyond level three's: "Do you know what I think?"
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