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to a person's basic needs and thus appealing to his emotions. In this way progress can
again be established. An example is quoted of a man who was refusing to sell land on
which a building was to be erected, until he was told that it was going to be named after
him,
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
The most basic needs are physiological needs, which are about one's physical
wellbeing or self-preservation and survival e.g. food, water and sleep. Higher up in the
pyramid are the safety needs where people need to feel they are protected from harm or
they are secure in their jobs. According to Mersham and Skinner (1999:42) personality,
gender, age, culture and past experiences determine how people communicate their
safety needs e.g. a child seeking physical contact with a parent or people joining
political parties or cultural groups.
To Mersham and Skinner (1999:43) social needs are about "developing
meaningful relationships with others." e.g. being accepted by others, having friends,
belonging to a group and being loved. According to Mersham and Skinner (1999) these
needs remain dominant until they have been satisfied and to communicate effectively it
is important to know the different ways in which this desire is expressed and
demonstrated.
Esteem needs have to do with the recognition, respect by others and reputation
whether in a work or social situation. When this happens our egos are satisfied.
Mersham and Skinner (1999), however, warn that these needs may be culturally based
and what might be acceptable to some people might not necessarily be acceptable to
others. Therefore a good communicator should be conscious ofthat.
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