Friedemann Schulz von Thun

Friedemann Schulz von Thun is a German psychologist who was born in 1944 in Soltau and is still alive today. Even though Schulz von Thun produced many theories, he got famous for the "Four-Sides Model" which was developed in 1977.  This model is extremely popular in German schools and deals with communication as well as exploring miscommunication.

In the Four-Sides Model, Schulz von Thun argues that in every conveyed message the speaker conveys the message through four different aspects and the receiver of the message also receives four different aspects. These aspects or sides are: the factual information, the appeal, the relationship and the self-revelation.

Factual information is the objective information that gets conveyed through the message. The self-revelation describes the information the speakers reveal about themselves. This information can either be revealed on purpose or unconsciously. The relationship reveals information about the relationship between the speaker and the receiver.

Finally, the appeal describes the intent or the goal speakers pursue within the message. This can also sometime be explicit, for example if the speaker asks someone: "Can you hand me the coffee please?" In other situations, the appeal can also be implicit. The speaker, for example, could say: “Is there any coffee left?” which could contain the appeal for the receiver to make new coffee if there is none left.  

A misunderstanding can appear when the speaker and the receiver interpret one or more of the four sides in different ways. The only side of the communication which is almost always interpreted the same by both sides is the side of the factual information. An example for a misunderstanding would be if the speaker states: “It is getting cold in here” The speaker may intend for that utterance to contain the appeal for the receiver to close the window, whereas the receiver may miss this appeal by only listening to the factual information and maybe saying: “Yes, it is getting cold.”

There are different people with unique personalities who prioritize one of the four aspects. Someone who low self-confidence may be really careful in order to not reveal anything about themselves.

Friedemann Schulz von Thun´s contributed to the field of rhetoric by analyzing communication and making it easier for us to digest and to understand how it works. His model also makes it possible to analyze specific instances of miscommunication.