Who Am I as a Communicator?

The evaluation process for me was quite enlightening I had one of my colleagues from work and my husband to evaluate my communication effectiveness. Strangely enough in regards to Communication Anxiety my husband and I both hit within the 34-46 score and my coworker placed me in the 21-33 range. The Verbal Aggressive Scale through the evaluation my coworker and I rated me in the 53-68 range however my husband rated me in the 69-85 range. I was surprise by that because I usually try to pick my words so that I want be insulting to others. I expected the numbers to be the same across the board. In terms of listening all three evaluations placed me in group 1 which is people oriented.  The insight I gained this week is that people oriented listening are sometime too trusting. I realize that I have call attention to myself to make sure that facts I need are not getting by me.  Although usually I can tell when someone is trying to pull a fast one on me. 

Communication and Culture

The three strategies I could use to help me communicate more effectively with people or groups are first and foremost relates to this week’s discussion two which relates to the Platinum Rule.  I feel that this rule is most important because it allows you to place yourself in the other person situation.  Therefore I want be quick to be judgmental of others because I am not familiar with their culture.

Next I feel that in order to better communicate with people it is important to familiarize myself with other cultures customs for general principle. Therefore, I want have to rush to research their background because I have learned that I will be coming in contact with someone from other cultures.  I will already have some knowledge of who I am communicating with. I always tell one of my coworker it is important to know a little bit about everything when possible. You never know when and where you will be when you need it.

The final strategy I have regarding communicating effective with people from other cultures is paying attention to nonverbal communication to support the environment. I have come to realize verbal communication is great but nonverbal cue offer insight and if the two do not coincide something is off and requires a little more focus.

References

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6488765&Survey=1&47=6171917&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6488765&Survey=1&47=6171917&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

The television show I watched is called Half and Half. As I observed the characters with the volume off I perceived their relationship to be professional coworkers in an office environment. They appeared to be people that did not mind making there point known.  They were engaged in conversation in the office and it was apparent that they were discussing something that one of the characters did not agree with. Then I observe one of the characters demeanor indicated that he did not really care to hear anything being said by the other people.  He turned his back to the guy that was talking to him.  As the lady character expressed her opinion she made her point by waving her hands and stormed out or the office.  This nonverbal communication indicated that she was angry or upset by their discussion.

The assumptions I made about the plot was that there was a disagreement and I perceive the disagreement to be work related.  However as I watched the show with the volume on I discovered that it was a disagreement over a personal manner.  The character Spencer was dating a lady by the named of Naomi and his coworker Mona dislikes her due to her cut throat nature in the industry.  The other character Adam was creating controversy because he knew that Spencer was hiding that information from Mona. Which is the reason Spencer had his back to Adam when he was talking. He really did not want to hear what he was saying. My assumption would have been much better if it was a show that I normally watched because I would be more familiar with the characters.  I did not know what to expect from this show.  My assumptions were that they had some problems within the corporation and the reality was the whole encounter was personal.

The insights I gained from this assignment is that body language or nonverbal communication is powerful.  In this incident I immediately picked up on the disagreement I missed on what the disagreement was about. It verified for me how important it is to pay attention to verbal and the nonverbal communication.  The nonverbal communication is important in that it helps to express your feeling but verbal helps to put everything in perspective. If I had gone on the nonverbal communication alone I would have been misled.  This experience made really realized the importance of listening and paying attention to nonverbal clues.

What Is Communication?

The person I feel that is a competent communicator is one of my retired coworkers.  He retired from the police department after twenty years of service. He doesn’t do a lot of public speaking now. However one of the assets that he possessed that makes him a competent communicator is that he is able to command a room in a public speaking setting.  As he speaks people are engaged and seem to be extremely interested in what he has to say. Every time I have heard him speak I was able to take something positive from the environment.  Strangely enough it does not matter about the topic of discussions as he speaks seemingly everyone listens. Many people have echoed my same feeling in the law enforcement community as well as those that were not a part of this environment.  He makes his presentation plain and easy to follow without being extremely long winded. Additionally, he appears very confident by his demeanor.  Another asset he possesses is he stays on topic I have never witness him deviating from the topic unless question from the audience lead him in that direction.

I would love to acquire some of his communication skills. I feel that it is great to complete a speaking task that allows the group to feel fulfilled and not lacking regardless of the topic. Those are great characteristics of a competent communicator.