Week 4 Blog

These three self-assessment tool helped me identify my weaknesses as well as my strengths. I was able to identify the positives and negatives which I can build on and enhance both.  I was basically not surprised at the results when I answered the questions myself however, I was somewhat surprised at the answers I was given my co-worker and a family member.

My family member and coworker had very similar views on the communication anxiety inventory piece. One particular difference in the way I perceive myself and the way in which my family member and coworker perceived me in regards to having self confidence and feeling comfortable communicating in most situations.  My family member and coworker’s view was that I was often very comfortable and very relaxed in speaking to a large or small group of people and my view was that experience a considerable amount of anxiety.  

My family member and coworker also had very similar views in regards to verbal aggressive scale and their score was only two point difference.  However, their responses were also very similar to my answers with only a two and four point difference. I felt very proud and honored that my coworker and also my family member viewed me as an individual who engages in verbal aggressiveness or personal attacks no matter the situation.

Again when questioned by my family member and coworker I received similar responses to the questions.  When I completed test three I was placed in Group I and when my coworker and family member completed test three they also placed me in Group I. I consider myself as a good listener however I do have room for improvement, particular when patience is challenged. My coworker as well as my family member both identified this as a weakness, patience. Until I completed this assignment I never realized that I was letting my short patience show in my conversations, this was a gained insight for me.

Week 3: Communication and Culture - Blog Assignment

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?

If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures. However, I don’t consider myself as fake, prejudice or inconsiderate, but I do change the way in which I communicate with the group or person I’m communicating with. If I’m in a professional setting I try to use proper English and give a lot of eye contact. I strive to be an active listener when I’m in a professional setting because I want to ensure that the individuals I’m communicating with know that I’m giving 100% of myself. However, when I’m with my immediate family I find myself not to be an active listener because sometimes my son will ask me a question and I will say “yea” and he will know that’s the wrong answer and he will say “what” and then I will realize that I wasn’t even listening to what he was saying. I often do the same thing with my husband as well as my coworker, friends and other family members. However, I am going to strive to become a better listener to members of my family, friends and coworkers.

 One particular situation I can remember when I did alter my communication in relations to communicating with an individual for another country/culture was about ten years ago involving

a remarries of my husband’s sister. First remarriage involved her marrying a man from Italy

when she was stationed over there so that was very challenging for our family and then they

divorce and several years later she remarries someone from Ecador and this was also

challenging however his personality was somewhat like ours and communication wasn’t quite

as difficult. Needless to say it was still hard communicating because they both have such

different culture and views than our family has.

Communication Skills

I was watching a movie on the ET network, Serendipity and my phone rang….therefore I put on my television volume on silence.  I know this movie has been out for years but I had never had a chance to watch the movie until now. After my phone conversation I proceeded to turn the volume up and thought…I’m actually doing my blog listen and didn’t even realize it until I got off the phone. I was actually trying to keep up with the money by reading lips and by their nonverbal behavior.

The particular scene I choose to discuss is the scene when she coming in from a long day at work and opens the door to a room filled with rose petals and candles and a large box which is filled with smaller boxes….she finds a tiny box and opens the box to only find that the box is empty her boyfriend walks into the room and it’s obvious that she is very disappointed and the boyfriend walks into the room with something in his fingers and she begins to smile when she sees the ring….just by the nonverbal actions of the two individuals it seems that the couple has great communication between them because they are very happy because of facial expressions.

Once I turn the volume on I had the assumption that even though the female seemed very elated by her facial expression her tone wasn’t quite as convincing that she was as happy as her face appeared. If I had known the movie I would have understood the circumstance behind her unconvincing tone of voice that she was elated.

What Is Communication

The first individual that comes to mind for me is a politician who is our United States President, Barack Obama. Personally, I haven’t agreed with his choices and decisions he has made while in office, however, I think he is an excellent speaker and communicator.  When President Obama speaks he captures my attention and I’m immediately drawn to his message. He has a charisma about him that enhances his communication skills.  He also speaks in a tone that is conducive for effective communication.  President Barack Obama is a born public speaker; his talents are rooted in a set of techniques that I would love to obtain. President Obama looks directly at one person in the audience while delivering each phrase during his speeches. He shifts his gaze from person to person only between sentences or ideas which give the president time to form connections with audience members. President Obama often opens with topics that resonate with his audience. Only when the president sees heads nodding in agreement does he move on to more controversial matters I have notices. President Obama’s words don’t drag on in long streams. He divides his speeches into phrases, each of which conveys a single complete idea. He drops the pitch of his voice at the end of each of these phrases and pauses before starting the next one.

Personally, I would love to model this same type of communicational skill……I would love to be a proficient speaker and communicator.