Evaluation

This week we evaluated ourselves on our effectiveness of communicating with others. Then we asked two people to evaluate us and compare the results. What I found most surprising was that out of the three different tests, only one came back that was different than my evaluation. The one that was different came from my mother who only sees me interact with my family. I found the results surprising because I had not really thought about the things that she was saying. The verbal aggressiveness test (Verbal aggressiveness scale, n.d.) was the evaluation that she had a different score for and I could see why she ranked me so high.

 

What I learned from this is that I really need to pay attention to how I respond to my family. I do great when I am with someone I don’t know or with someone who is not family. Looking back, I realized I do criticize my brother in a personal way because that is how he is with me. Growing up with it, I guess I just learned how to fire back at him so that I did not feel powerless around him. What I take from this knowledge is that my personal life does not interfere with my professional life, and I am able to communicate differently with everyone that I come into contact with.

 

Another insight that I gained in general from this week is that stereotypes do not play a huge role in my life. With the picture, it was very hard for me to answer the questions and to judge that person. I think that I have become this way, because I surround myself with a variety of people. This will definitely help me in my professional life since I will not be quick to judge the children and families that walk into my classroom.

References:

Verbal aggressiveness scale. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6165/04/mm/quiz/quiz_verbal/index.html

Cultural Communication

Thinking back to how I communicated with others and comparing it to how I communicate now, I would say that there have some changes by not much. I have learned to pay more attention to nonverbal cues which has helped me to assess how the person is feeling. I have found this to be very important because I have noticed more things about the people around me.

Learning about the Platinum Rule this week, has really made me start looking back on certain situations and realizing that this rule could have helped. My sister-in-law and I do not agree on much and I always complain to my husband about how she always expects to get her way and never really sees other people’s opinions. What I have learned this week is that I need to take a moment and assess the situation that I am in. She was raised with being able to do whatever she wanted and is now basically in charge of their mother. I have to remember when talking to her, that this is the way she was raised and to see how her point of view works for her. We are heading over there today, so we will see how that goes!

Finally, I have learned to listen more and to not let my attention wander. I can be a great listener, but when it comes to things that I do not care about or have no idea what is being talked about, I have a hard time staying tuned in. I have been working on this, and trying to pay more attention as people are talking about things that I “go over my head.” It has be interesting to see what I have been missing, and the new information that I have been learning.

Week 2 Watching and Observing

This week we were assigned to watch a television show that you have never seen before twice. The first time without any sound to see what cues you could pick up on. The second time was with the sound on, and we were supposed to compare the assumptions that we had to what really happened.
 

This was quite interesting for me. I chose to watch the latest episode of Community and was confused from the very beginning. There was a mismatch group of people and I could tell that they were friends because they were around a table with food. Other than that, there wasn’t much I could read into. The facial expressions showed me emotions, but I could not really grasp how the people knew each other or what was going on.

 

What I realized from this experience is that it is easier to judge nonverbal cues from people that you know! I put this to the test by watching a show that I am familiar with and found that I could pick up on more cues than I did in the show I was unfamiliar with. I also found this to be true when interacting with people. During my observations this week, I noticed it was easier to tell what people were expressing if I knew them personally.

 
I think that the main thing we all need to consider when communicating with others is that our instincts about something may not always be right. We really need to pay attention to what is being said and to the nonverbal cues that goes along with it. I think that if we really pay attention to both, we can pick up on what is going on or what is trying to be conveyed to us.

 References:

Harmon, D. (Producer). (2012, May 10). Curriculum unavailable [Television series episode]. [With Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong, & Chevy Chase]. In Community. United States: National Broadcasting Company.

Competent Communication – Week 1

When thinking of the people that I know and the people I see on television or hear on the radio, there are a few that demonstrate being a competent communicator. The person that stands out the most is my cousin, Jimmy. He is someone who can talk about anything with anyone and connects with that person and that topic. Some behaviors that I have noticed were constant eye contact, facial expressions, and a feeling of that he cares about what you are saying. He also can talk in ways that help people understand what he is saying. There were many times he would be trying to help me fix my car, and the way he explained things made complete sense! I know that he is a great communicator because he is a great salesman with a good rapport with all of his clients. He is also someone who can listen to what someone is saying, and completely understand and relate to that person.

I would definitely want to model some of my own communication models after him. There are times when I talk that I know I am not making sense to others, and I wish I had his way of talking. I also am someone who has a problem keeping eye contact with people, even though I am listening, and would love for it to come naturally like it does for my cousin.

This is a picture of Jimmy and I at his sister's wedding.