6165 Week 4

It was interesting to see the results of the evaluations from another person's perspective.  I took the test first and felt that it was pretty accurate I labeling who I am as a person.  Then I had my mom and a family friend take the test.  The scores landed within the same categories with them, except for the communication and anxiety inventory.  My family friend showed my score as low, whereas for my mom and me it was moderate, or close to high. I know that I do have anxiety when it comes to public speaking, but he does not see me speak in public often.  He normally only sees me from a friend's perspective.  

I think what was surprised me the most was the verbal aggressiveness scale quiz.  Each of us scored within the low sixties range, would put me at moderately aggressive.  I feel as though this accurate, but I had never thought of myself as aggressive in my verbal communication in any way.  As I looked at the evaluation closer I understood that even though I fell within the moderate range it was because I am able to maintain a balance as well as respect and consideration for others. 

I feel as though I understand better that you should consider the perspective of the other person as well as look beyond first impressions (O'Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, & Teven, 2018).  When you look beyond a first impression you are able to gain a different perspective.  You can find out more about a person once you get to know them and consider the perspective on certain matters.

Resources:

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D.I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real communication (3rd ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's

6165 week 3

When I am work I find myself putting my professional hat on more and more.  My language is different than when I am communicating with my husband or other members of my family.  I have noticed that I tend to take more time when I speak to colleagues or parents of students.  I calculate exactly what I am going to say, where is with my husband or family members I am freer in the speech that I choose to use.
I even notice that I communicate with my friend's family different.  Recently I joined a birthday party for my friend's son.  My friend is Puerto Rican, and I notice that her family is loud and open whereas my family is a little bit quieter at family gatherings.  When I am with my friends and her family I am more loud and open, but when I turned to speak to my husband my speech changed.

I think that some strategies I might be able to use in future situations such as these are:
1.  Allowing myself to be more open (allowing friends, co-workers, and even parents of students to see a more personal side of myself without going to deep.)
2.  To not make assumptions (This will allow me to go into any new communication with an open mind.)
3. Learning practices of others (This could be very useful when it comes to communicating with colleagues, students, and parents of students.)

6165 Week 2

The show that I chose to watch was The Office. I had never seen the show before, but I thought that it might be good for this experiment, considering that there are so many characters that are a part of the show.
Based on the episode that I chose to watch I can tell that their boss, Michael, is kind of a goof ball.  Everyone seems to go to him, but I can tell that they don't feel as though he is listening based on their facial expressions or the way that they turn away from him quickly.
I could tell that Jim and Pam seem to have a friendly relationship in that they have conversations with one another often, and take time to listen to one another.  They respond quickly to each other and make sure that their response is understood.
A lot of the nonverbal behavior shows me that there is sarcasm and the workplace seems to be slightly uncomfortable.  Many of the characters cross their arms or seem guarded.  These people are co-workers no close family members or friends.
I assumed that these characters kind of bounce off of one another and have a fun workplace environment.  However, watching without the sound shows how important body language is within conversations and communication.
I feel like if I had watched a show that I knew, even with the sound off, I would be able to tell how why the characters' body language was the way that it was, because I already know how the characters interact with one another.

6165 Week 1

Someone that I see having very good communication skills when it comes to talking to people is the pastor of my church.  He takes time each week to research the message that he presents to the entire church.  Not only does he present us with new information, but gives us challenges as well.  He tells us to look up certain things, or talk to family members about what we have learned about from the sermon for the week.  He also uses different forms of communication in order to reach out to everyone in our church, young and old alike.  I would like to model my communication skills after him because he is approachable while also knowing the material that he is speaking about.  If he does not know the answer to something he asks others in the congregration and than makes sure to follow it up with further research.  I feel that this type of communication is important because it helps to see how its still okay to ask questions and learn more about the subject that you are working on.