Week 4- Who Am I as a Communicator?

This week I has the opportunity to participate in three quizzes that evaluated me on communication anxiety, verbal aggression, and listening styles. After, I took each quiz, I had my mother and my friend/co-worker take the same three quizzes to compare their opinions in those areas. My mother, my friend/co-worker, and I all three had identical scores on the verbal aggressiveness and listening styles, however we all indicated different scores on the communication anxiety quiz. I see my self as being fairly comfortable speaking with others I don't really know and speaking in small groups, but my mother and my friend however see differently. My body language and tone of voice must be indicating how nervous I truly am speaking in front of groups. My hands sweat, my voice cracks, and my body feels like it shacking all over. The good think out of this is that I now see how my body language can be sending a different message than what I am saying and that I truly try to be a respectful to others as possible.

My insights:
1.) I have learned that I need to be more aware of my body language as it could be sending a different message than what I am trying to say and this can cause misunderstandings and confusion. I need to learn to relax and take a deep breathe because it is important to get the message across effectively as possible.
2.) I have learned that I am very respectful of others and their thoughts and I truly take the time to listen to them and probe questions for more information. I want to have all the facts before responding because you never want to give the wrong advice to children or families.

Communication with Different Groups

I think that I do communicate differently with different groups of people due to my comfort level with that group.Take the following as examples:

I am more opened and able to be myself around my twin sister and my very close friends because they truly know me and don't judge me. I can talk to them about anything.
With my husband I have learned that I can not talk to him about politics or sports because know matter what he is going to be right and I'm going to lose the battle.
At work with my residents' I'm kind and soft spoken. I greet each one of them by using Mr. or Mrs. in front of their names to show them respect.
Around a lot of people I'm shy and quiet. I don't really speak unless spoken to, but I also give smiles and say "Hi"
Three strategies that would help me communicate more effectively would be to be more aware of my non-verbal behaviors because my facial expressions could be indicating something total different from what I am trying to say; try not to judge people right off, truly listen to what they have to say and take everything in before responding; and show others respect when communicating. Don't interrupt them, don't be talking to other people while trying to listen to someone else, make eye contact, and make sure you have all the information before responding because if not if could lead to hurt feelings and misunderstandings.

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

As I was flipping through the channels last night I came across the movie "The Blind Side". I have always wanted to watch this movie, so I decided to watch this movie for my blog. I began the movie with the volume off and the nonverbal cues and facial expressions were so powerful.

This young boy always looked so sad, he walked with his head down, he didn't really speak to people and when he did he didn't make eye contact and to me he just looked like he had very low self esteem and self worth. He then me this family and when the older woman got out of her car to talk to his she had a very serious look on her face and her arms were crossed, so I thought he might had done something wrong and she was mad.

After I turned the volume on I realized that I was right about the boy. He was abandoned by his mother due to drugs. He grew up in a very bad part of the city and he just wondered around and stayed to his self. The woman I seen was not angry but instead reaching out to him. She took him in to her home and took care of him. She even became his legal guardian. She is a strong woman who doesn't express herself and she comes off as very serious and angry. He husband said, she is made of layers and you have to peel each layer back at a time to get to know her.

As the movie ended both the boy and the woman began to open up a little more by smiling, hugging, and making eye contact. He become more confident about himself.
This was an excellent movie and I recommend this to everyone.

Communication Skills

Bad human communication leaves us less room to grow.
Rowan D. Williams

When communicating with others you have to be confident in the words you are saying, be accurate with the facts you are providing, be determined to get you point across professionally, and maintain good eye contact with others that way they can tell you truly believe in the words you are speaking. A Social Service professor of mine in college had such great communication skills. She was always so passionate in the way she spoke about topics and that really kept our attention. I would love to be more confident in speaking with others and be able to keep their full attention. I want others to know I truly believe in what I am saying.