Communication Assessment

   During this week's assignment I was asked to rate myself on my communication skills. Then I used two other people, my husband and my mother, to rate my communication skills as well. I then compared the results when they were done. I thought that the results would be vastly different since my husband and my mother would be very honest and know first hand about my communication skills but the results were very similar. Although the numbers did not match exactly they were pretty close and put me into the same categories. I learned that in communication anxiety I am moderate, in verbal aggressiveness I am moderate, and in listening skills I am in group 1.

   One thing I learned through this assignment was that communication is not just about my language or nonverbal language but my listening skills as well. How I listen to others and how I perceive information is just as important as using verbal communication. In my professional work I have to remember that it is important to also listen to others and understand what they are saying in order to effectively communicate with them. I also learned that my own anxiety about certain situations can effect my communication skills. Since I am in group 1 of this category it means that I do get anxious about communicating with others depending on the situation. In my own professional work it is important to recognize which communication situations can make me anxious and it is something that I have to work on to effectively communicate with others.

Communication and Cultural Diversity

   When I see my interactions with others around me, such as my colleagues, families I work with, and my own family, I notice the aspects of cultural diversity and the effects it has on communication. In my own interactions I can notice that I change the way I communicate with different people according to the aspects of their culture. Different groups and cultures determine the way that I interact and communicate. An example would be that I speak with the families at my workplace much differently than my own family. The topics we discuss differ as well as my professionalism. I sometimes have to think about what I am saying and how I respond to the children and their families. In my own family I can speak on any topic and I do not have to communicate professionally. I feel more relaxed and at ease speaking with my own family rather than the professionals that I work with. I understand that I have to consider a person or groups culture when speaking with them.

   Strategies that I would use to effectively communicate with others from differing groups and/or cultures are:

1. I can consciously think of others before myself. I can try to understand more clearly what the other person or group is trying to communicate so that I can effectively respond.
2. Another strategy is to recognize my own nonverbal behaviors. Becoming self aware of how I may be perceived can help with communicating with others that differ from my own culture.
3. I can actively gain more knowledge in another person's culture or how to effectively communicate with others as well. Gaining more knowledge about effective communication can help me become better at my interactions with others.

Communication

                                               

The show that I chose to view was 30 Rock. I have never seen this show before so when browsing my Netflix I decided to choose a random episode.

I first watched some scenes with the sound turned off. The opening scene is of a man and woman talking and from their facial expressions it looks like the conversation is either confusing or uncomfortable. They do not make eye contact and the conversation ends quickly. There is then another scene when a man walks up to a woman at a snack counter. He helps her with coffee and when she faces him she looks away from him while talking. I can assume that she may be blind because of her body language and eye contact. The man seems flustered at what she is saying because he spills the hot coffee on his shoes and his face seems surprised. Another scene was taking place where I gathered that the man and woman were in a relationship or on a date. They were sitting close to each other on the couch and he had his arm around her. She then gets up to go to the other room and when the man opens a window the bathroom door opens to her sitting on the toilet. I can tell in the next scene they both feel uncomfortable about the situation because the woman does not make eye contact with him and he seems to be laughing, maybe trying to lighten the mood. He then receives a phone call and they both seem to have grimaces on their faces after the conversation. I would assume the phone call was an uncomfortable one.

I then viewed the same scenes with the sound turned on. In the opening scene it turns out that Liz plans to meet with Drew and makes plans for Valentine's day. He seems uncomfortable with the idea and that she planned it for that day and when he leaves she can't believe that she made plans to meet with him on Valentine days. Then the next scene I saw a woman, Jennifer, who was trying to grab coffee and Kenneth walks up to help her. She then turns around and thanks him and he notices she is blind. He does not say a word and pours the coffee on his shoe retreating quickly. We then find later out that he indeed has a crush on her. The date scene between Liz and Drew does happen and they are indeed on a first date and Liz has to go to the bathroom. The brownies then begin to burn and he opens the window revealing Liz on the toilet. They then have and uncomfortable conversation and she seems very embarrassed while he tries to make her feel better. Drew then receives a phone call from his ex-wife who is dropping off his daughter at the apartment. He then feels bad about the situation but tells Liz to just move on with the date as planned.

Some of my assumptions between the character relationships were correct but the conversations were off and I could not tell what they characters were talking about just by nonverbal communication. For instance it was hard for me to determine that Liz and Drew were on their first date on Valentine's day. I also did not understand fully the situation between Jennifer and Kenneth until I turned the sound on. I was very confused by what the context of the conversation consisted of. From this assignment I realize the full necessity of all communication skills including verbal and nonverbal to gain the full amount of information.

Competent Communication

   When I think of competent communication there are a few people that come to mind. One person in my life that I feel demonstrates competent communication would be the director of our child development center. She demonstrates this aspect because I have witnessed her interactions with others in our work place. When talking with parents and colleagues she is able to listen to others and provide a positive experience even is the reason for the conversation is not so pleasant. She tries to understand and respect other's ideas and opinions as well as trying to communicate her own. She communicates with others according to their own personal needs (i.e. in person, e-mail, or phone call) and she tries to make sure she is using appropriate language and communication for each person.

   I like to use her as a model at times for my own interactions with parents in my classroom. I try to listen and understand other's ideas and opinions even if it is hard to understand their reasoning at times. She expresses how important communication is in our field and I take that advice and use it as much as I can in my own classroom.