See ya later, not goodbye

Dear Colleagues,

As we say goodbye to another course, I want to take a minute to say thank you for sharing your personal and professional stories and experiences. I have enjoyed learning from your perspectives and growing as a communicator and professional. I wish you all the luck in your future studies and careers.  Online learning can be difficult to built personal connections with classmates; however, I have felt drawn to many of your stories and would love to keep in touch with any who would like. 

My contact information:

Amber Brown

School: Amber.avink@waldenu.edu

Personal: peache3117@yahoo.com

Or facebook friend me!

I wish you all the best in your future studies and hope to stay in contact with you all!

Adjourning

I have to admit that it has been a long time since I sat on a group that had a specific task and would adjourn at the end of the project.  The group that I felt most cohesive with and had the hardest time saying goodbye to was my special education team.  This group wasn’t formed with a specific project in mind rather we had the responsibility of running the special education department within our school.

This group was very difficult to leave because of the cohesiveness and closeness we felt as a group. When groups have a specific vision and can work in conjunction with each other I believe they are more efficient which makes it harder to leave.

Some of our meeting norms were to start on time, follow the agenda and respect opinions. By following an agenda the adjournment process was simple, quick and efficient. Our team knew when the meeting was over and what our individual responsibilities were for the week. Having an adjourning system makes the process more comfortable for those involved.

I am curious what our adjournment process will look like as we near the end of our program.  Will there be a blunt ending? Will it be a process, as we get closer to the end? My hope is that we will have the opportunity to say goodbye, get contact information from our classmates and stay in touch as we continue with our careers. 

Managing Conflict

Conflict will arise in any relationship. My husband and I both have a lot on our plates.  He is starting his career as a real-estate agent while staying home and raising our son. I am working full time, getting my masters and finding the balancing act between wife and mother. Needless to say, our tempers have been short and we have had conflict as our stress levels rise.  As I have read the course resources this week two techniques I have found useful is practicing non-violent communication and finding a compromise. Last week my husband assessed me on my communication style. According to his results, he feels I sometimes blur the line between attacking the person vs. the issue. Using the strategies within non-violent communication has caused me to be more aware of how I communicating. I believe compromise is one of the best options when resolving conflict. Each person has to give a little while still feeling validated and respected.  I have used these strategies this week and have found success. J

Communication Skills and Styles

I scored a 49 in the communication anxiety category. This puts me at the moderate level. I have always struggled with being anxious in front of a small group or when speaking publicly. I do better in a one to one setting. One thing that surprised me was that both my husband and dad thought I was comfortable speaking in public. My husband put me in the low category and my dad in the mild. One theory I have on this is that my personality is outgoing and I comfortable talking to new people. Because of this they assumed I was comfortable talking in front of a group.

I scored a 64 on the Verbal Aggression Scale. This put me in the moderate category. My dad assessed me in the same category. However, my husband put me in the significant. I have thought a lot about this section. My dad and I have similar personality and communication styles, however, my husband and I are different in the way we communicate.  He is more laid back where I need to talk it through and have closure.

Finally, I am people oriented on the listening styles profile. My husband and dad both assessed me in this category as well.

My dad made the comment that I choose two men to assess me in the communication skills. I have since wondered if a woman would have had similar or different results.

After reflecting on these results, I want to continue to take on projects that challenge my fear or public speaking. I want to make a stronger effort to speak out during our team meetings or trainings I may attend. I also want to be more aware of my husbands’ communication style and how my directedness may hurt his feelings.

Communicating within diversity

I experience cultural differences on a daily basis. I work with families whose children are considered high risk for special education. My colleagues come from different educational backgrounds and my friends have varying political and religious views.  All of these factors can make communicating effectively a challenge. I do believe I communicate differently depending on the context and situation I am. For example, when interacting with colleagues I am professional and straightforward. Many would consider me serious. However, when I am communicating with my friends I have a totally different style. I am more laid back and comfortable expressing how I feel without any fear.

Considering the cultural differences I experience the three strategies I would use to help communicate more effectively would be to consider and use the platinum rule with all my interactions. Second, I need to have empathy. I am working with families who are learning to cope with their children’s special needs. As an effective communicator I need to draw on my own experiences to better relate. Finally, I need to make sure I am actively listening in all contexts.

Communication within television

My husband recently became a real estate agent. Real-estate is his passion and plays a big role in the types of shows we watch. There is a plethora of ‘home shows’ including House Hunters, Love it or List it, Million dollar listings and Property Brothers. As the supportive wife, I have been started watching these shows with him. One of the new shows we started watching is Property Brothers.

The premise of the show is brothers’ Drew and Jonathan Scott find couples that want to buy a house that is out of their price range. They convince them a fixer upper is the way to go. The show follows the challenges and benefits of doing a renovation.

When I watched the show with no sound I realized how much of an impact nonverbal communication has on communication. The facial expressions of the couples said a lot. For example, when they went into the decoy home the facial expressions were of excitement and awe until they realized the home wasn’t affordable and the instant shift to disappointment and anger when they realized they couldn’t afford the home. Watching the process of renovating the home I could tell through the body language and expressions what they couples were feeling. It was often a rollercoaster of ups and downs between excitement and frustration/anger.

Watching the show with sound made me more aware of how nonverbal and verbal communication goes together and can contradict each other. For example, the couple’s non-verbal communication was clearly showing excitement and the verbal communication supported that. However, there was an situation during the renovation when the body language of the couple clearly showed anger and defensiveness but the verbal language was contradicting that.

Watching the show with both the sound on and off made me more aware of the detail involved in communication. I often listen to what is being said rather than paying attention to the non-verbal cues. This assignment made me focus more on the message nonverbal communication rather than verbal language.

           

Effective C ommunication

Effective communication skills are important when running an organization. The director of the company I work for has these skills. When I was first hired I went through orientation. My director, David, spoke to the group the first day. He was clear when describing his expectations of us. He spoke eloquently and was prepared while remaining lighthearted and entertaining. He was motivational, encouraging and uplifting. Since then I have listened to him speak on more than one occasion and I experience the same thing. He listens when someone asks a question, answers it completely while remaining respectful. I would model my communication behaviors after David. He is effective, respectful and prepared in his communication. He is engaging and motivational. His ability to communicate with several different disciplines on the same topic is a great skill. These are skills I strive to have when I communicate with others.