Thank You

This is the final blog for the course Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Education Field. This course has helped me to understand that communication is an art that requires continual refining. I appreciate the informative discussions with my colleagues. I especially enjoyed Dr. Darragh's insights related to the field of early education. Good luck to everyone in your future education endeavors.

The Adjourning Phase

The group I am currently working with will be the most difficult to leave. I am working with a phenomenal group of parents of high school seniors planning the senior banquet. There are some parents that attend the meetings occasionally, but there is also a core group who are there at every meeting planning and executing. What makes the core group effective is communication is clear, there is commitment to completing the project, regular attendance and the people are genuine and easy to get along with.

I think the adjournment of the group will be at the senior banquet, which will be the last time we see each other. Some group members will be leaving the school, due to their graduate being the youngest child, some will leave due to relocation and some will stay in the country.  During the banquet we will celebrate our seniors and congratulate each other on a well-planned event.

It is important for the team to be allowed to celebrate the success of the project and capture best practices for future use (Abudi, 2010).  Also, the team should be given the chance to say good-bye to provide closure to the project and established friendships.

Hopefully, I will culminate the completion of my graduate degree with attending the graduation ceremony and meeting, face to face, some of the people I have studied with.

References

Abudi, G.  (2010). The five stages of team development:  A case study.  Retrieved from http://www.projectsmar.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Strategies For Resolving Conflict

Having conflicts is a part of life. One particular conflict I am having is with a few teachers at the school where I teach English.  The teachers use corporal punishment, fear and intimidation to control their classrooms. It is clear the teachers have no class management skills.  I have mentioned to them on several occasions, ways to improve how they manage the class. My communication to them is seen as me being more intelligent than them which leads to hurt and angry feelings. They are often defensive and don't want to accept my feedback. 

Two strategies I learned about this week that could help me resolve conflict more productively are:  Having empathy and being able to manage emotions.  The best way to build empathy is to help the person feel that they are understood (Conflict Resolution Network, n.d.).  During conflict, it is important that both sides are heard.  One way to demonstrate empathy is through active listening. I learned active listening includes getting a clear picture, acknowledging or exploring the problem and responding. I think having empathy in solving conflict allows the other person to see you are thinking of them and their feelings as you aim for resolution. Having empathy is also used in the nonviolent communication model.

Another strategy for conflict resolution is being able to manage emotions.  This approach could be especially useful during heated debates.  I chose to pay close attention to this strategy due to my scoring high on the verbal aggressiveness scale we participated in last week. Managing emotions includes understanding behaviors about yourself and the person you are in conflict with.  Our responses to others difficult behaviors can influence the outcome of the conflict. This approach requires thought. The thoughts include the conflict and why people are behaving the way they are.

References

Conflict Resolution Network. (n.d.) http://www.cmhg.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3

Who Am I as a Communicator?

I’m learning that being an effective communicator is no easy task.  It is not just about what you are communicating, but how, when, where.  I was a little intimidated by completing the assessments this week.  I was somewhat apprehensive about the views of others regarding my communication skills and style.

When looking at the similarities and differences in the communication anxiety inventory the scores my score was high and my scorer was moderate. I think this may be an indication that I don’t allow my anxiety to show. I was surprised by this score. 

In the listening styles profile and the verbal aggressiveness scale, there were no surprises. Actually both scores were the same.

A few insights about communication I learned this week are: Others view me as a better communicator than I view myself.  Self concept truly plays a major part in communication.  As noted by OHair & Wiemann (2012), the self concept has an incredible power to shape your communication with others.

Another learning is how others view me also plays a role in how I communicate.  The evaluation of others gave me a different view of my communication skills. Self evaluation and evaluation by others is good to participate in when working towards becoming a competent communicator.

References

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M.  (2012).  Real Communication.  New York:  Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Adapting Communication to Different Groups and Cultures

Communication is not like one stop shopping. It should be adapted to fit the situation and target audience.  Often times personality, age, gender, profession and culture of the person plays a role in how I communicate. For example, when volunteering with children, age appropriate verbal and non-verbal language must be used.  The language I use with children is different than the language I use with adults. When communicating with children, language should be easy to understand and age specific.

Understanding a person’s personality and goals are essential in communicating. I tend to be information oriented when communicating with colleagues. Information is exchanged in an effective, to the point way, with little off task conversations.  However, when communicating with people who are familiar, my behavior is more unrestricted and flexible.

Communication is not just common sense.  It takes knowledge, thought, and practice to be successful. 

Assumptions of Communication

Television here in South Africa is not like television in the United States.  Although the shows here are westernized, they are at least a year behind the United States. So for this assignment, I decided to view a show that originated in South Africa.

While viewing the show without sound, I assumed the characters did not know each other by them standing so far away from each other. I also assumed the older adult on the show was abusive to the younger girl sitting on the sofa. His arms were waving about aggressively and toward her.  It appeared he was about to hit her. The girl did not have any eye contact with the older man. She sat quietly without looking up.  A boy who appeared to be her age, sat on the opposite end of the sofa looking downward.  During the entire show there were no smiles or signs of happiness. It appeared to be a tense situation.

When I watched with the sound and subtitles, the show was actually about the 2 younger people meeting for the first time for an arranged marriage.  The older adult was the girl’s father. He was telling both young people how to have a good marriage and what was expected of each of them.

I assumed because there was no laughter or smiles that the situation was not a happy one.  I have always associated weddings and marriage to happy times. The older man was expressing himself by waving his arms toward the girl.  The girl and boy looked downward with no eye contact out of respect for her father. 

I believe the cultural differences displayed on the show and watching a show I had no familiarity with had an impact on my perspective.

I believe it is extremely important to be aware of our biases and how they affect how we see things. 

Effective Communication

As I think about those who I believe demonstrate competent communication, my all time favorite is Oprah Winfrey.  It is a long standing joke with my relatives that I wanted to go see the Oprah show in Chicago. It never happened. Oprah was in South Africa several months ago so I told everyone now I will finally have the chance.  Guess what? It didn't happen.  The tickets were sold out in a matter of minutes. I could not believe it.  

Anyway, Oprah exudes confidence when she speaks.  Her inquisitive tone of voice gives me the feeling she really wants to hear what others are saying. Oprah also uses eye contact when speaking. Some other behaviors that make her effective are her ability to show empathy, nodding in acceptance as others speak, her enunciation and her ability to put people at ease.

One behavior I would especially like to model is being able to put people at ease when I am communicating. Because of my background in case management, a lot of my communication seems to be about getting answers.  Often times the rhythm of the communication is uncomfortable.

Believe it or not, I am able to see previous shows of Oprah here. Even though they are years out of date, I still enjoy them.