The
task this week was rather interesting to me. I am not a fan of survey’s that
has options so closely related and repeated questions that are formed
differently. I like for things to be black and white for the most part and those
survey’s had many gray areas. Nevertheless, I completed the survey along with
my mom and close friend. It was also interesting to know that my mom and friend
see my communication style differently than I see myself.
One thing that surprised me the most
was how well my family knew me, even a little more than I know myself. For listening
styles we all agreed: group one – people oriented. They agree that I am empathetic
and concerned with the emotions of others and that I can tend to be very
trusting. The differences came about during the communication anxiety and
verbal aggressiveness tests.
For communication anxiety, they
scored me at a 63 which is elevated. This means that I am uncomfortable in
several communication contexts. I scored myself a 56 which means I have
situational communication anxiety. My family thinks I am more nervous speaking
in public. In the past I would say that this is true, but I believe I have
grown a bit. Unfortunately, they have not seen me speak in a public forum in a
long time. I am still nervous about speaking in public, but it does greatly
depend on the situation.
Lastly, they rated me moderate for
verbal aggressiveness, while I rated myself significant. I guess that is a good
thing. They believe I have a great balance between respect and consideration
for others. It is nice that they have this view of me. I need to do some more
self-reflecting. But, maybe the score would be different on a different day. I took
the test twice and my score was slightly different each time.
These results inform my professional
and my personal life in many ways. It is important when working with children
and their families that I am empathetic and understanding about their
situations and circumstances. It is also important to have the ability to
balance respect and consideration for others and their needs. In the field, we
must always keep an open mind and a level head.
Ms. Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI learned that I communicate differently with family and coworkers. When others evaluate your communication, it is amazing how differently they see you from how you see yourself. This has taught me that perceptions are different, and I have to be conscious of how I communicate in different environments.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI too learned that my family member know me well. However, they know me a little too well. I understand that I am most comfortable with my husband, therefor, I admit to being a little more aggressive with him
This exercise has taught me that I need to treat each environment that I am in as important as the others.
I want all of the people that I have to communicate with to feel as though I truly value what they are trying to say.
Thanks for sharing your results.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteYou're right - verbal aggression levels can be very important when working in this field. Initially I thought it was a negative thing, just simply meaning the person was aggressive. However, one does need a certain amoung of authority and ability to speak up and clearly when speaking with schools, parents and students. My boss used to tell me that I needed to talk louder, and not seem so timid. This isn't a scale we want to score too low on!
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteGood point about verbal aggression changing from day to day. It also varies from person to person and is situational. I noticed that my husband measured my aggression higher in some of the statements than I did for myself. As Katrina stated above I may be more aggressive with my husband or my close friends because of our comfort level. The assignment was interesting, learning about how others view me as a communicator was helpful in my efforts to improve my communication skills.