Thank You

I would like to wish everyone much success in their future. I thank everyone for their contributions to the class. I would also like to thank Dr. Ferrari for the support and advice throughout this program. I could not have made it successfully in this class without the support of you all and Dr. Ferrari. I am a bit sad because I will not be attending school this summer, but I have to concentrate on my Husband's health. I will hope to start back fall semester so that I can finish my last two classes. Again, Thank you all and I wish you much success.

Adjourning

Adjourning

I have participated in many group presentations. I think that the hardest good-byes were definitely with the highest performing group, because you have created a bond with these people and have done a great job with their help. I wished that we would have ended the group with a dinner at a nice restaurant. I think that sometimes when you get to experience being in a successful group experience, you often find new acquaintances that last a lifetime.

Also, I do not know how I will adjourn from my colleagues at the end of the master’s program. I assume that I will thank everyone for their help throughout the program and wish them all luck. I think that adjourning is important because it is a form of finalizing. It gives you the opportunity to thank everyone and to possibly invite others to future group participation. It assures that everything ends on a good note and that you appreciate their work.

Resolving Conflict

I have conflict concerning an issue with my supervisor. I have been looking at the conflict from my perspective. Having taken this class and through this week's assignment I have decided to implement some strategies that will perhaps bring peace if not resolution to the issue. First of all, I will consider my supervisor's stand in the situation. It has made me realize that the issue that I have with her is really not her fault. It is a matter of circumstance that is out of her control. Second, I have decided to meet with her so that she can hear my opinion as well as, listening to her position in the matter. I will implement the 3 R's so that we can communicate effetively and hopefully we will both compromise on the situation.

Also, when I asked my co-worker on advice when resolving conflict she said that she usually leaves any potential violent confrontation and will go back and address the situation at a later time. She says that she usually tries to think about the other person's perspective also.

Who Am I as a Communiator?

This week’s assignment was very enlightening. I learned some things about myself and how others viewed me. The one thing that surprised me the most is that others viewed my communication skills almost identical to the way I viewed myself. This surprised me because I thought that others would be more critical of me. I have to admit that I was feeling anxiety when anticipating how others would rate me. An important insight that I gained this week is that your self-concept plays an important role in how you view others and communicate with them. I also learned that I have to get better when speaking in a group setting. I feel more comfortable when I speak one-on-one. Taking into consideration these two new insights I realize that I need to attend more professional development training to build my communication skills, as well as participate in speaking engagements more frequently.

 

Communicating with Others

I definitely communicate differently with people from different groups or cultures. I try my best to blend my communication skills with whomever I am communicating with. For instance, when communicating with someone of another language, I try to be as direct and emphasize my words. I try to make sure that I am speaking a little slower than I normally speak. I also speak differently when I am communicating with someone who speaks “slang”. I will often use slang when I am speaking with someone who understands this language.

In addition, I could use more strategies to help me communicate more effectively with these groups. I could surround myself with a more diverse group of people so that I feel more comfortable when I am communicating with them. I could also try and learn some other language to help me communicate with English-Language learners. Finally, I think that my communication would be better in general if I had more confidence when speaking to people from different groups or cultures.

Distorted Communication

The show that I chose to watch was called Cougar Town. From the title I assumed the piture would be about women dating younger men. The show began with an older woman sitting on a benh with a younger man. I thought that it was maybe her son but, from the title I assumed it would be her love interest. I continued to watch and saw two more women and three men. I then assumed that these may have been the male parteners of the three women, and maybe the younger man that I saw in the beginning was the lady's son. I also saw one of the women walk into a room and began to conversate with one of the men. They showed her looking at a pair of socks on the floor and him throwing a book over the socks. I assumed that she said something to him that persuaded him to pick up the soks because he jumped up suddenly and then had this look on his face that said she had conned him in some way to pick up the socks.

Later when I watched the episode with the sound on I found out that the initial people were son and mother. I also found out that two of the other men were not paired with anyone. I did assume correctly about the lady saying something to one of the men that pursuaded him to pick up his socks, and that I read his facial expression correctly that he had realized that she had tricked him into picking up his socks.

Also, I did make an assumption because of the shows title that was not necessarily true. I believed that this show was about something that it was not. This episode was about men and women gowing through some mid-life crisis. One man was troubled because he felt like some people would assume he was gay because of his interest and the fact that he liked to be neat and took pride in his appearance.

In conclusion, I did not understand the show even after I watched with the sound on. Although, I did understand the characters better. Part of the reason that I did not understand the picture was because I was not really interested in the picture, and it was definitely something that I would not have watched if it had not been for this assignment. This goes to show me that your interest definitely plays a part in your listening and communication skills. My assumptions would have been more orret if it was a show that I knew well. This was definitely a good activity.

Effective Communicator

One person that was a very good commnicator was the director of the child devlopment center where I use to work. He was a good communicator because he was very much informed concerning child development. He spoke in a language where everyone cood comprehend and he respected what others had to say. He also went above and beyond when delivering information so that everyone left trainigs with a good understanding. He listened and respected the opinions of others.

Also, I would definitely want to model this behavior and have done so throughout my early childhood career. I think that everyone needs a role model in their life. I look up to anyone that shows respect and love for others. I hope to be a role model for others and have others respect me as an effective communicator.