Sunday, September 29, 2013

WHO AM I AS A COMMUNICATOR?


This portrait is called, "The Confident Woman". My desire is to be as confident as the woman in the this portrait.
As I reflect on myself as a Communicator, I see a woman who is a strong communicator. Although, I tend to get very anxious before speaking in public, the adrenaline really kicks in when I speak. I have been told that I have a really unique way of delivering messages. I am very much a people person and I enjoy talking with others while having a good time in the process.

My husband was one of the people I asked to evaluate me as a communicator. His evaluation was very similar to mine in many areas which of course is no surprise to me. However, on the Communications Anxiety Inventory, his perception of me is that I do not experience any anxiety when asked to speak in public. My mentor was the other person I asked to evaluate me as a communicator. Her perception of me as a communicator is that I experience mild anxiety. After giving that perception some thought, she was correct because I share those thoughts with her as my mentor because of the context of our relationship whereas I tend to shut down communication with my husband.

I gained insight about my listening style as a communicator being that I tend to show empathy towards those I communicate with which could possibly cloud my judgment in some ways. This is an area that I feel I need to work on the most. I feel that empathy is necessary in most areas of communication when used in the appropriate context. However, we must be careful not to allow it to cloud our judgment especially when tough decisions need to be made as educators and administrators.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Communication and Culture



The Crayon Box Talked
Wouldn't it be terrible? Wouldn't it be sad?
If just one single color was the color that we had?
If everything was purple? Or red? Or blue? Or green?
If yellow, pink, or orange was all that could be seen?
Can you just imagine how dull world would be
If just one single color was all we got to see?

Communication is like a rainbow, a bag of M&M's, a box of crayons or a bowl of Skittles. It comes in so many colors and flavors. I enjoy looking at a rainbow in the sky and admiring the many different colors after a wonderful rain shower. The many different flavors of M&M's and Skittles entice my taste buds. I enjoy the many colors in a box of crayons because they remind me of the many different cultures and personalities that make up this world. This is the way I feel about communication.

I enjoy talking to people from all walks of life. Learning about the cultures represented around me is very intriguing to me. I must admit that I do communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures than those within my culture. I am very confident in my culture because there are strong similarities and common interests of those within my culture such as the foods we eat, the holidays we celebrate as well as the places we frequent.

When I am communicating with people from a different group or culture, I take a step back in order to take in the many facets of that culture. I enjoy observing their culture and experiencing it from an observer's perspective. I ask questions and participate in their activities as much as possible. I really have no problem being myself in any environment but I am more reserved when within a different culture. As far as my dialect when verbally communicating with others from a different culture, I find myself being very cautious of the words I use and the tone in which I use them. It is very different than talking to those within my culture because I am able to use phrases and certain slang and be easily understood. I am more relaxed when within my own culture but tend to be slightly guarded when interacting with those from other cultures until I get to know them and feel more comfortable around them.

Moreover, I enjoy all people. It does not matter what culture a person is from. we are all just like that box of crayons. We make a statement alone but scream diversity when put together. I enjoy sampling each color as I paint my picture of life.











Sunday, September 15, 2013

That Was NOT What I Thought They Said!!

My favorite show...MONK!



This week's Blog assignment was so much fun! I have a long list of recorded shows already on my DVR so I chose to watch an episode of Monk. Now this show is very difficult to watch even with the volume turned up however, when you watch it with the volume turned down, the facial expressions and body language tell one story but when I turned the volume up and watched the show again, the verbal communication changed my perception of the story all together.

The episode I watched was showed a party scene where men and women were having a party. A couple seemed to be having a good conversation from the looks of their facial expressions and body language with the volume turned down, however, when I watched the episode again with they were actually arguing and the woman (to my surprise) was threatening to kill the man. In the end, she was found to be guilty of that murder however, she played the part as the grieving wife throughout the episode. Of course Monk solved the case but even he was deceived throughout most of the episode.

I learned through this exercise that nonverbal cues alone, can lead to misinterpretations of the message someone is trying to send. However, nonverbal cues coupled with verbal communication gives a more clear and effective message to the receiver of the message.

I have found that I pay very close attention to not only what a person is saying but also to the nonverbal messages the person sends when talking to me. Sometimes that is the true message and not so much the words that are coming out of the person's mouth. "Women usually pay more attention to both verbal and nonverbal cues when evaluating their partners and deciding how much of themselves they should reveal to those partners, whereas men attend more to the verbal information alone(O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012)."

Being able to read a person's nonverbal cues is a great tool to use when working in the field of early childhood education because many times a child will not open up to you unless you are able to read their nonverbal cues and ask more open-ended questions that will help the child feel more comfortable about sharing.

Communication is very intriguing and it has been a very interesting journey so far learning about the many different ways to do so both verbally and nonverbally.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

My Communication SHE-RO


I must admit that I am super excited about this Communication and Collaboration course. My absolute favorite communicator is Oprah Winfrey. She is simply amazing at anything she puts herself into. I particularly appreciate the fact that the Oprah Winfrey Show gave her a platform from which she was able to impact so many peoples' lives. This influence allowed her to cross racial lines and because of this she is loved by people from all walks of life. Oprah is a Master Communicator and is able the difficult questions in a non-threatening way which provokes the interviewees to be very candid in their answers. I was always amazed how she is able to capture the essence of the subject at hand.

Oprah inspires me to set my sights on a goal and persevere until I accomplish them. I am so encourage by the school she opened in South Africa which is called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. I am so excited about one day opening a Child Development Center/Youth Activity Center where I will be able to mentor young children and make a difference in my community.

I strive to continue to grow in the area of communication, not only through written communication but also verbal communication with others. I enjoy the art of communication and I enjoy interacting with others in positive ways.