CommunicatonSurveys

I enjoyed taking the communication surveys this week and comparing my results with the results I got from a family member and co-worker. The results of the three surveys were all very similar. I was not surprised and felt that the results were very spot on from what I previously thought of about my communication skills. Here are the results of my survey:

Communication Anxiety- Moderate

Verbal Aggressiveness- Moderate

Listening- People Oriented

What I am taking away the most from this survey is that I need to find was to ease my situational anxiety when in small group situations. I made that one of my goals and I am excited to start working on it.

Week 3 Blog

After thinking the question over in my head several times “Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?” I would have to say, no. I try to be very respectful with anyone I am talking to. I am mindful about who I am talking to and what might be appropriate in that situation, but as far as respect and politeness, I communicate the same.

Different kinds of communication are appropriate for different situations. For example, when interacting with the parents of my students I am very careful to keep the conversation polite and professional. I draw a line on what information about myself or my personal life I am going to reveal to them. With a close co-worker I am polite as well, but may reveal different aspects of my personal life that I would not to parents.

As far as communicating with people from groups or cultures that are different from mine, if I know what is considered respectful in their culture, I am careful to give that respect. My brother in law is from Bolivia and it is very common in the Hispanic culture to hug and kiss on the cheek when you greet someone you already know, or someone is being introduced into the family or close circle of friends. This is not something I do with other members of the family, but I always do with him and any of his family members. I think it is important to embrace certain practices from other cultures as a form of respect.

Week 2 Blog

This week’s assignment was to watch a television show with no sound in order to zone in on non-verbal communication. I decided to watch a show on Disney channel called “Ant F.A.R.M”. For those of you who have never heard of this show, it is about a group of tween aged children who are attending an advanced academics program at a local high school even though they are much younger than their high school aged peers.

While watching the show with no sound, I noticed that the characters use facial expressions and body movements to convey may verbal signals. I could pretty much understand everything that was going on, just by watching their physical behaviors.

This helped me to realize that our body language says a lot. I will be more mindful of my body language, especially during staff meetings (J) to insure that I am not sending the wrong signals. 

A Model of Good Communication Skills

I have been teaching for several years and have had the opportunity to work with many different kinds of people. In a field like teaching, communication goes on non-stop all day long. Whether it be with children, parents or co-workers, there is a constant need to relay thoughts, collaborate and manage tasks together. Without strong communication skills it would be extremely hard to be a teacher.

When thinking of a person who shows very strong communication skills, and someone I would like to model my behaviors after, the first person to come to mind is the assistant director that I had when I was teaching pre-school. She was very kind and respectful with parents and staff, but also funny and personable. She was able to keep her calm, even in very heated situation between parents or other staff. She always managed to give good, thought out responses even during an awkward moment with a parent.

Even though I have been teaching for 10 years, I hope to gain skills form this communication course that will help me to navigate sticky conversations with parents.