Is Your Communication Effective?

I took the time to use this evaluation as a fun exercise for my husband and my close coworker. My husband was reluctant, but I really wanted to know the results. To both our surprise, he ranked me just as I ranked myself. We were a few points off here and there, but still fell within the same category on each skills test. It made me feel as though we were on the same page in regards to my communication skills and it made me feel as though I am effectively communicating with him as we should. We plan to complete the assessment on him for fun. My coworker’s assessment of me was also very similar to my own. We work very closely with one another and I feel as though she knows me pretty well. Our results, were also dead on. Her results helped me to realize that though I may use different channels of communication in different situations, I am still the same in many ways. Both my husband and my coworker helped me to realize that I am pretty consistent with the way that I communicate. I would like to strive to be even better and even more effective within my home, my workplace and my community.

Communication within Diverse Cultural Settings

When I think of the diverse cultures that I regularly encounter, and look into my behavior within these cultures, I do believe that my behavior changes, to some extent depending on the culture. When I am with people who are not within my culture, i.e., my religion, my traditions, my ethnicity, my profession, I feel that I am guarded and very cautious of my actions and the message I convey be it verbal or nonverbal. In many cases, I am guarded because I want to be a positive reflection of my culture. Most specifically, my African American culture. This is important to me because though culture is about more than my race or color, it is the most obvious at first glance. In so many cases I believe that people often get the wrong perception of my African American culture, so whenever I encounter someone new I feel obligated to show people that we are so much more than our common stereotypes and misperceptions. After a few encounters though, I feel that a person knows me well enough to no longer even consider the typical stereotypes and appreciate me more as an individual. In regards to my effectively communicating, I am learning more and more how important it is to listen, not only to respond, but to actual hear and receive the message that is being delivered. I plan to be more conscious of this concept. Though I believe I speak pretty well, it is important to appreciate the role of listener. This stands out to me a lot because in so many cases, I am listening, hearing the context of the conversation, then considering schemas that have developed along the way, assuming that I know the outcome and that is not the way effective communicators, listen. I am working to focus more within a conversation on what is being said right then rather than the similar stories I may have heard in the past.

Interpreting Communication

This past Friday, as my husband sat down to watch one of his shows, I had a chance to take a break from my typical list of things to do and sit down to watch a round with him. While getting settled before the show started, my one year old found the remote and decided we should watch a different show Extreme Fear Factor: Siblings. (Impromptu movie night with our one year old, this is the life!) Since the show was new to the both of us, I thought what a perfect time to make my observation of the way we interpret nonverbal communication. We watched the show without audio and it was actually pretty neat, these were my observations!

**Without audio**

-Three sets of sibling pairs: two males, two females and one male and one female

-I could not have made a definite call on how the individuals were related, but it is evident that they are familiar with one another and came into the show together, or have really strong chemistry

-competitions are fierce, but the pairs are at least attempting the challenges

-the pairs are real team players cheering one another on; they are jumping up and down cheering one another on

-[Sidebar: What the heck are they supposed to be doing with that?!?!?]

**With audio**

Had my husband, not told me the relation between the pairs, I definitely would not have been able to determine that these people were siblings. Though some of them were same sex, they could have very well have been affectionate, but not over the top, couples. Something that tickled me about watching with audio vs. without audio was the fact that I believed the other teams were cheering them on, when in reality, they were cheering for them to quit so they would have a better chance at winning the $50k cash prize. Though I knew there was a reward of some sort attached to the challenge, had I known there was a $50, 000 reward, I probably would have developed a scenario other than them cheering one another on.

After completing the assignment, I have come to better understand the way that our perception of a person or situation can change based on our level of familiarity. When I have encountered a person or situation on multiple occasions, I have a more accurate perspective of what to expect and how to handle certain situations, but it is not always that simple. We have to be aware that not every person or situation will be the same, and it does not benefit anyone when we make assumptions and treat people based on those assumptions. We have to remain open minded to receiving the message being delivered.

Demonstrating Competent Communication

President Barack Obama is one of the greatest speakers of our time. When he speaks, his poise and charisma is almost hypnotizing. Regardless of the topic being discussed, President Obama’s tone and body language are always appropriate. He is also always sure to make full eye contact with his audience. President Obama is sincere and his approach is captivating. Rather you are watching him live or on television, he makes you feel whichever emotion he is expressing.

Regardless of the topic or real time situations thrown at him when he is addressing an audience, President Obama always handles himself with dignity and respect, he is focused and certain to get his point across.