Reflective Practice-Developing Personal Communication Competency

Answer

Reflective Practice-Developing Personal Communication Competency

Introduction

            Effective communication is critical for the successful exchange of information, in order to understand people (their emotions and intentions) and in order to fully understand what the other party is saying. Unlike before, new communication platforms like social media sites (such as Twitter) are creating an enabling environment for faster and more convenient communications (Bruhn, Schoenmueller & Schafer, 2012). However, people are still unable to maintain effective communication due to poor verbal skills, poor listening skills, misguided perceptions when communicating and misusing non-verbal skills. Consequently, workplaces and families across the world have failed to achieve their goals and have been disintegrated due to poor communication (Barker & Gower, 2010). As an aspiring leader in the business world, I want to have a strong united organization that would be able to work efficiently regardless of its location across the world. Considering efforts towards diversity in an organization can be undermined when staffs lack effective communication skills, I want to be able to influence good communication skills in my future work places to enhance diversity. For these reasons, through this reflection paper, I will evaluate my verbal communication skills, listening skills, non-verbal communication skills and my perceptions while communicating using 5 diagnostic tools. Based on the noted challenges, I will use theory to explain ways in which I can improve my communication skills and finally conclude by developing an action plan for improvement.

Diagnosis and Reflection

Analysis of my Personal Communication Style using 5 Diagnostic Tools

            To begin with, verbal communication is the main form of communication I use in my daily activities. Stouten and De Cremer (2010) note that in verbal communication, information in transferred from the speaker to the listener or recipient through written words or the use of sounds. The use of sounds or speeches is common in public performances (speaking) while writing is common in work presentations. Personally, I have headed group discussion and led the presentations of our findings in class. Through such avenues, I believe that I have been able to improve my verbal communication skills over time. However, there are five diagnostic tools that can be used to gauge the efficiency of my verbal communication skills. These include: planning, managing contrasting opinions or objections, influencing the recipient, measurement of efficiency of the communication and feedback platforms. The same tools can be used in non-verbal communication which according to Wharton (2009) is the transfer of information using wordless clues. Wharton (2009) categorizes these clues in terms of physical characteristics of the people conversing, environmental conditions within which the communication occurs and the behaviors portrayed by the communicators. Although non-verbal communication is gauged based on these three factors, verbal communications also include non-verbal elements checked through factors like intonation while speaking, volume when making an address and arrangement of words while writing.

            In my experiences, I have learnt that to make a conversation more interesting or to influence the listener, non-verbal cues like hand gestures have to be used. In order to listen and gain from the conversations, I try my best to maintain eye contact. The extent of my success in non-verbal communication will however be illustrated best in the analysis done using the diagnostic tools. Maintaining eye contact is also an element of active listening. Weger et al (2014) believes that an active listener is one who fully concentrates during a presentation or communication process, towards not only understanding but also offering some feedback and remembering important details of the communication. Finally, assertive perceptions are the created perceptions or beliefs that the listeners create when receiving communication. These perceptions are mainly about the communicator but can also be used when understanding the listener. For each of these listening techniques, the 5 diagnostic tools were administered towards understanding my overall communication skills. The findings of the tools showed that my verbal skills are good since I am able to manage through objections effectively during my communication skills, I am able to measure the listener’s understanding during communication and I am able to seek feedback. It was however notable that I seem to lack in terms of planning. This can be attributed to the most recent presentations made in class in which whenever a fellow student asked a question, I would answer in depth to ensure they correctly understood but would take long to return to my presentation. I would spend more time answering and this would limit the time left to complete the remaining part of the work. Recent written assessments have also shown that my works mainly have a “funnel-type” approach where more detail is spent on initial parts of the study while limited time is spent on the final parts.

            Based on the non-verbal schools, the diagnostic tools illustrated that I was able to influence better due to the continued use of hand gestures. My ability to effectively use a higher tone to emphasize, maintaining closeness when communicating with people seated far from me and maintaining an upright posture when making presentations makes my non-verbal communication generally satisfactory. In contrast, my communication seems to lack adequate planning and in most cases, I forget to allow enough time for my audience to present his or her objections. This even limits the ability to obtain feedback as the listener is always interrupted. In terms of active listening, my general performance is very good. I am able to maintain eye contact, seek clarification or question in case I do not understand and even encourage the communicator by showing that I understand through nodding. Finally, in terms of assertive perceptions, my performance is generally good since I am able to note and raise concerns during the presentation. I however tend to over-anticipate, illustrating that I judge the speaker prior to engaging them. I later realized that had written a lot of important notes after the presentation even without the power-point notes. Based on all the communication techniques that I use to communicate, I have the recommended skills except planning and managing objections. This is because, for all the communication avenues, I lack the ability to manage my time or maximize the time for each of the presentation items. On the other hand, in case there are objections to my presentation, I spend much time repeating my explanations-even after the audience understands. In a department meeting in my workplace, I spent 45 minutes explaining an issue in a 75-minutes presentation. I had to seek more time to complete the remaining part of the discussion.

Literature Review

Importance of Effective Communication

            As aforementioned, effective communication ensures that information is successfully passed or exchanged, the actual intentions of the communication can be noted and the actual meanings of the communication can be noted. Additionally, Stuer et al (2009) state that an effective communication can enhance the relationships between the communicators as they can reach an agreement that works for all parties. Ideally, communication presents a platform to co-exist within different societies. Evidently, due to challenges like language barriers or the inability to communicate in an understandable language, organizations struggle to exist in foreign communities and workers from diverse and native communities are denied opportunities due to constant perceptions and lack of a common communication approach (Noll, Beecham & Richardson, 2010, Tenzer et al, 2014). Communication also determines how resources within a society can be shared and without an efficient communication, some people may be undermined while others may be given more privileges over others. In this regard, communication sets the foundation for effective distribution of resources as people can agree on a way forward in terms of the utilization of the resources.

            Currently, technologies have introduced new avenues of communication and maintaining relations through the exchange of information. Twitter and Facebook are examples of social networks that provide a platform for sharing both verbally and non-verbally. Although they are typically virtual or visual platforms, the presentations and communications through these platforms also depend on the ability to ensure the communication is efficient. According to Vafaei et al (2013), an efficient communication is one that overcomes all barriers that may be eminent during a communication process such as lack of focus, misleading body language and overwhelming emotions. Furthermore, an efficient communication is able to pass the message in the most receptive approach that directs attention to the most critical words within the available time. This is specifically critical in the current technological world where word characters are significant while communicating in some social platforms such as Twitter which limit the word characters to 140 (Crawford, 2009). Nonetheless, Crawford (2009) believes that such platforms can still be used to pass an efficient communication as long as the people communicating are able to plan their communication, identify the approach to be used in dealing with objections, measure the success of the communication through feedbacks and seek to influence accordingly using selective meaningful words.

Planning and Dealing with Objections

            One of the main challenges as noted through the diagnosis and reflection is the lack of planning, prior to communication. This leads to poor management of the presentation as it becomes difficult to manage objections. Planning, is one of the most critical items in any communication. It helps to determine the extent to which the information will be passed, how it will be passed, when it will be passed and even how will the communicator ensure that the success of the message is measured. In this regard, one of the main theories that can be used to ensure effective planning and management of the conversation is the rational communication theory. According to Weingartner (2008), when applying rational communication, the communicators are highly guided by the goals of the research and therefore; the communication seeks to achieve a desired goal, the goals of each interacting or communicating parties have to be considered during the communication and the communicators take the goals set by the other parties in order to make the interaction a responsibility of all parties. Although this theory supports the need to have both parties come to a common agreement, it does not limit the communicators to the findings or conclusions developed. It only allows the communicating parties to get into an agreement for the period of communication and even allow for the trial phase for the implementation. This approach is widely applied in scientific conversations, discussions and presentations, where communicators share their knowledge and choose to stick with the set common goals to advance the overall goals-in this case, advancement of science.

            In this regard, the planning stage is critical towards setting an overall objective for the communication. The objective should also include the timeframe for which the message should be able to pass at different periods of the presentation. This will ensure that in case of objections, they would be permissible but after the communicator addresses the issue and feels satisfied, the presentation should proceed. Difficult issues that require further clarification will have to be respected but in case they are inhibiting further exchange of information, they can be noted and discussed in a future setting; after attempting to universally apply the set goals (Weingartner, 2009). Kaburise (2011) added that the ‘speech act theory’ could be used to also further the agenda of the communication by ensuring that the communicator presents his or her expectations from the listener right from the start. Without an objective, it is clear that the objections that may arise during the presentation may consume much of the presentation’s time. The Grice’s Co-operative principle can also be used to explain the fact that a rational communication can ensure objectivity. Grice established that during conversations and other forms of communication, there are specific maxims like the quantity of the message or content in the message, clarity of the message, quality of the message and relevance based on the context (Wang, 2011). All these aspects can be set and the audience or listeners be reminded right from the start of the importance of these maxims. In specific official environments like in workplaces, such maxims are common but to ensure successful application, the communicator can always begin by emphasizing these parts. During the communication, especially when the questions asked fail to protect the objectivity of the discussion, the communicator has to review the initial plan and objectives. This will guide human behavior during the presentation towards ensuring that objections and questions raised during a presentation can be handled better without interfering with the overall goal.

Action Plan

            Based on the findings, planning as a challenge to my communication skills contributes to my poor management of information exchange sessions. Through rational communication theory and the Grice’s Co-operative principle, setting the communication objectives from the stat and continuous referencing of the objectives can help to ensure effective communication as human behaviors during the process are likely to be guided by the objectives. In this regard, the first plan of action, moving forward, will be to have a notebook or work diary for which I will be able to plan all presentations and communications-especially in the work environment. Within this plan, I will state the main objectives and other objectives that may be admissible. I will also organize the timeframe to ensure that the amount of time spent per task is fair or able to achieve the goals of the communication. In case of objections, I will set a timeline for which will address the issues and in case of further clarifications, I will set a specific avenue for which further communication can be enhanced. According to Haughey (2013), goals have to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time based in order to effectively meet the desired goals. In this regard, I will always test the success of the communication approaches I used through noting the number of follow-up issues that emerged through the alternative platforms of communication I will offer.

            Since communication is a continuous process that determines the nature of relationships we have in different parts of the world, I will continue planning and practicing through specific alternative platforms of communication. For instance, I will use my LinkedIn account to present informative business articles and ask my follows to raise concerns and note how effective specific objectives of the discussions were addressed. The findings from such feedbacks will be compared against the original goals of the communication. Whenever possible, I will make presentations in front of my colleagues at school and in workplace and allow them to note my verbal and non-verbal cues while addressing issues. If possible, I will use questionnaires to allow them to offer feedback based on specific issues I will be seeking to address. Within the next 4 months, I also aim at reading 2 books on planning communication and presentations or dealing with objections during presentations. The preferred books are Communicate to Win and Narula’s Business Communication Practices: Modern Trends. I will read these books interchangeably, one in the morning and another in the evening, all days of the week except on weekends.