Developing Communication Skills

1. Write a paragraph about the classes and assignments that best developed your communication skills. Be specific in describing how they were helpful.

Basic Counseling Methods (taught by Regina Green and Aaron Welch) was one of my most memorable classes for helping me to develop communication skills. This class detailed the framework for creating open communication which involved open questions, reflection, summary, and the importance of reading body language. This in addition with Advanced Counseling Methods involved role playing with these communication techniques in different scenarios. While these were initially intimidating, practicing what was just learned help to cement these essential concepts into my learning. Oral Communication also helped me to overcome my fear of public speaking. Dr. Williams also made the experience lighthearted and helped me to not take myself so seriously. He also emphasized the importance of memorizing an outline rather than a manuscript. Professor Walton was also fond of breaking up his classes into small groups for discussion. While this was already a strong area for me in communication, it helped me to grow into the role of a leader in this position more by asking questions of others rather than knowing all the answers and telling others what to think.

2. Write a paragraph about communication opportunities you experienced outside of the classroom. What were the strengths and weaknesses that you demonstrated in those contexts?

The majority of my extra-curricular communication during my time at Central consisted of either one-on-one counseling and relationship building or small and large group discussion. In these contexts a key strength that I exhibited was the ability to...

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...rience of waiting for God's promise to be fulfilled. From the time God called Abraham in Gen. 12:1-4, it took twenty-five years for Abraham to see the fulfillment of just the beginning of being made a “great nation.” There are both successes and failures that are demonstrated through Abraham's waiting. One such success can simply be seen in Abraham's faithfulness to respond in obedience to circumcision, covenant sign (Gen. 17). However, his biggest failure was succumbing to the pressures cultural practice in bearing a child through Sarah's handmaiden Hagar (Gen. 16:1-4). These opposing responses teach me the necessity of being obedient to perform the hard tasks of cutting off those things that keep me from making God my only priority. Also, the danger in conforming to culture in order to try to fulfill in my own way what God has designed that only He can accomplish.