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Ways to overcome barriers to effective communication in daily life
Ways to overcome barriers to effective communication in daily life
Ways to overcome barriers to effective communication in daily life
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EDPS 315 has been such a great learning experience for me, and has taught me many communication and leadership skills that I plan to use in my future career and everyday life. I would say that I came into this course with a general idea of what good communication skills are and what it means to be a collaborative leader. I have always enjoyed working with others and I am always open to their suggestions and feedback. Throughout high school, I had many jobs that required me to work and communicate with my coworkers and customers. I also played sports in high school which taught me that a team can get more accomplished when working together towards the same goals. Also, a team can get more accomplished when they understand and care for one another. …show more content…
Working with people you have formed relationships with is easier than working with complete strangers. Along with that, I have always thought that I was a great listener and that it was silly to be taking a class that required me to “improve” my listening skills. Although after sitting through a couple lectures, and reading the course readings I was shocked by how poor my listening skills actually were. This is not a skill that you can just master overnight, it’s something that requires you to consistently improve throughout your life. By obtaining these skills now, while I’m still in college, I will further benefit my future professional career. Not only will it benefit my future professionalism, but it will allow me to become a better leader, an overall better person. As this semester went on, I began to learn many important tips and concepts that will help me improve my communication and leader skills. In order to become a good collaborative leader, I should have the ability to collaborate and effectively work well with others. Communication is very important when working well with others. Collaborative leaders should be capable of handling difficult conversations when they arise. Along with working well with others, the course reading “Emotionally Intelligent Leadership,” stated that collaborative leaders should be open to feedback and help from others (Shankman, Allen, Curran, 2015). They must be willing to recognize where they went wrong and work towards improving their skills. In college, I am required to work with other students all the time. I tend to enjoy working with others because you can collaborate with one another and form a great product when everyone works well together. I also like the fact that it’s like a quick checking system, your group members are trying to achieve the same goal, so they will most likely be checking you as an individual, and your work, as you complete the project. If something goes wrong, they will most likely point it out, because they too want to achieve the same ultimate goal. Also from the reading, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, the authors discuss that self-awareness and self-reflection is important when becoming an effective leader (Shankman et al., 2015). If you are planning on becoming a successful leader, you should make it a priority to be self-aware and understand your values and motives. It is also important that you accept feedback and self-reflect, based off the advice others give you and your past experiences (Shankman et al., 2015). By reflecting on past experiences, you will learn and become a stronger and more effective leader. Throughout this whole semester, we have been writing reflection papers, reflecting on course readings and on our role plays. By processing this information and writing about it, I have gained a much greater learning experience on how to properly become an effective collaborative leader. Like I previously stated, to become a good collaborative leader, you must always strive to improve your listening skills throughout your career. From the course readings, I have learned that it is important to make sure your speaker feels that they are understood and listened to. From the course reading, “The Lost Art of Listening,” I learned that the most successful relationships occur when people actually listen and understand one another (Nichols, 2009). It also states that it is important to listen to children in their early childhood. When a child feels like they are being listened to and understood they tend to live more successful lives (Nichols, 2009). I plan to become an elementary teacher after college, and this concept could affect how my everyday workday may be. If I have students who have parents that do not listen to them or understand them at home, it may lead to how they will act within my classroom. This may not be true for all students, but it is a very common reason as to why students act up in the classroom. Also, it is important that I take time to make sure that all my students feel understood by me. Their opinions and impute in class is very important and valued, so they should know that. I also learned from class lectures and the course readings that listening takes two people, one to talk and one to listen (Nichols, 2009). Both sides need to keep an open mind, and fully devote themselves to the conversation. Often times, the listener wants to interrupt the speaker so they can share their thoughts and feelings too, but to be a good listener, one should refrain from talking in order to allow the other side to speak up and share their own thoughts and feelings (Nichols,2009). Now that I am aware of my listening skills, I am constantly questioning what I can improve.
Am I devoting my full attention to the speaker? Am I using non-verbal’s that distract or discourage the speaker from sharing their full thoughts and feelings? Am I interrupting them to share my own feelings or advice that may not even be helpful? I am now capable of understanding when to sit in silence and allow the speaker to share everything that comes to their mind, and when it’s best to jump into the conversation with some impute and advice. I am also capable of recognizing when others are not using good listening skills with me. I used to always think that my best friend understood me so well, and that she was always there to listen to everything I had to say. But really, she tends to always shift the conversation to something that she can relate to, and it’s no longer about me and my feelings. She also tries to fix everything, instead of just simply listening to me. Sometimes you just need someone to sit there and show that they hear you and that they understand what you are …show more content…
feeling. This leads to another important concept that I previously stated; collaborative leaders should be capable of having difficult conversations when they arise.
I learned that it is important as a collaborative leader, to address difficult conversations head on and handle them with professionalism before they get out of hand. As discussed in the course reading, “Difficult Conversations”, it is important to handle these situations with control over your emotions. In order to control your emotions, one must understand their feelings and being able to handle them in the most appropriate manner. (Stone, Patton, & Heen, 2010). It is also sometimes helpful to start the conversation off by telling it through the Third Story, this way no one is taking sides from the get go (Stone et al., 2010). From our role plays I have been able to practice many different difficult conversations that I could potentially have in my future. Some of which I have actually had shortly after practicing them in class. These role plays encouraged me to work on and improve my overall communication and listening skills, while having a difficult conversation. One thing that I learned from the role plays was the importance of eye contact. By maintaining eye contact throughout the conversation, the speaker will feel that they are being respected and listened to. Along with that, I have learned to control my non-verbal’s. For example, I used to play with my hair and tap my foot a lot during awkward and difficult
conversations, but now I have learned that these non-verbals are distracting and can cause the speaker to draw away from the conversation. Lastly, from these role plays I have become very good at allowing silence to draw up the speaker’s deep feelings and thoughts. When I don’t know how to respond or I simply can’t relate, sometimes silence or a simple “mmhmm” will encourage the speaker to continue. This will allow you more time to recognize and better understand the speaker’s thoughts and feelings. It could also potentially allow you time to gather your thoughts about the conversation, which will allow you to provide your speaker with better feedback or advice later in the conversation when they are ready for it. Overall I feel that I have grown as a listener, which has allowed me to become an overall better collaborative leader. This is very important to me because since I plan to become an elementary teacher, I must be willing and capable of listening to my students and their parents every day. I must also be open to their feedback and feedback from other teachers. In order to become a better listener, I plan to continue to improve my listening skills each and every day. I know I can never perfect it but I can always keep improving! I will push myself to listen more than I speak. I will encourage myself to handle difficult situations and conversations in professional manners, and always be open to feedback from others. I will also continue to work with large groups of people, because one day I will be working in a classroom full of twenty-some students and my collaborative leader skills will come in handy. These goals that I have set will help me become a great role model and leader for my future students. I will be able to show them what a collaborative leader looks like, and how to use good listening skills in school and in everyday life. These goals will also help me with future job interviews, and future difficult conversations that I may need to have with my peers and coworkers. Lastly, these goals will encourage me to stay open to feedback, and will encourage me to continue to better myself, and my leadership and listening skills throughout my future.
In addition to this, I feel that my Team building class gave me good insight into the inner workings and mechanics of how teams work. More work.
...om an unbiased perspective, engage in self-discovery, listen from a stance of genuine curiosity, ask questions, and pay attention to feelings. Finally, with consideration for both perspectives, we can begin problem solving. The authors of Difficult Conversations suggest working toward a productive, learning conversation, and they offer realistic advice on obtaining this objective. I am glad that I had the opportunity, and that I took the time, to read this book. It has empowered me to tackle difficult conversations with confidence, and it has changed my approach to problem solving.
During the sessions, I realized that my strengths are providing the appropriate amount of verbal and nonverbal signals to the other participant during the conversation. Something that I could work towards is becoming a better listener when the subject matter might not interest me. It is easy to stay engaged in a conversation that strikes interest, but harder to do the same when it might not be as appealing. Living in a shared space with someone I wasn’t familiar with was a learning experience. Having that occurrence has prepared me to be comfortable with managing conflicts. Even though I had the privilege to live alongside another person there will be situations where I am not as skilled despite previous experiences. In preparation, I can continue to grow in this area by practicing my listening skills and understanding that each resident is different. Therefore, different methods of action should take place, and knowing the appropriate places to refer someone is another way I can continue to grow. After taking the assessment on personal conflict management styles I learned more about how I deal with conflict. I learned that I am more likely to look past differences to save the relationship and I would opt for a calmer approach to conflicts when I notice there a difference between me and another individual. I am comfortable with managing
Difficult conversations happens every day in the workplace, it may involve a supervisor and staff communicating about low productive and work performance delivering feedback; or why this staff arrives late to work every morning. Difficult conversations can also include teammates not being able to work together on a project when the deadline is fast approaching. According to Engels, (2007a) No one relishes an uncomfortable conversation. (p.50) Nevertheless, “Executing important but unsettling conversations can be surprisingly effective when the sender follow clear guidelines. (p.50)
Listen even when you feel what the other person is saying isn't important; the likelihood is that it is important to them and you should give them the respect and courtesy of really listening. This also models the respect and courtesy that you would like them to display.
The Importance of Listening for Professional and Personal Relationships Listening is essential for communication, yet is a skill in which most are lacking. Though we are listening constantly, knowing what to listen to requires an enormous amount of discipline and practice, which is vital for communicating effectively. Learning to listen will benefit all relationships from professional to personal and not being able to listen effectively can cause these relationships to deteriorate. “Indeed, although aware of the instrumentality of listening, even trained communicators often fail to listen correctly or at opportune times” (Cline, 2013). In order for all of areas of communication in an individual to flourish, listening must be emphasized.
...ew it in different perspectives. The outcomes were surprisingly insightful and greatly enhance my contribution towards the development of our business plan. It allows me to look back on what has been done and learned from what did or did not work out. In other words, it helped me to see both the positivity as well as the negativity in our ideas and thus stimulate improvements. This assignment also cultivated a sense of team spirit through teamwork and boost creativity through the development of thinking outside the box. Therefore, this assignment has definitely aid my knowledge in developing skills such as writing up comprehensive critical reflection and evaluating the risks of certain business ideas. Aside from that, I have also managed to deal with people from different cultural background through teamwork and develop unique business ideas and market strategies.
As The Gift of Listening describes, “Opening one’s heart and listening at a deep level does not come easily and is rarely achieved simply by life experience” (Browning & Waite, 2010, p. 151) There are different aspects to being a good listener that are often difficult to achieve and lead to poor listening. One significant challenge to listening is the attention needed in order to actively listen to another person. Proper listening does not occur due to a passive process but instead it takes deliberate action and thought towards what a person in saying. Like previously stated, actively listening is achieved by sitting in a comfortable and open way and maintaining good eye contact. When a person does not exhibit these techniques good listening often does not occur. The challenge of utilizing different techniques in order to listen to others in a better way often gets blocked by barriers that make active listening unable to occur. In our society today one major barrier to listening is technology. In a casual setting, proper listening often doesn’t occur due to someone being tied to their cell phone. The millennial generation is often guilty of passively listening to others due to the mobile technology that is being used today. Many conversations occur without eye contact or full focus on what the other has to say and instead is spent staring at a
I also think that I did a pretty good job at remaining silent, especially during pauses in the conversation. One nonverbal behavior that I used a lot to show empathy and active listening was nodding with the occasional “uh huh.” I also tried to maintain good eye contact throughout the session in order to let her know that she had my undivided attention, and I was focused on what she was saying. At one point in our conversation, I told her that how she was feeling was understandable. I did this because I wanted her to know that the feelings and emotions she was experiencing were valid and
...e any conflict is to become calm an effective communicator. Reinforcing your listening skills are a must when looking to further your communication skills. Let’s face it you want to listen well before setting a plan of action. Never jump into any conversation unprepared, not only can it cause conflict but you can lose credibility if the meaning of what you are trying to say is lost. Verbal communication is always best, talking to another individual face to face is a good idea this way you can judge their reactions by their body language and you can express the correct meaning. But, remember that verbal is not the only form of communication. Your nonverbal communication can say a lot to the receiver (ie. body language). Use supportive messages rather than defensive ones can be more productive. Any conflict can be resolved through correct and effective communication.
It is very important to understand that in everyday communication we are either the speaker or listener and it’s important that we do those jobs as best we can in order to have a healthy communication relationship. This activity was very useful because I got to reflect on my past successes and failures in my communicating strategies and in doing so I can improve and adapt to become a better communicator and listener. I believe that this assignment is very useful because it is real life experiences that may occur again and I can better assess the situation and use the appropriate communicating strategy necessary. This reflection will help me in my personal development by giving me situational experience that I will be able to correctly approach in and out of the
In order to demonstrate sensitivity, I need to pause and reflect on what I want to say prior to speaking. Furthermore, my moderate human skill level demonstrates a need for greater improvement in the ability to be sensitive to the needs and motivations of others. One of my leadership experiences includes facilitating a casual, weekly discussion with international students about cultural themes as a Peer Helper in the Office of Intercultural Affairs. Since some students are shy or more reserved, I often need to guide the conversation. However, I need to be wary of my overenthusiastic and outgoing personality dominating the conversation and understand that others need time and space to voice their
As we all know the world can throw us some curves and change the course one may expect in their life. Listening to what others are saying is to help them in some way or another. As a counselor my goal is to apply myself as an effective listener because it’s required and if my listening skills are not up to par, then there is no reason to be in that field profession. There was a time when a friend was relying on me to listen to a problem she was having in her marriage, instead of listening my reaction was “you need a marriage counselor” she then became disappointed because my focus wasn’t on what she was saying instead my focus was on what she didn’t say and only then was my response would have been given. This to me was a mental distraction because the focus was on what my reply would have been instead of what she was actually saying to me. Listening mindfully requires us to be completely aware of what is being said and why, it is here we an understanding can be made clear (Hall D. 2017). A person who is sharing openness is most always appreciated and valued over closed mindedness in both face to face communication and online (Joseph A. DeVito 2012). Over the course of my own life there have been many occasions where effective listening was required, academically, emotionally, mentally and on a support level of
To be effective listeners, the listening process should be incorporated into our lives. We should be attentive to what people say, clarify what the speaker is trying to come across, and respond in a way the speaker can understand what we are saying. I think I was aware that I needed some improvement in certain areas of this process but I feel as everything is slowly changing. In the future, I’m going try not to interrupt people, get distracted, tune out, and try to get a bigger picture of what the person is telling me. If good listening habits are applied in our day-to-day life, we can easily communicate with anyone and everyone.
One of the main aspects in communicating is listening. An effective listener is one who, not only comprehends how the speaker feels but, also understands what they are stating. Building a strong connection between the speaker and the listener is one of the first steps to become a good listener. By building this connection speakers should first be in an environment with open minded listeners, it makes them feel more comfortable to state their opinions, feelings and ideas. Listeners should avoid being judgmental. The individual does not have to agree with the ideas, values or opinions of the speaker; however, to fully understand them, one must put aside their criticism. Speakers will believe that they can trust the listeners with their information when they know that they will not be judged. Miscommunication happens frequently, listene...