Friday, September 28, 2018

Evaluating Myself as a Communicator


As I consider how I evaluated myself as a communicator and how others evaluated me, I found there were more similarities than differences. This information leads me to understand that the individuals I asked to evaluate me understand me well and they know what kind of person I am. I was surprised to learn that one of the individuals who evaluated me differently was in the Communication Anxiety Inventory where they felt that communication does not worry me and I feel confident in all communication scenarios. This was surprising to me because I evaluated myself differently as I feel unconfortable in some scenarios when it comes to communication, and I second guess what I am communicating at times and whether I communicated effectively. This helped me understand that while I may feel uneasy on the inside, I portray myself as a confident communicator, which I guess is a positive thing!
            One insight I learned this week with regard to communication is your communication strengths and weaknesses are related to your culture and your social identities (O’Hair, Weinmann, Mullin, & Teven, 2015). I have learned that it is important to understand your social identities as they impact many aspects of your life. This information can inform my professional and personal life because based on my understanding of my social identities and communication skills, I may need to adapt how I communicate depending on the situation I am in.
            The second insight I gained this week is knowledge about what type of communicator I am. This information is important to be aware of because I should understand my strengths and weaknesses as a communicator. In order to grow as a professional and personally, I need to set goals in order to become a better educator and become more confident in my communication abilities. I feel after completing these evaluations I better understand myself as a communicator.  
           
References
O’Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Tevan, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

2 comments:

  1. Brianna thanks for sharing this insightful post. I can see that we all share somewhat the same cognitive and communication skills but we still need that push of confidence to keep us on the right path. Thanks again.

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  2. Brianna,

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your results! It's so relieving to hear someone tell you that you are confident even when you don't feel that way on the inside. That is definitely a positive attribute! It can even teach us that we don't have to become so fixated on certain things, because we already seem confident on the outside so we can attempt to feel that way entirely. Although it's easier said than done and I definitely need to work on that too :).

    Tara

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