Communication Style Profiling

Based off of my results, I am quite pleased with my own from what I know.  My communication anxiety inventory stated that I was somewhat concerned about a number of communication context which is very true for me except my only BIG problem is public speaking. When it came to my verbal aggressiveness, I maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others and my listening skills are business like and to the point but I may intimidate sensitive listeners. When it came time for my colleague and mom to do the assessments, my communication skills were the same. Surprisingly this woman did not know that I hate public speaking and she highly believed that I was good at it. My verbal aggressiveness scales were different when it came from my mom but she was completely shocked by her results and so was I! She felt like she may had gotten confused with the questions a little. I winded up being significant in which I attack a person's position or statements, and verbal aggression. She knows that I am in no way like that but she said that I am a very respectful person and has never known me to be aggressive. My listening style from my mother states that I am empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others but she said that I should take extra precaution of that because people could take advantage of me trusting them. My colleague also said that she notices that most times I am very quiet around people I don't know but once I get to know them I talk more. Sometimes she notices I don't talk much to the parents but as I get to see them more then I open up more because I seem very shy. My listening style from her was people oriented as well because I am respectful, quiet most times, and very easy to talk to.

Cultural Communication

               I do find myself communicating with people from different groups and cultures. I remember my trip to Europe back in 08, it was interesting because I did a homestay in Germany. The children could speak English but the parents couldn’t. The parents were mostly translated for me in conversations and they also had an American BBQ for me with cupcakes with American flags on them. One morning, the daughters were gone and the parents were downstairs. I needed help putting their sofa bed back together. I pretty much had to play charades to get them to understand me. Before things got worse in communication, the mother grabbed my hand and took me upstairs and allowed me to guide her to the problem. When she fixed the sofa bed, I replied “danke”. She smiled and went back downstairs. That was the most interesting communication situation I have ever had when dealing with different cultures and groups.

               The three strategies that can help in my communication effectively would be

·        To not judge others different from me to gain a deeper understanding than first impressions allow.

·        Accept the fact that I don’t know everything (completely embarrassed for not knowing a lot of German)

·        Allow the person of different culture to immerse me into their own culture. I learned to do that in my homestay and I learned a lot from the Germans. Despite the fact that I did not know a lot of German, they still accepted me into their home and made sure I had the best time ever!

Me and the German sisters (Jessi & Nikki)

Show Communication

The show that I watched was a Korean drama named Angel Eyes.  In the beginning there was an older man and a young woman sitting on a bench. These two characters looked as though they knew each other pretty well. They could be friends, family members or colleagues. Based on the way that they expressed themselves they looked as though they were deep in thought, they had their conversation and the woman smiled at the man and walked away. Two other characters they showed were a young man and an older man. The younger man showed up at the older man’s house with food and they sat and ate in silence. From time to time, they looked at each other without each other knowing. Another scene showed one older man give the younger man a plane ticket and the young man did not look very happy. Then the older man got on his knees beside the man and talked to him. Still the young man did not look happy. By the end of the episode, the young man went to the airport and the young lady from earlier ran around in the airport looking for someone. When she saw the young man, she stood and cried and gave him a hug.

In the second part of the episode with the young man and the older man had me to believe that they were family members because of the way they looked at each other in concern while eating. The young man and young woman to me were a couple because of the way they looked at each other and hugged. I found out of course that the two people in the beginning were father and daughter. The two men were a doctor and a police detective. The man and woman at the end were a former couple but somehow over time found each other again. The character’s movements such as the way the characters touched each other between the couple gave way to who they were. I was almost quite right about the first two characters since they sat by and talked to each other. The older man did look concerned for his daughter but she continued to look happy despite her sadness.

Communication Role Models

When I think of effective communication, I think about my brothers who are police officers. They have to be able to have good communication skills to do their job properly. Good communication skills enable them to diffuse violent altercations, to get people to do what they want, and to create a positive relationship with the public. When talking to victims they have to show empathy, otherwise the situation may get worse. They are quick to say to me, do unto others as you would have them to do to me. They are taught to treat people with respect as they let them. My oldest brother is now a captain of his own squad and has been on his city’s news station talking about various issues in his community. He is a well-respected person and has become officer of the year. Although I am not a police officer, I am still their little sister and they both have taught me about how to communicate with people and to network. So far it has been a great asset to my life.