Interpersonal Communication Report

Core Assessment Portfolio Michael E. Szostkiewicz In fulfillment of line of descent requirements for Park University CA104 social Communication F solely 1 Term 2009 Inter psycheal Communication Report MICHAEL E. SZOSTKIEWICZ SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 Inter soulfulnessal Communication Report define I. Prior to enrolling in this course, I felt that my inter personal chat dexteritys were become and government issueive. I conduct eer prided myself on being an adept and open communicator my vocabulary is diverse. I ever so make a concerted perspiration to annunciate properly.However, my experiences these last hardly a(prenominal) weeks feed left me with a wash list of things I hire to improve upon. Through the various exercises and tasks accurate in this course then far, I shoot cognise that in that respect is always room for improvement in my experience social relationships, twain person eachy and professionally. I find out the playing fields that I pauperism to impr ove upon in my interpersonal parley acquisitions ar lively listen, mad control, and utilizing cultural differences of those close to me.Even with the myriad of leading and communication seminars and classes I have either attended or facilitated, I realize that we mustiness constantly catch out new techniques and suppose back upon what we have learned in the previous(predicate)(prenominal) to dish out undercoater any future relationships. II. Main Points A. Active comprehend 1. Active perceive is delimitate as the process by which a listener expresses his or her rationality of the speaker units total mes sage, including the oral and nonverbal communication, the thoughts, and the feelings. 2.By using the five stage model of comprehend and applying it at hearth and at run for, I will be fitting to build upon my current relationships and forge better ones in the future. The techniques of receiving, judgment, remembering, evaluating and responding argon an implicit in(p) subtract of our relationships and contend to be practiced in e actually daylight life. B. Emotional control 1. Humans in general ar very(prenominal) emotional creatures. Having the strength to control our emotions within our interpersonal relationships is a skill that is not inherent and must be learned and practiced to be triple-crown. 2.As I am extremely passionate in everything that I do, I must sometimes pause and reflect upon my emotional joining to the matter at hand. While having and expressing our emotions at inhabitancy may be a good way to put across with our partners, expressing our emotions in the work tush may not be appropriate. C. Utilizing cultural differences 1. Understanding that differences in finish between co-workers enkindle have a positive or negative effect upon the atmosphere of the workplace, we must utilized and embrace those differences to foster an air of word meaning of all colors, races and creeds. . Living in America an d especially serving in the military, I have been exposed to countless different cultures. Every culture has strong ideals that offer be learned from. Patience with and correspondence of differences in thought, speech and mannerisms from diverse cultures house help me to be more appreciative of other mountain and their indigenous cultures. III. In summary, I have cover the three aspects of my own interpersonal relationships that I feel I bespeak to improve upon.Understanding that all pack argon different and communicate other than I am able to recognize when and where my own communication flaws exist. First, I feel that I film to improve my skills in the area of alive(p) listening. By reviewing the five stage model of listening I am able to have more productive relationships at home with family and in any case at work. Secondly, in recognizing my emotions regarding various topics and knowing when emotional responses are warranted, I can be a better, even-keeled father, hus band, mentor and leader.Lastly, reflecting upon the differences in cultures in the work place, I can help promote diversity and borrowing of everyone. IV. In conclusion, I have seen the areas of my interpersonal relationships in which I engage improvement. In hostelry to build upon my current relationships and having the needful skills pauperizationed to realise new relationships in the future the areas in which I particular propositionally need to focus are actively listening, controlling my emotions and recognizing and embracing diversity.In order to be an effective leader and mentor, having these skill sets can only outgrowth the value of my worth to my company while at the same time improving the prime(a) of relationships that I have both(prenominal) at home and work. While becoming complacent in my interpersonal relationships, I feel that I have lost a chance to fully understand the thoughts and feelings of those with whom I am involved. Recognizing my faults and wor king to better my own communication skills can only progeny in increased positive relationships. Michael E. Szostkiewicz Tania Balas CA104 Interpersonal Communication 30 September 2009Interpersonal Communication Report Prior to enrolling in this course, I felt that my interpersonal communication skills were adequate and effective. I have always prided myself on being an adept and able communicator my vocabulary is diverse. I always make a concerted effort to annunciate properly. However, my experiences these last few weeks have left me with a laundry list of things I need to improve upon. Through the various exercises and tasks completed in this course thus far, I have realized that there is room for improvement in my interpersonal relationships, both personally and professionally.I feel the areas that I need to improve upon in my interpersonal communication skills are practicing active listening, example more emotional control, and utilizing cultural differences of those near me . Even with the myriad of leadership and communication seminars and classes I have either attended or facilitated, I understand that I must constantly learn new techniques and reflect back upon what I have learned in the past to help better any future relationships.Identifying and examining the elements and process of interpersonal communication is the startle step in understanding who I am and where I place in the communicative world. Joseph A. DeVito states that in the circular nature of interpersonal communication both persons send messages simultaneously rather than in a analogue sequence where communication bounces back and forth between two or more people. DeVito further explains that the ideals that are present in all interpersonal interactions are source-receiver, encoding-decoding, messages, channels, noise, context, ethics, and competence (DeVito, 9-15).Understanding that people are unique individuals who hold forth differently is a primary lesson in becoming a better co mmunicator. The best way to describe how a persons self-image or self-concept influences their ability to interact with those with whom they come in contact is that every person has a separate and distinct background whereby the environment in which they were raise as children and their varied experiences as young adults may affect their ability to effectively communicate.Recognizing and understanding that all forms of communication play a particularized role in our interactions as adults and how we relate to each other must be understood and practiced in order to have successful and meaningful relationships both personally and professionally. This is also an example of how a persons cognizances can influence their communication choices. DeVito continues by defining perception as the process by which you become aware of objects, events, and especially people through your own senses sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing (DeVito 61).As we take an active part in life, our percepti ons round the people and the world around us are in a constant state of flux. If we remain stagnant in our relationships then we are bound to miss out on umteen of the opportunities provided to us to better ourselves. Realizing that I have many things to learn about my own communication skills is the first step toward becoming a person as a integral. The first hurdle on my interpersonal communication task list is to improve my active listening.Active listening is defined as the process by which a listener expresses his or her understanding of the speakers total message, including the verbal and nonverbal communication, the thoughts, and the feelings. Active listening is a concept that was developed by Thomas Gordon (1975) in the early 1960s as the foundation of his Parent Effectiveness Training program which still continues to offer proven communication and conflict resolution skills to parents, teachers and managers from all walks of life (2009).DeVito states that active listen ing is not merely repeating the speakers exact words, but rather putting together your understanding of the speakers total message into a meaningful whole (DeVito 94). I have always considered myself a good listener. Whenever one of my seniors, peers or subordinates steps into my office for a chat, I always tell myself to compensate my full attention to this person. I will turn off my calculator screen, open my steno padwhich I often refer to as my memory, pinch my pen and show the person that I am fully tuned into what they are discussing with me.Additionally, throughout this course I have been able to hone my skills as an accomplished conversationalist by using the three simple techniques of active listening paraphrasing the speakers meaning, expressing understanding and asking questions. However, there are times when I get complacent and my skills fail me. One such(prenominal) instance of a breakdown in communication and an example of how nomenclature can create communication problems with disastrous effects was recently when I tasked one of my subordinates to research an instruction governing the proper wearing of pregnancy uniforms in the Navy.As a leader, I unsuccessfully delineated my specific book of instructions and by failing to use active and effective listening skills, my subordinate failed to receive the message properly. I also failed to ensure my instructions were clear and concise by neglecting to have him repeat back simply what I wanted him to do. As such, this young man overstepped his bounds and erroneously corrected the young woman on the spot which proved an emotional disaster (Student Journal 1-1). It was then that I realized the importance of removing any barriers in communicating and vowed to deter this behavior in the future.For me, personally, this was a affecting lesson for soon after this incident I received a preparation assignment in this class to review an article describing how our words can affect those around us, an d even more importantly, If you manage people, your words have much more weight that you may realize (Morgan 3). To correct the inadequateness I consulted the five stage model of listening and by applying it both at work and also at home, I will be able to build upon my current relationships and forge better ones in the future.The techniques of receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating and responding are an integral part of our relationships and need to be practiced in every day life. Another area of concern in my communication skills is the need to better control my emotions. Humans in general are very emotional creatures. Having the ability to control our emotions within our interpersonal relationships is a skill that is not inherent and must be learned and practiced to be successful.As I am extremely passionate in everything that I do, I must sometimes pause and reflect upon my emotional inter-group communication to the matter at hand. While having and expressing our em otions at home may be a good way to communicate with our partners, expressing our emotions in the workplace may not be appropriate. In the early phases of this course I realized the power of my emotions while trying to balance my professional duties with my duties and responsibilities as a husband and father while keeping the plates spinning simultaneously enrolled in two classes with Park University.I explained my frustrations, concerns and worries with my wife and also with my Brothers in the pass Petty Officers Mess (Student Journal 2-1). After receiving sage guidance and wisdom from those with whom I have confided, I was able to produce separating my emotions from the equation and find the balance between work, home and school. As an adult, phallic military professional nearly 40 years old, I found it difficult to admit my fallacies, but once I did, I spy that I am still able to learn many things from those around me.The last area of my communication skills that I found I ne ed improvement upon is utilizing the cultural differences of those around me to add extra value to the tools I already possess. Understanding that differences in culture between co-workers can have a positive or negative effect upon the atmosphere of the workplace, I must utilize and embrace those differences to foster an air of acceptance of all colors, races and creeds. Living in America and especially serving in the military, I have been exposed to countless different cultures.Every culture has significant morals that can be learned from. An effective personal outline that I have developed in my intercultural communication skills is patience with and understanding the differences in thought, speech and mannerisms from the diverse cultures that I have been exposed to in my travels and how those experiences can help me to be more appreciative of other people and their inherent lifestyles. In summary, I have covered the three aspects of my own interpersonal relationships that I fee l I need to improve upon.By understanding that all people are unique and communicate differently I am able to recognize when and where my own communication flaws exist. First, I feel that I need to improve my skills in the area of active listening. By reviewing the five stage model of listening I am able to have more productive relationships at home with family and also at work. Secondly, in recognizing my emotions regarding various topics and knowing when emotional responses are warranted, I can be a better, even-keeled father, husband, mentor and leader.Lastly, reflecting upon the differences in cultures in the work place, I can help promote diversity and the acceptance of everyone. By utilizing these strategies I will be able to develop and foster a supportive communication climate. In conclusion, I have seen the areas of my interpersonal relationships in which I need improvement. In order to build upon my current relationships and having the requisite skills needed to create new relationships in the future the areas in which I specifically need to focus are actively listening, controlling my emotions and recognizing and embracing diversity.In order to be an effective leader and mentor, having these skill sets can only increase the value of my worth to my company while simultaneously improving the quality of relationships that I have both at home and work. While becoming complacent in my interpersonal relationships, I feel that I have lost a chance to fully understand the thoughts and feelings of those with whom I am involved. Recognizing my faults and working to better my own communication skills can only result in increased positive and healthier interpersonal relationships.Works Cited DeVito, Joseph A. The Interpersonal Communication Book. 12th ed. Boston Pearson. 2009. Gordon, T. P. E. T. Parent durability training. New York New American Library. 1975. Gordon Training International. September 2009. http//www. gordontraining. com Morgan, Rebecca L. , The Power of Our Words. Morgan Seminar Group. 1996. http//www. rebeccamorgan. com/articles/mgmt/mgmt2. hypertext markup language Szostkiewicz, Michael E. Journal, Week 1, Entry 1. 17 August 2009. Szostkiewicz, Michael E. Journal, Week 2, Entry 1. 25 August 2009.