As I reflect on this class and experiences thus far, I am very appreciative of the knowledge I have gained.  I have had the pleasure of corresponding with some of the brightest minds in this field today and took all feedback to heart.  I think you all will go far in this field because you are compassionate people with a thirst for knowledge.  It has truly been a pleasure to have taken this class and all of these learning experiences with you all.

Team Building

Team Building

                                                                

After reading about the adjourning stage, it was very evident that I did not miss the group that I had many problems working with during a group project. I was pleased that the project was over with and did not feel any need to stay connected.

One the other hand another group that I work with in a training called “Seven habits of highly effective people” We bonded as a group, there were goals that we were trying to accomplished and worked hard to ensure that everyone succeeded.  In the end, we all knew we can use each other as resources outside of the training. It was very difficult to say good bye and we still kept in touch as a group. We ended our three days training with a lunch which helped us celebrate our accomplishments.  I believe adjourning is essential because it allows the team to celebrate their success and build a network.

Adjourning our group in this course will be bitter sweet; I have met great individuals but also very excited to see my accomplishment of earning my master’s degree. In our case, the celebratory will be a graduation ceremony and some of us will continue to keep in touch.

I recently had an argument with one of my sisters and it quickly became a shouting match.  I wish I could go back and use some of the communication skills I have acquired.  Before the conversation turned into argument, I could have been more responsive and in tune to the conversation I would have been more sensitive to the underlying problem at hand.  A little cooperation and compromise would have put a halt to the argument almost immediately.  It dawned on me that neither of us was willing to budge and that caused a problem in communication. I could have definitely used the 3 r’s and been respectful, reciprocal, and responsive.

Upon taking those assessments I was unsure of what the high score would be however, I ranged at the 50% mark which to me meant I am an ok communicator with room to grow.  I realized after the assessment that I am really not that comfortable speaking in front of people.  I talked to one of my sisters and a co-worker to get their feedback and was shocked that they both thought I was a good communicator as well as public speaker.  The times I have had to speak I studied and practiced and I guess I used the proper eye contact and body language because they were impressed.  I believe my problem is more in me when I doubt myself.  I am used to talking around family so that is ok.  I also have to meetings but I think my anxiety would come in if I had to speak to a large group.  Two insights I learned this week is not to make assumptions about anyone.  I also learned how important body language, eye contact, and facial expressions are when communicating effectively.

Communication and Culture

Communication and Culture

I will say I do communicate differently with people. When I communicate with my friends and family it is different from communicating with families I work with, coworkers, colleagues or strangers that I meet for the first time.  I am from a different culture so I like to communicate with everyone the same way that I will want some else to communicate with me. I work with a lot of Hispanic families and strategies used to communicate effectively is ensuring that there is a translator present at all time to ensure that families with limited English are getting the same information as everyone else. 

When I am around my family and friends, I feel free and relax to speak my mind but when working with families we have make sure we are sensitive and respectful in order for them to gain our trust and work together in the best interest of the child.

When communicating with the populations of families I work with, some strategies use are:

Listening carefully to be sure they are understood and validate what they say.

Follow up on any questions/concerns to ensure that their needs are met.

Pay attention to nonverbal cues and make sure that respect is prevailed at all times.

 For this assignment, I chose to watch a show called “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” this is a show that I would not normally watch but chose it because I hear a lot about it and it appears to be very popular.  Watching the show with no sound was actually quite entertaining because that family was all over the place.  They had so many different things going on that I enjoyed figuring out what they were saying and meaning with their body language.   They are a very affectionate family so they were very touchy feely.  They use an enormous amount of facial and hand gestures.  They also use eye contact a lot as well.  When I watched the show again with sound I was surprised that I was pretty much dead on with their discussions and remarks just off of body language. I could tell when they were angry, arguing, happy sad, confused, and etc.  I could tell when they were having serious conversations or being sarcastic with each other.  They are very hands on and allow a lot of room for play in their theory and ideas.  I enjoyed the show will probably continue to watch it.

When I think of an effective communicator the first person I think of is President Obama.  President Obama has a commanding demeanor about himself that makes you want to listen to him.  I have watched several of his speeches and he looks into his audience giving eye contact which I believe to be very important in getting someone to actually hear and believe in what you are saying.  He speaks with authority and yet talks at a moderate tone which gives listeners a chance to listen as well as comprehend what he is saying. Yes, I would want to model some of his communication skills because I feel he is effective.  I would like to be able to speak in front of large groups without a quiver in my voice and be effective in making my words heartfelt and informative.