After conversing with one of my colleagues
and my husband, I find that there are some similarities with regards to how I view
myself as a communicator and how they both view me as a communicator. I believed
that I am an effective communicator with regards to having a great
understanding and implementing the following areas of communication in general:
self-monitoring, self-presentation, understanding the existing contexts, being
able to accurately decode the other communicators message, being cultural
responsive, practice active listening and seeking to learn and achieve understanding
of the other person’s position. One of the common statements from both my
colleague and my husband is the fact that sometimes my ability to communicate effectively
is impaired, because I am always multitasking. I do certainly believe this to
be true, but to have them both provide me feedback on the same item (“dangers”
of multi-tasking) gave me a reality check and has caused me to do some self-evaluating
in terms of me making an attempt to prioritize all the demands and responsibilities
that I have on my plate.
I find
that I have a deepened understanding on how my perceptions of other can great
enhance or cripple my ability to communicate effective. Similarly through this
week I have learned how the process of schema is a critical component in communications.
According to O’Hara & Wiemann, “To send and receive messages that are
appropriate, you must be able to process information in a way that makes senses
to you but also high likelihood of being accurately perceived by others,” (p.
38). I further believe that being aware of the dangers of selective perception
will only enhance my ability to effectively communicate to my parents, staff
and my family members. I find that being aware of how I process message that
sent to me or “decoding” will be an ongoing area that I strive to master as
each person that I may come in contact with will vary in their ability to
communicate. I do believe that understanding the challenges with schemas and perception
will assist me in building meaning relationship with my family and staff members,
community partners and child care committee members.
References:
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An
introduction (2nd Ed.). New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s Press
In your post you list quite a few communication skills that you possess. I think they are all great skills to have as an early childhood professional, however, I think that the most important skill you can hold is proper active listening skills. I think that if you excel at this, there is no end to what you can achieve. Thanks for such a thoughtful post!
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