I find that I communicate differently within different contexts and with different people. The way I communicate with my children differs from how I communicate with my husband, and I communicate differently with my extended family. I communicate differently with my colleagues at school than I do when we are away from work. My friends are communicated with differently than all the rest. All of the above people have different cultures and I communicate with them in different contexts. There are professional, social, and just play contexts that I communicate within. I am very professional within a professional context with my colleagues and during other times I am less professional.
My nonverbal communication is what I really have to watch when communicating or attempting to communicate. I think that my nonverbal language is used more often than my verbal communication. However I am working on improving my nonverbal communication.
The things that I learned this week that will help me in my communication are the Platinum Rule, as it would be beneficial to me if I worked on looking beyond myself and taking in what others are feeling. I also need to work on my tone of voice and my nonverbal communication skills.
I am learning a lot about my communication skills and what I need to do to help improve these skills.
I think it is human nature to communicate differently within different groups. I am not sure I know anyone who communicates the same across the board. I know that if I brought ‘work talk’ home to my family they would not have a clue about what I was discussing. The verbiage alone would confuse them.
ReplyDeleteI am in the same instance as you when needing to watch my non-verbal communication skills. I tend to be a hand talker and in many instances this is not appropriate in a professional setting. I have been trying to remember to be mindful of my hands and my facial expressions.
Nice post.
The Platinum rule... I read it to my children ages 13 and 11. Later in the afternoon my daughter needed a pencil. My son had two and shared one with my daughter. He gave her the purple pencil thinking that she would like that color better than black... He mentioned the platinum rule... they do listen after all :)
ReplyDeleteCarolina
Luci,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this course is aiding me in my communication skills. I have a long way to go! It was interesting for me to assess how I do communicate differently with others. I enjoyed your post!
Kristi
Luci,
ReplyDeleteI, too, need to work on non-verbal communication. I find that even my posture when speaking on the phone can change my tone of voice. And, when speaking in person I catch myself folding my arms in front of me when I want the conversation to end or I am not agreeing with the conversation. I know that most people realize that is a way of showing you are not open to what they are saying so I need to keep that stance in check. Yes, this class is pointing out many areas that need improving!
Luci,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you this class is teaching me how to improve my skills as a communicator.
Luci,
ReplyDeleteYou are right about tone it is often a misconstrude personality flaw that people tend to label as snob or mean or just plain loud. I am a loud person but mainly because I am so animated with my words. I love to make people laugh and have a good time. However, it is not always at the best expense I often need to recognize people's feelings and views on the subject matter so I am not offending anyone with a laugh. The Platinum Rule I beleive is a social rule as you get older you become wiser as to what is acceptable to others.