Who I am as a Communicator

The thing that surprised me the most was the communication anxiety level. I was rated in the moderate range by those that completed the task. I also rated myself and it turned out in the moderate range as well. I have anxiety communicating with others if there are a lot of people or talking in front of people. I was surprised it was not in the higher level.
Insights about communication:
1. Communication anxiety level is considered situational. It depends on the situation as to how much anxiety I have. This impacts my professional life. It can keep me from taking on careers I am interested in or getting jobs. If I interview for a job in a large group, I will have more anxiety about the interview.
2. I am people oriented with the listening style. This impacts my personal life. I am trusting of others so it can be very hurtful on a personal level to learn that people I have made a bond with has not been truthful with me.

 

References

 

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

 

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Communication with different groups and Cultures

I have worked with many Latino families and children when I first started teaching. It was very difficult in that some knew some English but others did not know any. There were many challenges along the way. Thankfully, I had an assistant teacher who was from the Dominican Republic and she spoke Spanish.
Three strategies I used then and now to communicate with families from different cultures:
1. Model to children by showing them what I would like them to do while telling them in English.
2. Speak to them in their language (what I know) as well as English.
3. Translate letters into their language.
4. Have a translator come to meetings with the family or have a family member to translate.

Communication and TV

Sound off: I found this assignment to be very interesting.  I chose to watch Sid the Science Kid. I decided that the people in the kitchen were Sid's family. His mom was the one cooking. His dad was the one at the table with his brother or sister.  He went to school. I figured out that the kids on the playground must be his friends. They were smiling and were happy to see him.  A lady came to the door that had children's art work on it so I figured she was the teacher. She motioned with her hands for them to wash their hands.  The next character was a nurse. She was carrying a doctor kit and had a white coat on.  Mom and dad were expressing to Sid at home to cough into his arm.  They were showing him by modeling the behavior.  They then motioned for him to wash hands by rubbing their hands together.  One of the children showed they were scared of a shot at school. They were showing they were excited by jumping up and down and raising their hand. When the child seen the shot, he frowned, and started backing away.
The sound turned on: I used the environment and communication to decide what the characters were to Sid.  The teacher was standing in front of the school door with classroom art so it was easy to decide she must be the teacher.  The parents were easy since he started out at home in his bedroom and went to the kitchen.  If I had been familiar with the show, I would have known all the characters well. I guessed all the characters right without sound. The only thing I did not guess was that the nurse was actually Sid's Grandma.  The whole tv show was about getting a flu shot to stay healthy.
I learned that I was able to figure out quite a bit about relationships and what the different characters were talking about by using their gestures and clues from the environment. Context clues or environmental print can help when deciding what is being communicated in a video without sound.
References:
SID The Science Kid: Getting a shot: You can do it!! Retrieved from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXvu3R-aYBo

 

 

Effective Communicator

A person that I know that is a good communicator is a lawyer.  He knows the English language very well.  He is always looking to improve his knowledge and use of the English language.  He can speak to someone and know the decision they will make in fifteen minutes.  I would like to model his dedication to studying and improvement to my life and communication.  Professionals should always want to improve areas of their life that they are weak in. I feel I need to improve my communication skills.