Far From Being a Goodbye

Dear Classmates,

Eight weeks seemed a long time to go when we started but they were not. I was privileged to know you, to share experiences with you, and discuss through the weeks. If God allows, we will meet for real in this world. Hopefully we will be still together in the remaining courses. In the meantime, keep well and God bless you.

To our teacher, as i once said, your kindness and your understanding means a lot to me. God bless you really.

Marlene.

The Adjourning Phase

Hello Classmates,

After reflection, i realized that every group i was part of did not get together to celebrate the achievement of agreed goals, and yet i consider it to be very important to celebrate. "The team leader should ensure that there is time for the team to celebrate the success of the project and capture best practices for future use. (Or, if it was not a successful project - to evaluate what happened and capture lessons learned for future projects). This also provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavour"(Abudi. 2010).

I think that groups that are hard to leave, are the ones characterized by warmth.

While working on my master's degree in this program, the people that were difficult to adjourn from are the teachers because there is a bit of a personal relationship that you have, for example, when you did not submit assignment you explain what happened in your life. The attention and willingness to help you complete your courses, brings warmth that everyone needs while facing the challenges of life. I say thank you to all the teachers but also to my classmates. You are all great people.

References

Abudi. 2010. The Five Stages of Team Development. A Case Study.

https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.php

Conflict Resolution

Dear Classmates,

A recent disagreement i recently experience is in my personal life, with my husband. We would not manage to resolve a problem together. Our communication had been in- existent with time to avoid conflicts.

We started to see a marriage counselor who taught us how to communicate effectively by avoiding a judgmental approach which brings defensiveness, and by trying to be more vulnerable when expressing our feelings or concern. It is still new to us, but it brought a fresh new air in our marriage. Communicating effectively is an important thing. 

I can testify that effective communication reduced "violence" in our conversations and relationship, as of the NVC purpose states that it is important to create human connections that empower compassionate giving and receiving (NVC. Concepts). Now when we make an effort not to judge one another, we demonstrate compassion.


Reference

Nonviolent Communication. http://www.cnvc.org/Training/NVC-Concepts

Who Am I as a Communicator ?

Hello Classmates,

This week, my husband and my son evaluated my communication skills. My communication anxiety is high and i kind of knew my difficulties to express myself even in small groups. It did not surprised me but it confirmed what i knew and put words on it.
My verbal aggressiveness is low and my listening is action- oriented for them when i thought that i am a people- oriented listener. I liked this because if i manage to mix the two in my communication skills, it would be a good mixture based on empathy and efficiency (Rubin, Rubin, Graham. 2009).

The main thing i have to focus on is how to deal with anxiety, if i want to be a competent communicator in the field of Early Childhood Education. Understanding and addressing anxiety is the first thing to do, and knowing the methods of delivery of the message you have, is the second thing (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2015, p. 404 & 408).
I also need to adjust my listening habits because when someone is a people- oriented listener, it can interfere proper judgement because we tend to be very trusting of others (Rubin, Rubin, Graham. 2009).

References

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.

• "Listening Styles Profile-16"

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Communication and Culture

Hello classmates,

A setting where i am in contact with diversity is where my children go to school. 33 nationalities are represented there. Being a french speaking person, i have still some complex when it comes to a conversation in English. I write in English, better than i speak. I do not find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures just because they are different, but mostly because i always have less confidence when it comes to a language that i do not master. Language is symbolic, has multiple meanings, is informed by our thoughts, and is shaped by grammar and context (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2015, p. 66). 

Nevertheless, based on what we learned this week, during this time where i know i get to practice my English, i can still apply the Platinum Rule which is to  "Do to others as they themselves would like to be treated. " Because i know now that there are other ways i can use to show people recognition and attention non verbally or by being a good listener. Which is responding to show others that i have received and understood their messages O'Hair & Wiemann, 2015, p. 155). The best attitude to have is wanting to be other- oriented even by greeting someone, showing attention. Another important strategy in diversity is not to fall in ethnocentrism, where we tend to think that our culture is superior than others (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond. 2011, p. 99).

References

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Beebe, S.A, Beebe, S.J & Redmond, M.V. 2011. Interpesonal Communication: Relating to others (6^th Edition)

NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Hello Classmates,

I chose the television show called "The Newsroom". here is the link to it: https://youtu.be/kp04NqmwWn4. I observed the second scene where, with the sound turned off, the adult seems to be a relative of the boys' family, or a close family friend. It seems to be a post- service funeral reception if i refer to their clothing.
Based on the nonverbal behavior he has difficulties at the beginning, to approach the young boy. But as the conversation goes on, they seem to get along and they even start to play the guitar together. Everyone comes outside to enjoy the music played. Everyone seems happy to the point where i am even starting to wonder if it is a funeral reception !!

The assumptions i based on the characters are defined as nonverbal Codes: the body language and the physical appearance. When i observed the young boy, you could sense that he was simply sad. There are gestures and body movements that can send nonverbal messages. They are called kinesics. This does not mean that the way we move our body is a language (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin & Teven, 2015, p. 101). Perception about appearance are referred from clothing you wear, which can reveal quite a bit about (O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin & Teven, 2015, p. 107) the circumstances.
My assumptions were right.

NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that it wasn't too difficult for you to find a competent communicator in a given context, like it was for me.

I finally chosen to post this very small video on How To Speak The Secret Language of Personality Types.

https://youtu.be/zDJOWBE24g4

All the very best to you all.

Marlene.