Who am I as a Communicator: Evaulations

As I reflect on this week’s communication evaluation exercise, I was extremely intrigued by the own results in comparison to others who were in my relational network. I never realized that although I may deem myself a competent communicator, others may not share my views and their perceptions of my communication abilities can have a totally different evaluation through our interpersonal interactions.

There were many similarities and variances between the results, between the two evaluations. For example, on the communication anxiety inventory I scored a moderate level, which reflected that I do have some communication anxiety depending on the situation. I regard that being nervous is actually a normal thing given certain situations some people excel in some circumstances more than others, to me that is a characteristic that a competent communicator should have. "Competent communication is about figuring out the most effective and appropriate ways of interacting in given situation." (O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. 2012 p.117). In contrast my colleague, scored a low level showing that I was comfortable and confident in interactions and encounters. In discussion about these results she revealed that it is her perception that come off confident, calm, cool, and collected when interacting in a group work environment. I was surprised to find that many of my husband’s perceptions of me to be quite accurate, at times we tend to butt heads when comes to communicating effectively, but we do share a very intimate communication relationship. For example on the listening style profile both of us scored in group 1, referencing that my style is empathetic and people orientated. I think this is very true to my personality and is displayed throughout my personal and professional life. "When we engage in empathetic listening we are attempting to know how another person feels; it involves listening to people with openness, sensitivity, and caring." (O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. 2012 p.163).

This week I gained the true insight of other's perceptions of me in terms of communication, and I realized that many of my own insecurities in public speaking for example, are perceived by others in a completely different fashion.

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (2009). Communication research measures: Communication Anxiety Inventory & Verbal Aggressiveness Scale. 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: Listening Styles Profile a sourcebook. New York: Routledge