In the organizational as well as the professional field, communication plays a very important role (Hybels, 2014). Communication is an important part of any course as it facilitates appropriate transfer of message and information across the people. There are several styles of communication which are used on a regular basis to interact with family, friends, colleagues and so on. The different kinds of communication styles are assertive, submissive, aggressive, passive-aggressive and manipulative. Each style has its own positive and negative factors. However, the most favored style of communication is the assertive style wherein a positive message is conveyed to the other end.
For this essay Communication Style Questionnaire, Big Five Personality Traits, Johari Window, Assertive Questionnaire and SWOT Analysis have been adopted so as to understand the style and kind of personal communication that is followed by me (Bambacas, 2008). Personal characteristics or past experiences are used so as to analyze the communication styles and methods. Over the years, conscious effort has been made in order to develop personality and skills so that effective communication can take place. A brief review of each of the method has been provided below so that the methods can be understood.
The course has definitely aided me in learning several aspects and facts regarding the communication in everyday life. Of course I had been communicating constantly but, this exposure helped in clarifying a lot of concepts related to communication. There are 3 diagnostic tools which help to reflect on the skills and the learning which have been transferred from this module namely – Communication Style Questionnaires, Johari Window and Assertive Questionnaire (Yang, 2009). The main of all of the three methodologies is to analyze and study the personal qualities and also their impacts on the style of communication. It felt quite complex to jot down the self-characteristics or the personal style of communication and so several feedbacks from the friends and colleagues have been used. I am well aware of certain characteristics of my own and it was on the basis of this that I was able to analyze myself critically and develop a course of action which could be followed so as to address the areas of improvement. Self-analysis has been done using the following models.
Johari Window: This consists of four areas that are used to identify the characteristics of a person. There exists a four grid structured area wherein each of the characteristic has been plotted for ease of comprehension (Halpern, 2009).
In the Open or the Arena area, the characteristics which are known to self and also to the others are noted down. This area was filled up me only after all the other feedbacks related to myself were assembled. I noticed that everyone agreed to the fact that I was brave, confident, dependable, dignified and bold. Therefore, most of the features of my communication are well versed in the formal verbal communication (Shenton, 2007). I am well capable of writing as well as interacting verbally rather fluently which would cover all the essential points form a certain aspect. I also have a positive body language that aids in the communication skill and I am also well aware of the certain gestures that are to be made at different points to make the communication better.
In the Hidden areas, the characteristics that are which only I am aware of and are not known to others are noted down. I am well aware of the fact that my communication style is calm, helpful, considerate and clever in nature. I feel that I have the quality to easily convince the others as I have been able to score well in any kind of presentation including formal or informal verbal communication.
In the blind spot region, the characteristics that are not known to me but only to the others are noted down. From the feedback of other people I got to know that I have certain positive qualities but often end up imposing my views on other people. It came as a realization to me that I was caring and proud at the same time. However, I was not aware of this feature myself. I have good leadership and communication skills. But, often these appeared to be proud and imposing in nature to the others (Wood, 2015).
In the Unknown area, the characteristics that are unknown both to self as well as to the others are noted down. Characteristics like responsive, introvert, self-assertive etc. can be included here. No feedback had any of these characteristics for my analysis.
Therefore, from the Johari Window it was concluded that I have a positive and confident communication style which is judgmental and aggressive in nature. Having a confident style of communication is a good thing but the aggressive nature is of course not acceptable as nice characteristics. So, this style has scope for improvement and need to be turned into a positive one. A plan of action needs to be implemented that would help me to have a positive and assertive nature that would be liked by everyone.
Communication Style Questionnaire: A communication style questionnaire has been developed by me after going through several concepts and literature on the same (Morgan, 2009). The questionnaire was printed and design from the materials that have been collected from the web and then compiled together so that all the areas pertaining to the style of communication can be answered easily. After analyzing the answers of the questionnaire, the following has been attained.
Passive Aggressive
Aggressive
Assertive
Passive
The result of this diagnosis shows that I have a passive aggressive style and am an aggressive communicator (Gibson, 2012).
|
Strengths Ø Assertive Communicator Ø Can express ideas easily Ø Have good language and grammatical skills |
Weaknesses Ø Incapable of extraversion Ø Lack experience Ø Have pertinent weakness in convincing |
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Opportunity Ø Develop good communication skills through training Ø Gain practical experience and training Ø Learn good skills and concepts through self-analysis |
Threats Ø Inability to understand and accumulate newer concepts Ø Not being able to become an expert in the area |
According to the Big five personality traits, I possess characteristics like openness, neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness (Cobb-Clark, 2012). Only values like affability in communication are lacking in me and therefore it is seen that I do not always seem to agree with the views of others.
In the assertive questionnaire, several questions are prepared that are related to the assertive nature of an individual and that are analyzed. A questionnaire is obtained from the web which helps in analyzing non-verbal characteristics, behaviors, language and the way in which people feel about a particular situation (Beebe, 2009). I obtained a questionnaire that was intended to diagnose if my communication skills were aggressive, passive, assertive or passive aggressive in nature. After a proper analysis dependent upon the answers if the tests, I came to understand that I have an assertive way of communicating along with a bit of aggression.
A literature review for the purpose of reflection confersrelevant concepts and literature sources that have been used for the essay.
Johari Window is a procedure which helps in understanding someone in a much better way by assessing their relationship with themselves and with others (South, 2007). The method was created by Harington ups Ingham and Joseph Luft. The process is mostly brought to use in self-help groups wherein individuals are given some adjectives and from which they have to choose one that best describes them.
The grid mentioned below shows a typical model which is used for self-analysis.
The adjectives that are obtained from an individual are put into the grids for self-analysis. The Open part of the grid is the attribute which gets selected peers as well as participants (Fook, 2007). This refers to the qualities which can be identified easily by everyone (Dekeyser, 2008). Hidden are the describing words which are selected by the participant and others are not familiar with that characteristic. In the blind area, the words that are selected by the peers are entered by themselves and not by the participant. This consists of the information that the individual himself is not aware of. The unknown area consists of the qualities that aren’t selected either by the peers or by the individual.
This is the tool that has been designed so as to understand the individual’s communication style. Questionnaires are prepared for this purpose. The feedback of the individual based on the questionnaires is analyzed and this helps in understanding the communication style. The main aim of this kind of questionnaire is to comprehend the opinions, methods and views of communication that are adopted by an individual (Ackerson, 2009).
Given below is a sample questionnaire for the style of communication adopted.
In this questionnaire, all of the areas that can help in analyzing assertive skills of a person are included here. This would help in depicting the positive style of communication of an individual. Assertive style of communication is well related to the individual’s personal characteristics (Hargie, 2010). A person who has a high self-esteem chooses this style for the purpose of communication. This is actually considered as the best way for communication and is a balance between passive and aggressive. This questionnaire allows to study the capabilities of the individual and if they can attain their goals without hurting anyone or are emotionally or socially expressive (Deci, 2010).
The SWOT Plan helps to analyze the weaknesses, internal strengths along with assessing the threats and opportunities. It is a well-acknowledged process and can easily be adopted by an individual and is therefore used globally.
The Big Five personality trait is a method which is used by many people for self-reflection so as to understand various characteristics like extraversion, agreeableness, openness and so on. The method is rather useful for understanding an individual’s character (Komarraju, 2011).
An action plan would include all of the steps that must be undertaken in order to mold the current communication style and hence increase the communicative skill. Over the next 5 to 6 months, I plan to undertake this course of action and include schedule studying and a professional course so as to enhance my communicative skills. As seen above, I already have assertive and positive communicative skills which are suitable for the formal as well as informal communication. I understand that I need to reduce my aggressive nature and listen to other’s point of view to become a better communicator.
I plan on to take up a 6 month communication course at a University that would provide intensive training and help in developing the skills. The course is quite popular and has been undertaken by many of my seniors. The course would help me learn about day-to-day challenges related to communication which would enable excellent learning.
Along with the course, I also plan to adopt the practice of reading so as to enhance my communication skills. Planned reading would help to enhance my knowledge and demonstrate a conscious effort of communication which is assertive in nature. Self-diagnosis would aid in self-criticism and so in every 6 months, I would undertake such diagnosis to track my growth.
I also have a professor in mind whom I would request to be my mentor. He would provide me with all the necessary guidance and tell me the correct path to succeed.
Conclusion
Communication is a rather important part of any kind of profession. It might be non-verbal or verbal, formal or informal or whichever way it is effective in so as to transfer a message to the intended person. As seen, assertive style is the best and can be adopted by an individual for succeeding. I am a fast learner and have therefore feel that my enthusiasm and persuasion would help me to overcome my shortcomings and allow me to establish myself as an excellent communicator.
References Lists
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Bambacas, M. &. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment. Journal of Communication Management, 51-72.
Beebe, S. A. (2009). Interpersonal communication. Pearson Custom Pub.
Cobb-Clark, D. A. (2012). The stability of big-five personality traits. Economics Letters, 11-15.
Deci, E. L. (2010). Self?determination. . John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Gibson, M. F. (2012). Opening up: Therapist self-disclosure in theory, research, and practice. Clinical Social Work Journal, 287-296.
Halpern, H. (2009). Supervision and the Johari window: a framework for asking questions. Education for Primary Care, 10-14.
Hargie, O. (2010). Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice. Routledge.
Hybels, S. (2014). Communicating effectively. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Komarraju, M. K. (2011). The Big Five personality traits, learning styles, and academic achievement. . Personality and individual differences, 472-477.
Morgan, G. (2009). Reflective practice and self-awareness. Perspectives in public health, 161.
Shenton, A. K. (2007). Viewing information needs through a Johari Window. . Reference Services Review, 487-496.
South, B. (2007). Combining mandala and the Johari Window: An exercise in self-awareness. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 8-11.
Spitzberg, B. &. (2012). Handbook of interpersonal competence research. Springer Science & Business Media.
Wood, J. T. (2015). Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters. . Nelson Education.
Yang, S. H. (2009). Using blogs to enhance critical reflection and community of practice. Educational Technology & Society, 11-21.
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