Question:
Discuss about the Shortfalls And Weaknesses In Communication.
This is a reflective essay which would help me in analysing my shortfalls and the weaknesses which I have particularly in my communication skills. Communication is deemed as the heart and soul of coordinating and sustaining the professional working life. It is the organising element in the organizational life. Due to this emphasis on communication skills, I would be doing the reflective essay over my communication skills. In order to evaluate my communication skills, I would be using five diagnostic tools which I came across while undertaking this course. The use of these diagnostic tools would be very helpful for me as it would help me improving in my business life, apart from a growth on my personal level. Once I identify the shortfalls by using these diagnostic tools, I would do review some literature in order to analyse the theories associated with my shortfalls and the possible solutions for it. And then I would draw an action plan which would be represented through Gantt chart which would depict the actions which I have to undertaken in the next six months, in order to improve upon the skills which I lack.
The first step which I took in evaluating the communication skills which I have, I selected five diagnostic tools and took approval for the same from the tutor, so that I could use them for the purpose of this reflective essay. In this regard, I started with the SPCC, i.e., Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale which helps in measuring the communication apprehensions of a person. This tool evaluates the communication ability which an individual has, and is used, when faced with different state of affairs, with wide ranging audience (McCroskey & McCroskey, 1998). Another communication apprehension tool which I used was PRICA, which stands for Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension. This tool helps a person in evaluating their feelings when they come across people from different cultural backgrounds and the apprehensions which an individual feels when they have to communicate with diverse background people (Neuliep & McCroskey, 1997).
The next tool which I used for the purpose of this essay was the NIS-S, which stands for Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Self Report. This tool helps in judging the immediacy of a person when they have to communicate with other particularly using the non verbal immediate behaviour and also shows the positivity of a person by using non verbal cues and gestures (Richmond, McCroskey & Johnson, 2003). The fourth tool which I used for the purpose of this essay was Willingness to Listen Diagnostic which shows the orientation of an individual to listening to others (Richmond & Hickson, 2001). And the final tool for the purpose of this study was the Talkaholic Scale which shows the magnitude of how much a person talks, and if they have to learn to control it. It denotes the level of talkativeness in an individual and highlights if a person is compulsive talker or not (McCroskey & Richmond, 1995).
As soon as I finished scoring myself on the questions asked on the five diagnostic tools, I started to evaluate my scores as per the standards and what each of my scores depicted, particularly with regards to my shortfalls. In this regard, I firstly went ahead and filled the SPCC and then calculated my final score in it, which stood at 41.67, rounding up to 42. This clearly highlights my biggest flaw of speaking in public and in groups as this score is on low side of SPCC. Breaking down the scores individually, I got 35 in public, 45 in meeting, 50 in group, 36.67 or 38 in dyad, got 18.75 or 19 in stranger, 37.5 or 38 in acquaintance and 68.75 or 68 in friend. Apart from friends group I scored on the low SPCC scores all around which shows how apprehensive I get when I have to talk to public, strangers or even acquaintances. So, most of the times, I do face difficulty in presenting my views before any group. The next tool which I used was PRICA and I knew I would score badly in this. I got a score of 30 in this, which shows that I tend to be uncomfortable when it comes to interactions with people of different cultural backgrounds.
The third diagnostic tool I used got me a score of 97 which shows that I do use a lot of body language and non verbal cues to put forward my point. The next tool I used was Willingness to Listen Diagnostic where I got a score of 76 which should that I am always open to listen to others, which then helps me in learning new things. The last tool was the Talkaholic where I got 26 depicting that I am not a compulsive talker and I do not have the need to stop myself when it comes to talking too much.
My two weaknesses relate to communication apprehensions, which relates to the first two tools, i.e., intercultural apprehensions and the public speaking apprehensions. There are numerous instances where I have faced these issues. Just 3-4 months back, we were asked to prepare a group presentation. I faced a difficulty in interacting with my group as I did not know the other people. However, matters escalated when we were asked to present this report before the class, speaking just 200 words on the experience. Naturally, I froze and stammered my 200 words, and also got very sweaty. Another similar incident took place when my father asked me to join the drama class, and I could not do so, as I did not know how to talk to others. My father thought this would be a good thing as it would help me open up to others. He still took me to the first class and the drama teacher did her best in making me comfortable about my apprehensions, but on the very second day, I ran out of the class and gave up.
Communication apprehensions are identified in intercultural communications and in public speaking. The concept of communication apprehensions had been originated by James C. McCroskey and he worked up to develop an intercultural communication apprehension model, as was similar to that of emotions and thoughts in the communication apprehensions, however the one developed in this context was related to the linguistic barriers and barriers of culture (Neuliep, 2014). These could have its foundation in audience, situation, context or trait. Some scholars have shown that when faced with such circumstances, the anxiety was present only in specified situations like that of a job interview or a public speaking situation and the apprehension in such cases is based on apprehensions (Gumus, Hamarat & Dursun, 2005). Other have highlighted that intercultural communication apprehensions were usually based on negative perceptions relating to the differences in cultures of two people and this displayed an uneasy behaviour when the individuals came in contact with another individual from a different culture, in other words, resulting from the imminent cross cultural interactions (Mak et al 2013).
Intergroup anxiety was highlighted by Rahmani (2017) as a negative feeling, along with the feeling of restlessness when the individual has comes across when having to communicate with an individual who is not of their same cultural identity. And in his view, the intergroup anxiety portrayed negative results, which results in the cognitive performance of a person being hampered, in addition to the social interactions. There have been diversified contextual incompatibilities with regards to these communication apprehensions resulting from both cultural and non cultural elements. These communication apprehensions result from the differences in an individual’s culture, for example, in the individuals belonging to Arabic nations, US, Australia, East Asian nations and Western Europe (Hackman & Barthel-Hackman, 1993; Hsu, 2007; Pederson, Tkachuk & Allen, 2008). And so, people belonging to individualist cultures usually put focus on their personal needs, activities and also their personal space.
It had been noted by different scholars that in the high context cultures of Japan, China, Arabic nations and Korea, there was a difference from that of the low context cultures like that of US, which result in communication apprehensions (Merkin, 2009; Pederson et al. 2008; Pryor, Bulter & Boehringer, 2005). It had also been stated that the majority of information in high context culture is shared amongst participants, where there is a shared communication perception depending upon the particular context of the communication. Though, it has been noticed in context of low culture that it covers more information and is straight forward (Hall, 1976). Hence, Pryor et al (2005) deemed that high context cultures are quite less valued and are quite apprehensive. And the oral communication highlights the culture context based on the communication traits (Allen, O’Mara & Long, 2014).
Jaffe (2015) believed that public speaking was a major issue which was faced by almost every person on earth, particularly when they have to speak before a big group of strangers. When it comes to public speaking, it is deemed as the most difficult aspect for nearly every segment of public, and particularly for the college students, when presented with the opportunity of addressing their class. When faced with public speaking, the people often have difficulty in making difference between sounds and at times, are unable to understand simple words (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1991). Other set of scholars have also held this view and provide that communication skills are deemed as a big factor in both the college and work life of a person (Dunbar, Brooks & Miller, 2006). There has been an “emotional predisposition” when it comes to anxiety which stems from public speaking (Beatty, 1998; Beatt, Balfantz & Kuwabara, 1989).
In the views of Woodrow (2006), the anxiety which stems from public speaking can be bifurcated in two parts. The first one is the psychological reactions, where the body of a person reacts, and could show signs of sweating, stammering, heart beating very fast, and the like. With regards to the second reaction, it was of cognitive reactions, where the brain starts thinking irrelevant and negative thoughts, which depreciates a person and just contributes towards the high anxiety levels. The different reactions which stem from public speaking anxiousness have also been highlighted by North and Rivers (2001). In their view, the individuals starting showing signs of discomfort, muscle tension, gastrointestinal discomfort, sweating and palpitation.
Rossi and Seiler (1986) analysed the history of this anxiety and stated that the study on public speaking anxiety was traced back to the middle of 1930s. Burnley, Cross & Spanos (1993) noticed that, at that time period, around 85% of the individuals faced this anxiety. As per Scovel (1991), there was a need to properly channel anxiety for it to be advantageous for the person himself, and if this is left to increase and escalate, the person of an individual plummets. Hence, even in the literature, it has been shown that public speaking lead to people being uneasy and apprehensive as they felt threatened (North & Rivers, 2001).
The need to facilitate anxiety has been aptly identified by Jones (2004), where he has stated that there is a need for the anxious person to take lessons from their apprehensions and also work upon them by learning from the previous obstacle faced by them. When this is done, the anxiety can be effectively channelled. Ohatam (2005) also drew up similar conclusion and stated that by facilitating anxiety, the individual can better learn about their attitude and also can change their perceptions. Hence, there was a need to enhance the public speaking skills by removing such apprehensions so that the person can have a successful personal and business life (Marinho, Medeiros, Gama & Teixeira, 2017). Similar need was identified by Russ (2012) where he stated that communication skills were an important part of the individual’s interpersonal working relationships. Hence, the literature clearly shows that communication apprehensions are faced by individuals most commonly when faced with public speaking and also when they have to deal with people of different cultural identities.
As the literature shows that this is a common problem being faced by people, particularly of college people, I would try to adopt the suggestions which have been given in the literature, i.e., to face my fears. And so, I have created an action plan which I would follow for the next six months. In this, the first step, as suggested in the tutorial itself, I would start maintaining a daily journal where I would put in my thoughts and my experiences for each day. This journal would map my journey of six months and would not only show my highlights, but also the aspects where I faced some or the other difficulty.
I would be attending an intercultural fest which is being organized in March 2018 in our local community to promote multicultural Australia. I would take support of my mentor, i.e., my tutor in the first three months, on the possible things which can help me in improving my apprehensions and also would invite their suggestions on what else I need to do to improve on my intercultural apprehensions. Even though this would be a difficult task for me, but in Jan and Feb. 2018, I would be addressing in different classes on my journey and the problems which I face in communicating in public. To help me in this matter, I would prepare cue cards so that I can at least read these out as a start. Next, I would read a lot of literature, particularly around the holiday period, and interact with others during this very period to apply the suggestions of literature in real life. Our university has a range of students from different cultural backgrounds and so, for every alternative month, I would interact with people from different backgrounds.
As I am apprehensive about culture, I would visit the religious places and try to understand their perspective towards life. This, as per my dad, would greatly help me in feeling comfortable with the people of different cultural backgrounds. And my dad also reminded me to join the Drama classes again, which I would do for three month period from Jan to March 2018, so that I could learn to open up to others. The success parameter for me would be the feedback from (a) my tutor, (b) university students, and (c) my dad, as he knows my troubles and understands my apprehensions. This has further been elucidated through a Gantt chart, particularly for the timeline of each activity.
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Gantt Chart depicting Action Plan |
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Nov-17 |
Dec-17 |
Jan-18 |
Feb-18 |
Mar-18 |
Apr-17 |
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Daily Journal |
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Attending Cultural Fest |
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Support from Mentor |
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Presenting before Class |
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Reading Literature |
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Communicating with University Students |
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Visiting religious places |
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Joining Drama Class |
Thus, this activity has been very beneficial for me as it has helped me in putting into perspective, my communication apprehensions. Hopefully, by following the action plan, I would be able to succeed in my endeavours.
References
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Beatty, M.J., & Friedland, M. H. (1990). Public speaking state anxiety as a function of selected situational and predispositional variables. Communication Education, 39, 142-147.
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Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Horwitz, E. K., M. B. Horwitz and J. A. Cope (1991). “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety” in E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young, Language Anxiety, 27-39. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hsu, C.-F (2007). A cross-cultural comparison of communication orientations between Americans and Taiwanese. Communication Quarterly, 55, 359– 374.
Jaffe, C. (2015). Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a Diverse Society (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Jones J.F. (2004). A Cultural Context for Language Anxiety. EA (English Australia), 21(2), 30-39
Mak, A. S., Brown, P. M., & Wadey, D. (2013). Contact and attitude toward international students in Australia: Intergroup anxiety and intercultural communication emotions as mediators. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45, 491.
Marinho, A. C. F, Mesquita de Medeiros, A., Gama A. C. C, & Teixeira, L. C. (2017). Fear of public speaking: perception of college students and correlates. Journal of Voice, 31(1), 127.e7–127.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2015.12.012
McCroskey, J. C., & McCroskey, L. L. (1988). Self-report as an approach to measuring communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 5, 108-11.
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