Self-reflection Communication Analysis Based On Diagnostic Tools

Influence Of Communication Traits And Culture

Personal Communication Skills Assessment

Discuss about the Influence Of Communication Traits And Culture.

Effective communication is important for personal professional development and daily communication. Evaluation of personal communication skills is important for the level of communication is based on some diagnostic tools. There are many different communication diagnostic tools that are used to assess the communication competency and another communication efficiency. Personal communication, on the other hand, assists people to communicate with others especially when meeting people from different communication culture. This implies that the communication is highly influenced by personal culture and individual background. When analyzing personal communication some areas that are given attention include self-perceived communication skills especially when meeting stranger, meeting with group or meeting acquaintance. Another area of communication that is diagnosed is a personal report on intercultural communication apprehension that examines the individual that focuses on intercultural communications. The third communication tool is non-verbal communication skill that is based on personal body movement as applied in communication. Talkaholic scale entails the level of an individual’s anxiety to talk in public places. The last tool is tolerance to a disagreement that gives the ability to tolerate argument during the discussion. This essay is self-reflection communication analysis based on the five communication diagnosis tools.

I have used the five effective communication diagnostic tools to analyze my communication style based on various communication areas. Firstly, Self-Perceived Communication Competence scale (SPCC) is a diagnostic tool that gives my perceived communication competency and shows the confidence in communication. The tool analyses my believe in both nonverbal and verbal communication with other people (Croucher, 2013). Secondly, nonverbal immediacy scale I used to analyze my communication based on my nonverbal communication skill that is also essential for good communication. The analysis explores my ability to use nonverbal cues for effective communication. Thirdly, another tool that I used is the Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension that gives my fear when interacting with people from other cultures (Lauring, 2011). The analysis also explores my assertiveness during communication with other as this determines the effectiveness of communication. Fourthly, talkaholic scale offers another basis I have used to analyze my public speaking skills and the urge to speak frequently to others.  The analysis estimates my level of anxiety towards public speaking at the personal level. Lastly, another diagnostic tool that is also part of my analysis is tolerance to a disagreement that gives details of my responses to disagreement and ability to tolerate sharp disagreement with others. The tool analyzes my listening in case of disagreement and the expected behaviors that others need to tolerate disagreement (Allen, O’Mara & Long, 2014).

Nonverbal Communication Skills Assessment

The findings for my personal communication based on five diagnostic tools give more evidence of the effectiveness of my communication skills. Firstly, my Self-Perceived Communication Competence scale (SPCC) shows that my overall SPCC is moderate with a score of 70.83. Further analysis indicates that I moderately talk in public at 73.33 as compared to other areas that include taking in a large meeting where the score is 66.66 or talking in a group of friends where I also score 73.33. Similarly, talking with a friend on one-to-one basis score higher as compared presenting a talk in a large meeting of friends where my score is also 80. Talking with an acquaintance is my problem as it scores only 65 in overall similar to talking in a meeting of large acquaintance or talking with a stranger (Dilbeck, McCroskey, Richmond & McCroskey, 2009).

Secondly, findings on my nonverbal immediacy scale show that I often use gesture when talking to people with often relaxed body position and touching their shoulder arms when talking those people. My overall nonverbal score was moderate with a score of 90 shows I have moderate nonverbal communication skills. All the three non-verbal my score was 4 indicating that often uses these nonverbal cues. I have been staying close to people when talking or when touched by other people as they talk. The result also shows that I have been occasionally using a dull voice while talking to people with a score of 3. In addition, I am occasionally animated when speaking to other people with a score of 3.  I scored 2 indicating that I rarely moving away while talking or when people talking toughed me. I rarely look away or frown while talking to other people with a score of 2 (Saint-Jacques, 2011). Moreover, my non verbal cues is high meaning I am a good speaker though there is need for improvement particularly on other situations or contexts such as meeting with acquaintance and other people from other cultures.

Thirdly, findings on Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension show that my overall score on communication and interaction with other people from a different culture is 47. I am always nervous while talking with people from different cultures at a score of 19. My anxiety to communicate with strangers or people from other culture is very low and this is also evidenced by the moderate scores I obtained during analysis. This finding shows that I am still struggling when it comes to meeting strangers and other people that are not my friends. Meeting with an acquaintance is another area that I have low score since I have shown low anxiety to speak with an acquaintance (Sarriff & Gillani, 2011).

Intercultural Communication Apprehension Assessment

Fourthly, the result of my talkaholic scale revealed that I have the anxiety of speaking while in public with an overall score of 14. This is below the moderate talkaholic score showing that I am not talkative and has low anxiety to speak on unimportant matters in public (Creative Commons license 2011). My anxiety to speak with people in public is low and this is also characterized by speaking based on environment. Talkaholic scale shows that limitedly like public discussion and does engage other people in the discussion when necessary with more focus discussion.

Lastly, results on tolerance for disagreement show that I have a high tolerance for disagreement with an overall score of 64. The analysis also shows that I like places where there is disagreement since I have a high tolerance for disagreement, especially during the discussion. I consider disagreement helpful as it increases my personal communication development. Furthermore, I prefer to stick to the topic of discussion despite the disagreement and is I don’t prefer changing topics (Hsu, 2010). Changing topics whenever there is disagreement means avoiding specific topics when an argument arises. Personally, I have been a good listener when it comes to discussion leading to high tolerance to disagreements (Messner & Schäfer, 2012a). 

After analysis of my communication skill, I identified some key areas of the communication skills. The two communication skills that were identified based diagnostic tools that were used in analyzing my skills. Based on the analysis of my communication using the five communication tools, I identified Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension and self-perceived communication competency scale as key areas that I need to improve on (Sarriff & Gillani, 2011). My perceived confidence when talking to other people is moderate and there is a need that I develop on it since my confidence especially when talking or discussing matters with other people determines my ability to connect with other people from other cultures. These two areas I need some development and I score moderately on the scale. The two areas that part of these identified communication diagnostic tools are meeting with strangers and meeting with people from other culture. According to communication diagnostic tool meeting with strangers is one of the moderate scored during analysis of my communication skills (Lustig & Koester, 2010).

Upon reflection of my communication skills based on Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension and self-perceived communication competency scale, I realize some important elements of communication that I have not fully achieved in the past 12 months. Firstly, my confidence in communicating with other people especially with strangers where I scored 65 on the scale need development since the score is still moderate. My communication with an acquaintance is also moderate with the score of 65 and need some development to improve in this area. Another area is also identified is communication confident especially in a meeting where I also scored 66.66 on the scale. The anxiety to speak with strangers is low especially when I am expected to initiate the discussion. Moreover, meeting stranger through the competency is not reduced, willingness to communicate is often good but without the ability to communicate efficiently. Some factor that normally hinders my discussion ability with other people has been context and situation as these two determines the willingness to engage other people in the discussion. Therefore, I need to improve my communication skills that are important for meeting with acquaintance and strangers.

Talkaholic Scale Assessment

Secondly, my Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension is also moderate with a score of 47 and moderate indicating that I need some development especially when interacting with other people from other culture. Moreover, my past interaction with other people from other culture is don’t feel relaxed and always feel nervous. My past interaction with other people from other culture is coupled with lack of relax and confidence. These two I need some development to overcome nervousness that has been my problem and these areas I have scored as low as 2 on the scale. My intercultural competency has been low as evidenced by a low score on the scale and this is also supported with difficulty when discussing with people from other cultures. Cultural expectation is an example of a factor that brings reluctant notion to communicate with people from other culture. Moreover, intercultural competency is important for effective communication within other environments where friends are not available or where strangers require me to initiate conversation. Therefore, my intercultural skill requires some development to achieve effective communication.

Literature has clear view of my communication situations that need development and these areas are my meeting communication skills and interaction with strangers or acquaintance need some development or improvement. Firstly, meeting communication skills does not match A study conducted to explore the position of Singapore on the continuum of SPCC show the variety of behaviors and factors that determine the effectiveness of communication. According to Burgoon (2012), the communication with people within the meeting is highly influenced by the context of the meeting. Moreover, personal role within the meeting also plays an important role in communication. Communication within the meeting is often determined based on the role of those individuals within the communication situation. As explained by Rubdy and McKay (2013), people normally take part in meeting discussion and an individual may feel relaxed to discuss the issues with others that are not friends or known to them. This sets the boundary for communication within the meeting especially meeting with acquaintances or strangers.

The level of communication apprehension also plays role in initiating the communication. The level of communication apprehension determines the freedom of communication hence limiting the willingness to initiate communication. Furthermore, the level of communication apprehension does not reduce self-confidence and individual feel competent to communicate in a situation such as meeting or groups. This communication becomes free regardless of those they are speaking to in meetings (Messner & Schäfer, 2012a). The level of communication shows no effect on the self-perceived communication skills since the level of communication often depends on the context of communication. Some level of communication requires low communication participation unless given chance to express personal ideas. This, therefore, influences personal participation without the direct influence of self-competence. Such situation may include where the only speaker is allowed to speak or initiate discussion. In such case, personal confidence in communication may reduce but when the opportunity is presented individual participation scores high on the scale (Hsu, 2010).

Tolerance to Disagreement Assessment

Intercultural boundaries set the pace for communication between of different culture during discussion or meetings. Interpersonal communication competence is another area that determines the individual communication apprehension that is affected by culture. The experience in communication especially the communication within groups depends on the individual interpersonal communication experience. According to Fleming (2012), development of interpersonal skills plays role in enhancing communication with others that are not friends. Self-perceived communication apprehension especially when discussing an issue with acquaintances rests on experience. This does not affect the competence of that individual in communication. For instance, people from certain culture may be willing to participate in the discussion yet their ability to initiate discussion is the limiting factor. Interpersonal competence has a high connection to personal participation in a group context. As explained by Croucher (2013), increase interpersonal communication skill improves personal competency and hence transcends the boundaries of culture.

Context anxiety or the context of communication is a major contributor to a discussion between individuals or groups during communication. Meeting with strangers or people from a different culture is normally a problem and me facing the same problem is no exception. According to Messner and Schäfer (2012), meeting strangers of different culture often determines the level of interaction especially during communication. Witt, Brown, Roberts, Weisel, Sawyer and Behnke (2006) explores the communication apprehension indicating the culture sets the boundary of communication especially where people seem to be strangers. Moreover, the culture differences as a determinant of interaction with other people differ from one place to another. This shows that lack of calmness or nervousness when meeting people from other cultures. Meeting with strangers is always tricky as many people fear speaking or initiating discussion with strangers. In addition, strangers from different culture require courage to initiate discussion and this determines the communication (Boren & Veksler, 2011).

Richmond, McCroskey, McCroskey, and Fayer (2008) explain the communication based on the anxiety that is connected to an individual enabling discussion with other people. Trait anxiety is one another area of communication apprehension that defines the anxiety to engage other people in communication. The anxiety trait was coined to understand the connection between the willingness to communicate and the situation. The anxiety also defines the communication apprehension as part of daily behavior that contributes to communication. According to Mansson and Myers (2009), anxiety is also a major contributor to a vulnerability that normally characterizes communication. In addition, the anxiety to communicate is also connected with the environment where the person can be restricted by the environment (Gudykunst, 2011). A suggested approach to improve the anxiety is based on the experience and practice of various communication development skills.

Communication traits argument is based on various communication apprehension areas that include meetings, dyadic, public, and small groups show different score depending on individual background. For instance, individuals from Australia show moderate to high communication score, especially with strangers. In addition, different areas give different scores depending on the individual’s cultural background (Lyons & Ford, 2009). Another area that also gives more information on the behaviors towards strangers is the willingness to communicate (WTC) that is based on one-to-one willingness to communicate. One of the key areas that normally influence personal communication with other people that are not friends is lack of knowledge of those people cultural background or their skills. Communication trait also considers the context of the communication since the context is also linked with cultural differences. For instance, meeting within a business context show a different expectation in terms of culture (Allen, O’Mara & Long, 2014).

Audience anxiety as explains by Messner and Schäfer (2012a) is the individual or group willingness to communicate that has influence communication. As Boren and Veksler (2011) indicate the ability of an individual willingness to initiate communication depends on communitarian experience. The experience can be in terms of the social experience that brings the confidence to initiate communication with people from different culture. Past experience with small groups is one core area that influences personal communication with other people in small groups. Past experience with strangers can sometimes be the limiting factor that reduces the willingness to discuss issues with strangers. Personal confidence can sometimes build on the individual experience that is also based on past relationship with other people from different culture. Beatty, Heisel, Lewis, Pence, Reinhart, and Tian (2011) show that a good communication is characterized by people willing to discuss issues with a stranger without considering their culture. This is based on the argument that only issues that are present need to be considered.

Identification of the two areas that need development enables me to develop an action plan that will enable me to build my skill in this areas over the next 6 months. Firstly, I would maintain a communication journal that will help me reflect on my interaction with others especially strangers. This will also help me develop effective communication skill towards other people that are from other cultures. For instance, meetings that involve other people that are not friends more so those meeting people for the first time will be considered as important when developing these skills. As part of my personal assessment, my journal will also document my attitudes towards other people to ensure there is an improvement. My journal will contain various communications activities that aim to better my understanding of the communication skills. Moreover, communication journal assists in organizing activities and with a major focus on the cultural effect on communication since this is one of the areas that are important for my personal communication development (Boren & Veksler, 2011). Based on the action plan, my communication journal is the main area that will take most of the time to ensure that communication is part of my schedule through to success.

Secondly, the self-reading plan is another action plan that I will use to develop communication skill in intercultural communication. To tackle the problem of meeting other people from different culture, I would take my time to study the cultural influence on effective communication. Another area that I will give much attention when studying is self-composition when talking to a stranger as this will enable me to develop right behaviors towards strangers. For instance, reading books on nonverbal cues necessary for meetings with acquaintances has the potential of building my competence in talking to an acquaintance that I have been moderate in. The stipulated time for self-reading will take more than two months as the plan aims to better my communication and reading skills (Zarrinabadi, 2014). The self reading plan will be followed to ensure there is improvement and there are strategies to monitor my progress for achievement.

Thirdly, I will have a mentor to help me realize improvement in the areas that I have identified. My mentor will help me to connect with people from other culture that is important personal communication development. In addition, a personal mentor is also important for supervising various activities I will be undertaking to increase my communication competency. I will take four weeks under strict monitor of my mentor to increase my communication efficiency and within this period my understanding of various cultures will be enhanced. Moreover, some communication skills such as nonverbal cues will also be part of my interest as I seek to enhance my skills in communication with people from other culture. This I think will enable me to reduce nervousness that normally affects me when discussing an issue with people who are not my friends (Hogan, 2013).

I will also undertake a course on communication skills- perception and non-verbal communication. Communication skills that include perception skills and nonverbal communication skills that are important for effective communication. In addition, the course involves various communication skills that are important for personal development in communication. Some of the components of the course that I will take include study of the communication skill with the option of intercultural skills, effective nonverbal communication, and communication apprehension (CA). These areas of communication are important for improving or developing my communication competency. The course is based on online classes and this is easy to take part due to the flexibility of the course. The duration of the course will take at least two weeks (Alison, 2018). To add more, a Gantt chart is provided that give the time line for the communication development as shown below.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the essay gives self-reflection on the effective communication skills that are necessary for personal development. The analysis of my communication competency was based on five diagnostic tools that are important for effective communication. During the analysis of personal communication competency, some areas where identified that need development. These areas are self-perceived communication towards the stranger and intercultural communication skills when meeting people from other cultures. These two areas where selected based on a personal score that shows moderate and therefore needs improvement. The action plan is also developed to help in the realization of the communication development. Some of the actions that are given include keeping personal communication journal, reading communication skills books, hiring a mentor and undertaking a communication skill course. Each of the communication action plans is based on the time frame that is also drawn using grant chart.

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