Taking this weeks assessments and seeing others assessments of me this week was very interesting. What I found most interesting is that, between my assessment, John's, and my colleague, Amy we were very similar in most areas. The most obvious similarity was in the verbal Aggressiveness Scale. I scored a 53, John scored a 60, and Amy scored a 56. All of these scored fell in the moderate portion of the scale. This was nice to see because it showed that I maintain a good balance in respect and the ability to argue fairly in both my school setting and my personal life. Of course, I do wish I did not attack every time someone did not possess the same view as me. The biggest difference I saw was in my listening style. Amy, my colleague, described me as content-oriented, whereas John scored me as people-oriented. I do not disagree with either of these, but it does display how my listening style changes from one context (my peers) to another context (faculty meetings, professional development). The most surprising part of this assessment was that I thought I would have scored the absolute worst. Even when John heard he would score my aggressiveness he laughed because we both feel that I am very aggressive in conversation, however we both found that the aggressiveness I display keeps away from attacking a person.
One insight I gained from this week is that communication varies from setting to setting. The way we communicate with our peers is much different from the way we communicate with our colleagues, children, and families. This is such an important aspect to remember when we are in the professional world and when we are in our personal/social world. Another insight I gained this week, is to simply not judge a book by the cover. During our discussion, we had to share the first impressions we had on a women. It is impossible to avoid having a first impression, however it is possible to make sure you do not let that first impression take control over figuring out who that person really is after you talk with them. On the other side, I think that discussion assignment was an excellent reminder that people do make first impressions simply from how we present ourselves. This is important to take in consideration when in the workplace. We need to make sure that the things we can control send a first impression we would want others to have.
Great post Jo, my colleague also stated that i am very content-oriented which i totally disagree to some degree. I have learned that i am a great listener but i just interup to much when i am familiar with the person i am talking too.
ReplyDeleteI loved this assignment and seeing how others around me saw me as a communicator. I too decided to ask someone that is around me a lot, my mom, and a coworker. It was neat to see the difference between their scores. I too saw this week how much my communication varies from setting to setting. Do you think your scores would be similar if you had two colleagues do the assessment?
ReplyDeleteI do think my scores would similar if two colleagues did the assessment because they see me in a similar setting.
ReplyDeleteI was also glad to see that there were similarities between the survey I took and the ones my friends took. I could see that I was not coming down on myself nor was I boosting myself up in the area of being a good communicator. My friends and family also saw me as a good communicator. pleasently surprised is what I would call myself. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Jo! I liked how you pointed out we tend to change how we communicate based on the setting we are in. I think that is also true. Thanks for your post!
ReplyDeleteJo,
ReplyDeleteThis is an insightful reflection on communication and first impressions. I agree with you that we often adapt our communication to suit the different relationships we have with people we communicate with. Except my listening style, I found out that most of my assessments were not necessarily reflective of my communication style but my relations with the evaluators. I think being an effective communicator entails that we consider our audience, the venue, our relationships with have with the people, their temperament and culture among others. I share your views on first impressions. We cannot take them for face value. We have to ensure that we get a second impression by getting to know people before we form our final impression. Thank you for sharing these insights.
Nar