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Are You A Good Communicator? May 31, 2010 ? Abstract Thinking that I am basically a good communicator, there is always room for improvement and skills development. Being in a position of authority can be a hindrance if one cannot learn the skills to manage others. Reading and understanding verbal and nonverbal skills will become a major factor in owning my own business. I never really had a problem reading nonverbal signs in relating to others. Prior employment and experience in interview and investigation techniques will need to be utilized in working with others in the field of business development.
Symptomatic signs of avoidance, disinterest in conversation, lack of social networks and hobbies. People become engulfed with pre occupation on how or what others think about them. I think I have spent more time in worrying about how other perceive the things I do rather than living a life of uninhibited speaking. Being able to communicate with out regards to how it sounds but to take the time to think before speaking. ? Are You A Good Communicator? Even though I have the ability to possess my thoughts, sometimes I become preoccupied with how it is received by others.
Below is a snapshot report of the Queendom Test, ” Are You A Good Communicator? ” I learned from the experience to say what people want to hear. I guess that is an asset in obtaining positions with company interviews and becoming likable in conversations. But, when trying to move up in the company, then it is time to learn to speak with authority and assertiveness. Snapshot Report Insightfulness 66 Your results indicate that you are fairly adept at interpreting other people’s words and actions and seeing things from their perspective – although the rare misunderstanding may occur.
Overall however, you seem to realize that empathy is an essential part of good interpersonal skills and therefore, will do your best to place yourself in other people’s shoes in order to better understand them. For the most part, you can sense what others are thinking and will likely adjust your behavior accordingly if a person you’re conversing with seems confused or perhaps uncomfortable. There may be the occasional time when you pay more attention to the message you’re sending rather than how it’s received. With some time and experience, you’ll likely be able to improve your insight even more.
To be completely honest, I tried to answer the questions to receive a perfect score. Even though I have the perception to understand the qualities of a good communicator. The test seems rather ambiguous or repetitive in asking the questions. Since my preconceived ideas were to score a perfect score of 100. Therefore, I chose to retake the test. This is the snapshot view of the second test, which the score was lower, but with the same results. Having an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills, focus should be placed on more compassion for getting to know the customer’s needs.
Being self-employed, one must learn to think outside of the box. Life cannot always be without confrontations or customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, the skills of learning to negotiate and critical thinking must be practical applications. Out of 100 points, I scored 66, the first time and 59 the second time. Training and Development The Richardson Company, website that assists in improvement of communication skills, states, Communication is said to be the most important skill in life. And effective communication always comes down to one thing–mutual understanding.
Based on the premise “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood” (Habit 5 from Stephen R. Covey’s ground-breaking book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) this program explains empathic listening and shows how it helps us understand and successfully communicate with others. (The Richardson Company, August 2009). Personally, this sometimes can feel like being a doormat to others. However, according to Covey, this is a trait to develop if one is to be effective in communications skills. Communication is only as effective as those involve in the interaction.
Taking responsibility for self-improvement has been a great asset in the past. I am an avid reader of self-help books. Currently, with the limitation of time, I must learn to develop the importance of business affiliations and associations. This will allow the ability to network with other professionals. The best training and development would be to read and write to become more adept to the written skills of communication. Taking a concept and develop that idea into more specific details. Types of books that would benefit the growth and the interpersonal skills are interviewing clients.
Dale Carnegie’s famous book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People has been a favorite book of mine. I attended a course back in the 80’s where we would develop public speaking assignments to present to the class. This helped in my development of public speaking and face to face conversations. Also, training in education, employment in customer service and working with the public has been a great accomplishment. Excerpts from the book, “How To Win Friends and Influence People” The Dale Carnegie Page , “Believe that you will succeed, and you will” Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, Part Two
Six ways to make people like you 1. Become genuinely interested in other people. 2. Smile. 3. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. 4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. 5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests. 6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely. Having a heart to listen to my clients. Making presentations to promote products developing the benefits to customers rather than focusing on the benefits to myself. I have compassion for understanding others.
In speaking with others, I have always been able to ask questions to get a clearer understanding. I never have been an inattentive listener, but give undivided attention while others are speaking. In selecting a skill that I could work on would be developing more self-esteem and assertiveness. Paying particular attention to body language and the nonverbal signs I may be sending unconsciously. A professional consultant should rely more on the thoughts of the client or customers. Conclusion I consider that many people learn communication skills based on being products of their environment and cultural diversities.
Factors such as self-esteem, may also have an effect on the way people communicate. Communication is a skill just as learning to play the piano or learning to swim. The more one utilizing the skills of communication, the better one will become. ? References Queendom, the Land of Test, (2009, 2010) Retrieved May 30, 2010, http://www. queendom. com/tests/access_page/index. htm? idRegTest=2288 The Richardson Company, Training Media, Empathic Listening: The Key to Communication, Retrieved May 31, 2010, http://www. rctm. com/Products/communications/8851. htm The Dale Carnegie Page, http://www. westegg. com/unmaintained/carnegie/carnegie. html