To strengthen your communication skills here are some questions to ask yourself in order to determine how effectively you communicate:
Over the week think about these questions while in school, practice, home, or interacting with friends. Then give a reflection on the 5 questions, and then rate your level of communication. Tell us how you could improve your communication using the five questions above.
Haley Thomas
2/8/2011 07:49:56 am
I think that number one has a very good point to it. We may think we are saying things clearly, but for someone who you are trying to explain something to, it might not. So, if you imagine yourself being the "receiver" in the conversation, that I think, would help conversations be clearer. Especially for the people like me that have a hard time saying things like I would want to. Number 2 also has a good point. I personally look for a reaction to the person I'm talking to, making sure I said things clearly enough or if I need to re-explain it. People, a lot of the time, don't take the other persons feelings into consideration. If you are talking to someone you barley know, then yes, you are going to be more polite because you do not want to make a bad first impression. But, when you are talking to your friends, sometimes, we will joke around and accidentally offend them. Then, number 5, I don't think that is a very hard one to work with, at least, when you’re talking to a group of your friends. You tend to talk like you want to, but when you’re in class you don't always want to be the one talking, which I think is a problem a lot of us have. We get nervous and become shy so we start talking in a mono-tone voice that could put people to sleep. Especially when saying reports. That's not a problem for the people that are used to being around people that are always with someone or have a lot of siblings. But, for those of us, that doesn’t have a lot of siblings and are fairly quiet. It is really hard to remember to be enthusiastic when talking in front of everyone. Even though we do know that the people listening probably won't remember what we are saying in 10 minutes, but while we are saying it, we get shy, quiet, and mono-tone like. These 5 things, I think have very good points to them.
Cody LaMunyan
2/8/2011 10:33:27 am
Sometimes the other people sometimes hear it and sometimes they don’t. If I send the message it may seem unclear and can be misunderstood. I don’t think I do a good job of this, because I assume people heard and understood the message I gave. I could improve by speaking more clearly to start and maybe even ask if the other person understood my message. I didn’t respect the person’s point of view. They tried telling me about what I should do and I just kind of ignored them. I didn’t really have a reaction because I was silent I was hearing not necessarily listening. I think that what I mostly need to improve on and to try what they were telling me. Sometimes I feel that the other person was understood. I think I could improve on that though like maybe asking a question to let them know I’m actually listening and not blowing them off. I have trouble acknowledging. Sometimes I just don’t know how to reply back to the person I’m talking to. I am usually pretty good at making a specific action but it’s making the request clear that I have trouble with. I could improve on that by kinder. No I don’t speak in a way the other person or people could understand. I am usually too quiet and stutter sometimes. Normally I communicate in a way people don’t want to listen because there is no expression in the way I talk. I could improve this by talking with more expression.
Katlyn McClain
2/9/2011 09:11:44 am
I think everyone needs to do better with their communication skills especially myself. I can be hard to understand for some people and I am not very good at always understanding what they have said to me. I think that its would be best to do better at the first rule. Respecting others people’s views of things is kind so that you don’t hurt people’s feelings. Before you react you need to listen to the complete message they are sending you so that you don’t misunderstand. Pay attention to what people say so that they don’t get upset. It’s best to talk clearly and understandably when you want someone to do a certain task as not to get them confused or into trouble. Talking to people so that they know what you’re talking about is very smart. So that they actually listen and respect what you have to say.
Mackie Monahan
2/9/2011 10:43:26 am
Ok well over the week I did a lot of thinking about my communication skills, I think the questions that were brought up were good questions. Some However, are more impacting than others.
Mackie Monahan
2/9/2011 10:49:53 am
Haley you make a great point about the people with siblings... I know I like to talk not as much in front of people as to my friends but I do get less shy than those who are quiet like yourself. Thank you for your advice on communicating.
Mackie Monahan
2/9/2011 10:54:41 am
Cody I understand what you are saying and don't take this wrong but I agree with what you said about your communication skills, you could do better with them. Thanks for sharing.
Taylor R. Prince
2/9/2011 12:38:04 pm
Mrs. Miller
2/9/2011 01:54:49 pm
Mackie - reread your post and then look up the word herd versus heard. Even though you message was received and I know you used spell check this a great example when spell check doesn't work. Great post though and thank you for being honest about your interpretation of #1. Looks like you are enjoying doing these posts.
Katie Bohler
2/10/2011 04:10:11 am
I try and ask myself these questions when I’m communicating with others. Especially when I’m presenting something in front of a bunch of people. I try to keep eye contact as well…but because I’m so shy I have the biggest issues with that. But other than that I believe I do fairly well. But when I’m nervous or upset about something I tend to talk quietly and kind of fast.
Esther
2/10/2011 04:11:14 am
These five points are some of the most basic things in communication. However they are overlooked because they make us think of someone else. If we don’t think of the person we’re talking to we won’t be communicating well. We always know if we understood what they say, but we never make sure if they understand us. The easiest way to make sure you are understood is to ask question. Then you need to follow through with what you say. People are more likely to listen to someone who sticks to what they say. I think that we are always saying too much and not following through enough. We are always saying we’ll do this, or that, but we never (or almost never) follow through. We usually make what we want very clear, but when we want someone to do something they never understand. Maybe because we don’t clarify that we want others to do about what we want. If that made any sense. Last thing, we don’t speak so others can understand us. We are in such a hurry to say everything that we don’t speak clearly. This is something that we take for granted and don’t think about. It really bugs me when I don’t understand somebody and I think their trying to say something important. I hope that these answers inspire you to improve.
Wyatt Hyer
2/10/2011 04:11:48 am
I think all five steps are good ways to improve your communication skills. I think that 1. Could help because it really does matter if the message is heard thoroughly. I think if you disagree 2. Comes into play be respectful and listen to there message. You should also carefully listen to them and use step number 3. For number 4 this step is important because you should give the person a nice clear answer back that they understand. I think that the fifth is the most important though. I think that you should talk slowly and clearly in a non- monotone voice that is understandable and not mumbled or said way too fast. I think that all five of these steps would definitely help your speaking skills and would help you later in life. I plan on trying these steps to help my communication skills.
Wyatt Hyer
2/10/2011 04:13:48 am
taylor- i agree with you all the way. i can tell you put a lot of time into this.
Esther
2/10/2011 04:15:16 am
Mrs. Miller and Katie have made the point about being shy, I know I struggle with shyness myself. I want to be less shy so I can communicate better. I know that being shy will limit myself later and I don’t want that.
Wyatt Hyer
2/10/2011 04:16:07 am
Cody- if you dont know what to say back to a person it could be a sign of being socially awkward. i would look into it buddy :)
David Kittrell
2/10/2011 04:18:20 am
I think that the 5 steps are very useful. They can help out in the real world a lot. If someone doesn’t understand the message then it doesn’t matter what said you. Also, if you didn’t respect the persons point of view then they could take offense to the message. That also works the other way if you take offense you are more likely to stop listening. If you don’t acknowledge the person they will not feel listened to. That could be bad. If you ask someone to do something then make sure its clear because if the action requested is not clear then they will not know to do it. Even if you think the message was heard it might not have been. Especially if you are not speaking in a way that the audience understands.
David Kittrell
2/10/2011 04:19:26 am
Wyatt- i agree with all three of your posts. They really are true.
Esther
2/10/2011 04:20:10 am
WOW Cody! You said exactly what I wanted to. I think that you have pointed out what lots of people struggle with, talking without communicating. I’m muddling this up really bad. What I want to say is that communicating is something that we need to do better.
Haley Thomas
2/10/2011 07:04:42 am
Mackie, I love how you put that if you don't think about the other persons feelings they may not feel acknowledged. That is a very good point.
Haley Thomas
2/10/2011 07:12:44 am
Taylor, First of all, I love your post. It made several very good points. Which, usually you are the one to point a lot of things a lot of us do not notice. Then, second, i love how you said if you want to be heard you need to listen yourself. In my opinion, that happens a lot, and not only with us students. The teachers even do that sometimes. So, that skill is something i believe all of us could work on.
Katlyn McClain
2/10/2011 07:42:32 am
Mackie - I disagree, I think that all the questions were very important but some were a little bit more than others. I agree with your thought of the “It doesn’t matter what I say, it matters what the other person hears” cause if you don’t say what you mean then people get confused and lost then you both feel bad for not communicating well.
Katlyn McClain
2/10/2011 07:52:49 am
Esther – I agree that we don’t always think to make sure that the other person has understood the message. I sometimes forget to even do that. I also agree that we say were going to do things but we don’t always follow through. That happens to me all the time I plan to do something but then forget to actually do it. I absolutely love your post it is in every way true.
Consuelo Arteaga
2/10/2011 10:19:35 am
Haley- I like the point your trying to make about number 1 and number 2. Sometimes we don't know if the person understands what we are saying, and other times we understand it but don't know how to explain it. Also number 2 i agree with you, we don't always know if the other person were talking to knows that you are just kidding so its good to be polite the first time you meet them. Good job Haley!
Maria Meyers
2/10/2011 11:35:19 am
These are very important points to take into consideration when it comes to communicating.
Maria Meyers
2/10/2011 11:39:46 am
Cody- I'm glad that you didn't have too much pride to point out your flaws. I think everyone has room to improve. I'm not the greatest communicator myself, and I need to work on some things.
Maria Meyers
2/10/2011 11:48:02 am
Esther- I agree with you 100%. You are totally right that these 5 points are the most basic things, and that most people overlook them. Everyone needs to work on taking other people into consideration. And like you said—we all need to follow through. Some of us may think that we are being polite when we actually might not sound so polite. Everyone needs to concentrate on what we say to one another. You could seem rude to another person without even realizing it.
Taylor Prince
2/10/2011 12:11:59 pm
Maria – I could not agree with your post more. I think you say the small things we all strive to say, but just do not understand how. It is very apparent that you put a ton of time into this post. Good job. (:
Taylor Prince
2/10/2011 12:22:32 pm
Haley – I really like the point that you make about how we need to pay attention to how others are reacting to what we are saying. A lot can be communicated through non verbal expressions.
Kelcey
2/10/2011 12:48:00 pm
I think that communication is very important. We need it to effectively understand each other and get things done. I think that the first question, about taking responsibility for making sure our message is heard, has a important point. If you try explain the earth’s rotation to a three year old, you are most likely going to be wasting your breath. Not only will this be entirely out of the child’s intellectual grasp, but you will be boring them to tears.
Carol Entrup
2/11/2011 02:12:28 am
The number one point is a very important point. It shows respect for the other person in the conversation. It makes the other person feel as if they are important and acknowledged. Number two point is a point that everyone should follow. Many people, after hearing something that doesn’t agree with what they are saying, just shut out the conversation or the other person. Everyone should keep an open mind when having a conversation with someone else. Number three point is a point I think I could improve on. When you talk to someone you need to listen to what they are saying and find out if they feel like you understood and heard them. Number four point I also find very, very, important. Too many times I’ve been told something and I didn’t understand what they wanted me to do because the person didn’t make it clear what they were asking from me. I’ve also made the same mistake. The last point is important when informing someone of something. To keep someone attention you need to be interesting and present the information in an attractive way. Personally I think I have pretty good communication skills but there are also many things I could improve on.
Shelby R. Fuchs
2/11/2011 02:14:28 am
These are very good questions to ask. I think I have trouble with all of them. For example the second one, I always jump to conclusions and not hear the full message. The one that I feel I do the best at is four. To improve I think I need to pay more attention and not assume what is going to be said all the time. Some advise form experence is to just let the person talk and wait till they are done and not interrupt. That might make them somewhat mad and then the message might change.
Carol Entrup
2/11/2011 02:16:34 am
Maria-
Shelby R. Fuchs
2/11/2011 02:16:57 am
Carol- I think your points are great. The advise about a open mind is great. That is one I should really work on.
Carol Entrup
2/11/2011 02:20:13 am
Esther-
Shelby R. Fuchs
2/11/2011 02:21:38 am
Go Esther. Great points. The most important thing i got out of that was the talking to much and not following through. If you think about it everyone just rambles on and gets side tracked and the real message hardly every gets to the other person. 2/11/2011 03:43:15 am
1.I think it is important to take full responsibility for the message. If you do this then the message can be interpreted right. Sometimes I do no explain the message correctly and if I do this explain it correctly in a way they can understand then I can get what I needed to get done. 2.Next I believe having a positive reaction is very responsible. I try to have a good reaction most of the time. This way it does not hurt their feelings. I also think if they upset when they are talking you should quit listening to them because you do not like it because they might say something later on that is important.3. Sometimes I don’t make face-to-face connection when my parents are talking so they ask me again. So I can work on paying attention when they talk. 4.I think it is important to make the request clear because what if they did not get part of the request and it does not get finished then your in trouble. I try myself to be specific, but sometimes I don’t get understood sometime correctly. 5. I think if you talk in a monotone they are not going to listen most of the time. Although most of the time my voice is mono-toned, so I guess I will have to work on better communication through being able to talk in such a way it does not sound mono-toned. 2/11/2011 03:46:04 am
David- I agree with all the thins you said. I also think it will help you out in the real world. 2/11/2011 03:50:34 am
Maria- I completely agree with your idea about being a good listener. I thought it was very good. I think it is good to let the other person talk and to listen to their feedback. Also I think that my listen skills are average and this is one places I could improve on.
Cody LaMunyan
2/11/2011 04:25:46 am
Wyatt- I respectively disagree with you I am not socially awkward. I feel like you were being very rude with that post. Go Packers!!!
Cody LaMunyan
2/11/2011 04:30:16 am
Maria- I strongly agree with that statement, because if the message is sent wrong then the message is probably not received or heard wrong.
Evan Wolf
2/11/2011 04:44:43 am
I as a speaker think that I do well in front of the class when imp doing presentation and talking to the class. My listening skills are good but on action I don’t listen very good.
Tyler McGreevy
2/11/2011 05:45:18 am
I as a person can do ok at listening and speaking but I can do bad at speaking and listening because it can be hard to understand a question or I would be talking to someone that I was listening to. Speaking I am ok at but I can have problems saying the word or I would talk before I think. Sometimes I would tell someone to do something but it turns out they did not listen or did not understand me, I would do the same but I would ask the question again. Sometimes people would talk to me in big words and I would not understand them.
Tyler McGreevy
2/11/2011 05:49:20 am
Evan Wolf I agree with you butt you forgot that you complain a lot Mrs. Miller please agree with me haha
Tyler McGreevy
2/11/2011 05:57:10 am
Cody just agree that you are socially awkward, you probably don’t think you are. But every body thinks your Awkward. And I agree with codys post. ☺
Tori Sullivan
2/11/2011 11:36:52 am
I believe that, while all of these questions have important points, four is the most important. I believe this because I have a lot of trouble with communicating because I am not good at expressing what I am trying to say, clearly. I say something, and while I know what I mean others may not. Also, I sometimes say things snappy when I didn’t mean at all for it to come off that way, therefore number five play a big role in this. This is because people don’t always understand that I am trying to be completely nice and it just came off wrong. I believe if we practice off of these skills it could prevent us from not only misunderstandings but also prevent many arguments.
Tori Sullivan
2/11/2011 11:40:13 am
Taylor, I do agree with Mrs. Miller’s response as well as your thinking on your communication skills. You do have great communication skills and you are very understanding. It is easy for me to talk to you because while I have bad communication skills when you don’t understand you ask me or respond asking me if I meant what I said. I really enjoy talking to you about stuff because of this. Great job Taylor!
Tori Sullivan
2/11/2011 11:46:10 am
Shelby, I absolutely love how you say that you jump to conclusion before the other person has finished what they’re saying. Don’t worry. You’re not on your own, all of us do it. I believe that the person speaking can get very frustrated and it’s not far. I do this a lot with my mom because she repeats herself so I just expect I know what she is going to say.
Kelcey
2/11/2011 11:59:49 am
Esther, you make an excellent point. I can be a goof ball around my friends, I love to make them laugh, but if I have to speak in front of the class, I totally panic. I guess that the reason that I’m so freaked out to go up there, is because I don’t want to make an idiot out of myself.
Kelcey
2/11/2011 12:31:57 pm
Katie, I agree that everyone could do better with their communication skills, no one is perfect. I think that anyone can get confused or can misunderstand something every once in awhile. I think that the best way to make sure you have the right understanding of the message that you were given, is to repeat it to them or ask questions. Sometimes some people give you the wrong directions, and then try to blame you for their mistake. I know a guy who’s boss would tell him to go and do something, and then tell him that he did the job wrong. So after having that happen more then once, he had his boss write down specific instructions. Sure enough, he was sent to do a job and upon return he was told he had done it wrong. At that point he showed him the written list. It wasn’t long before the boss learned that he was at fault, not his employee, and made his instructions more clear.
McKenzie Uto
2/11/2011 12:32:52 pm
These five questions really made me think about my communication skills. I always thought I was perfectly fine when it came to communicating, but after looking at these five questions, it really made me think about how much I could improve.
McKenzie Uto
2/11/2011 12:37:58 pm
Taylor Lewis, I totally agree with everything you said, I also don't think it is very entertaining to listen to someone with a mono-toned voice because it's boring and it's almost like the person doesn't have an opinion about what they are talking about, so what's the point in listening to them?
McKenzie Uto
2/11/2011 12:42:41 pm
Carol, I really agree with what you said about the 1st point being very important and how it shows respect, because it really does, if you can't say something that is nice, than why talk to the person when you're just going to offend them?
Mrs. Miller
2/11/2011 01:10:50 pm
A simple reminder to those who are using the blog to be funny, you are graded on your posts. So if you think you are funny, but what you post could be offense don't ask why you have been given a C vs an A. Remember what you type is being read by many others, and says a ton about you - even if you think it is funny it may not be.
Mrs. Miller
2/11/2011 01:26:48 pm
Tori - you made my weekend, I am glad that you actually did what I asked and tried it this week and found it to help. As a teacher I want to give you things that will change your life forever and make it better for you. Maybe I did for you this week - yeah for both of us.
Torrie Koller
2/11/2011 01:48:08 pm
These are such helpful steps to communicating well with others. I believe sometimes it’s not just the communicators’ error. The person you are talking to could miss you saying something. But then again the communicator needs to be very clear in their message and polite about it as well. If your nice and respect the other persons point then they are more likely to take you advice. When I am talking with someone I like to look at them always so they know there being heard by me and so they understand that I’m listening! Sometimes people can have a hard time getting their message across, these five steps can help you get your message across effectively. I also think my communication skills are very good. I rate them a 4/5. Sometimes people misunderstand me however usually my message is very clear! I probably need to make sure my message is clear and well understood so I don’t hurt people’s feelings and that is the big thing I need to improve on.
Torrie
2/11/2011 01:51:50 pm
Evan- I am glad to see you know what you need to improve on. I think that’s a big part of becoming a better communicator. I also agree with you that you are very good at getting your point across clearly. I am very lucky to have you as a friend.
Torrie
2/11/2011 01:55:37 pm
Mackie- WOW! I could not agree more on #2. The other person’s point of view is defiantly the most important thing. How they take what you say is critical. Friendship and a lot of respect could also be lost by not considering how the other person might feel about what you say.
Consuelo Arteaga
2/11/2011 02:01:20 pm
I think that number one is very important because there are many things that you can say to people but they may not understand what you are saying. I think that number two is also very important because when you are talking to someone you don't want to offend them in any sort of way that you could hurt their feelings. Also, you may know that you are just joking around but if the other person doesn't know that then you can hurt them very badly. Number 3 is also very important because you want to make sure that the listener understands what you are saying, so you don't just talk and talk without making sure if the listener understands you. I also think that number 5 is very important. When you are talking to somebody you don't want to sound like your falling asleep. You want to sound awake so that you don't put the people to sleep when you speak to them. For example, when you give a report if you speak in a voice that puts people to sleep then people will not want to listen to you. It will all be just plain boring. I think that all 5 are very important communication skills.
Consuelo Arteaga
2/11/2011 02:05:20 pm
Carol- I think you made very good points in your post. I also liked how you wrote that you make mistakes about communicating,i also make the same mistakes sometimes. I really liked your post. Good job!!
Emma Woodland
2/11/2011 03:27:46 pm
Katlyn McClain- I agree with that others as well as our selves need better communication skills. And also it is good to respect other people opinions and what they are trying to say.
Emma Woodland
2/11/2011 03:30:43 pm
Consuelo- I agree that you would not want to hurt their feelings.When you are talking to someone you don't want to offend them.
Emma Woodland
2/11/2011 03:40:43 pm
On number one that is I guess the one that people tend to not claim full responsibility for. Like for instance if you are trying to say one thing, but the person you are talking to is not completely listening. So they only here part of it or what they want to hear and then they assume the rest. And when you assume it could be something completely different from what the person was actually trying to say. And I think that number 2 is good also because well if you don’t respect the other person’s point of view you do not end up hearing or wanting to hear what they are completely saying. And for number 3 every now and again you need to acknowledge that the other person heard and understood. And then you being the speaker need to acknowledge them. And I think that for number 4 in my opinion for the most part yes you did make your request clear. Although if you didn’t say the whole thing or you just plain got tongue tied you would probably want to wait for a reaction or some sort of conformation. For the last one I would have to say that there are a lot of times when you are speaking to someone but not in a way they can understand. And I am not only talking about foreign languages. I mean that like if you were talking to a 1st grader you wouldn’t talk as though you were talking to a high school student. And so you would always want to try to put it in a way that they can understand. And I know for one that I need lots of work on all of this myself. So I can more successfully communicate with others. Comments are closed.
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