Similarities and Differences in Communication

The one thing that surprised me the most was the scores of my two colleagues who observe my communicating skills in the classroom with my students. The scores were similar in all three categories except for one. They had different scores in the Community Anxiety Inventory. One scored me low in the Communication Anxiety Inventory while another scored me in the mild category. I asked my colleague who had scored me in the low category as I my score were also low, and she stated "I see what you see." She told me that I have great communications skills with my students, and she have not seen me uneasy in communicating with my students while a second colleague scored me in the same category, and she concluded that I may feel a bit uneasy in some communications situations with my students and somewhat more confident in other communication situations.

One insight learned is that I respect other people viewpoints. I must be open to other people views even though I might disagree with them. When I disagree with other people viewpoints, I do not attack their viewpoint. Another insight is I do not attack people personally or verbal if my views are different than their views. I disagree that I would back down in a persuasive conversation out of respect. I would hold to my confixtions if I do not agree with that person viewpoint.

I think these two viewpoints will help me become a better communicator in my professional and personal life. I will agree to disagree if I can not get my viewpoints across to a colleague or personal friend and vice versa. I must learn to watch for people non verbal clues when communicating with them. Eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures, personal space are non verbal clues that I must learn to pay more attention to when communicating.