Communication Anxiety: 60, 64, 44
Verbal Aggressiveness: 62, 55, 64
Listening Style: Group 1 (all 3)
In the areas of verbal aggressiveness, the results of all three of the evaluations were the same: moderate and people-oriented. The only thing that surprised me the most was that my listening style "can interfere with proper judgement because you tend to be very trusting of others" (Rubin et al., 2009). I would not describe myself as a trusting person, at least not in my personal life. Unfortunately, experience has taught me that very few people are trustworthy.
The first insight that I gained was that my communication anxiety varies depending on the situation. For example, Sandra evaluated me as "mild" whereas the results for the evaluations conducted by my husband and I resulted in "elevated". I have noticed that my communication style differs greatly when I am in a professional setting. I have always had anxiety when I have had to speak publicly in a large group. However, early in my career, I noticed that when I am speaking to children or colleagues, my anxiety is greatly diminished.
The second insight that I gained from the evaluations is that my perception of my communication skills are pretty accurate. I also found that the perceptions of my communication skills with others are what I expected them to be.
References
Rubin, R. B.,
Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.
Rubin, R. B.,
Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A
sourcebook. New York: Routledge.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteYou and I share the variable levels of anxiety depending on the context in which we are present. While it is completely normal to be more at ease in situations more than others, I believe that this is something that I need to work on. I would like to comment on being accurate in your evaluation. I believe this reveals a lot about how mindful and intentional you are while interacting with others. The reason I say this is my new found knowledge that competent educators are often thoughtful as they try to make sense of the messages being relayed to them. I believe this requires being highly attentive to the feedback they receive from others, in order to draw a clear picture of how they are being perceived. Thank you for sharing your results with us :)
Reem
I am the opposite when it comes to anxiety. I have no problem speaking in groups, teaching or even giving speeches at events; however, I will stress for days over a meeting with my boss or a difficult client. I used to think I hated public speaking, until I was asked to give the Commencement speech at my college graduation in front of 1,200 people. I shared the stage with a Senator, and after we finished the college Board President told me I should give the Senator a few tips on public speaking, lol!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that many of us fell into the Group 1 Listening Style. I wonder if that is a trait of educators in general.
ReplyDelete~Lora
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteYou have a great post. I also fell into Group 1 "people oriented". I find it interesting reading everyone's posts and they were a little nervous about what other's may say about them when it comes to communication, verbal aggressions, and listening styles. I noticed that you mentioned that proper judgment can interfere with listening styles because of trusting others. I also had that mentioned in my results.
Hello Melissa, We can be in different situations at certain times, however, knowing that we are people-oriented can help get rid of some of that anxiety. We are trying to build relationships.We are a lot stronger than what we think we are! Good post Melissa!
ReplyDelete