I feel I am an effective
communicator. I took the quiz in this Module’s learning resources and received
a score of 26, which means I feel comfortable communicating in most situations.
By using my communication skills I feel strongly that I could enact change
where needed. Two communication skills I find important are the ability to be
clear and complete about a topic. In the case of this course project the topic
would be enacting change on a policy about implementing play-based curriculum
into classrooms. Two additional skills that I find very important when
communicating are always being aware of individual differences and agree to
disagree with the audience. When presenting an idea or even an argument it is
important to be clear and set a purpose for what you are going to say. In
addition to setting a purpose people like to understand the goal for the
message up front so I like to be forward with my intended goal in the beginning
of the conversation. Making a message complete is really the most important
step in the entire communication process. Giving the audience a “call to
action” piece makes the message complete because it directly tells the audience
what I want them to do. Making sure the audience has all the information needed
to carry out their action plan such as contact information, names, dates, and
locations of other meetings is vital also.
My own strengths in communication skills come from my
early college years. At the local four-year university I attend I was a campus
tour guide for incoming freshman and their families. It was my job to spend one
hour with them and get them to buy into the university and sign on to come
there. I had to use persuasive communication skills in my role as a tour guide.
I also spoke one weekend a month at the university’s open houses for families
and incoming students. There were always between 250-400 people sitting in the
audience and I would sit up on stage and answer questions that they had. Again
my communication skills were very important in this role as well.
In my current
roles at my school where I teach now I lead many faculty meetings and event
meetings. I am the yearbook advisor, the chair for the field day committee, and
the chair for the Earth Day committee. In all of these roles I need effective
communication skills. I always have opportunities for improvement in these
roles and feel that I have tweaked my communication skills each year as these
duties and events come about.
Whether it is speaking to small groups at faculty
meetings or large crowds at open houses I always enjoy communicating with other
people. Though policy discussions and interactions with higher-level officials
are not areas where I have had much experience I am always looking forward to
taking on new speaking roles and communicating with interesting and passionate
people.
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say that meetings should have a clear purpose. One of the criticisms that our current administration has had is holding meetings that do not have a clear goal or purpose in mind. When conducting a meeting, it is important to respect your participants by stating the purpose of the meeting, conveying the message or information clearly and concisely, and providing time for feedback and/or clarification.
You mentioned taking on new speaking roles. Is there something specific you are working on that you will need to refine your communication skills?
-Jessica C.
Jessica,
DeleteThank you for your comments to my post. Yes I was just hired a few weeks ago to teach two sections of a Education 200 course at my local university in the fall. Speaking/Teaching to students at the college level will be much different than speaking to my kindergarten students. I want to make sure my communication skills are refined so that I relay a clear message during each class period.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and feel like much of our professional life is the same. Like you, I lead meetings all the time. Because my school is pre-k3 through 8th grade, I have to conduct a preschool graduation, kindergarten graduation, and an 8th grade graduation each year. I lead all of the teachers meetings for the preschool and school, and open and close each event the school sponsors. By doing so, I have been able to feel at ease in front of large groups. I think the more one practices being in front of people the more comfortable they become. Presenting our policy issue may put us in a different arena then we are accustomed to being in, but when you consider the time and research we have put into our policy issues, we should have the ability to effectively communicate the message to our audience.
Darla
Darla,
DeleteYour response to my post was very reassuring. As you said speaking in a new arena can be scary or overwhelming, but I must keep in mind the research and work that I have done on my policy/issue. I have a great knowledge now about my topic and should be able to speak intelligently about it. It is so interesting how similar our professional lives are. I am happy to know there are other teachers out there in charge of multiple things at their schools. I sometimes feel like I am all alone and take on too much!
Sarah,
DeleteFeeling all alone and taking on too much seems to be common for many educators. It is important to have people in our lives who take us away from the hectic pace of work so that we can enjoy life.
Darla
Sarah, you have such an informative post. I truly can agree with many of your statements. I have found that within this profession, I am always improving in many aspect to better support the children and families. Like yourself, I find that being clear is such an important part of communicating both verbally and written within any profession. I admire your roles and service to the community as they do entail effective communication. As I continue to grow I am learning of the many organizations that can lead to future leadership within the field as I use the different communication plan to convey my thought, and ideas to the public.
ReplyDeleteJosette,
DeleteThank your for your response to my post and for the compliment about my service to the community. I take great pride in helping my community specifically my education community in any way that I can. There are so many opportunities in the field of education to take on leadership roles you just have to be ready to jump in!