Communication Skills

There have been various lessons from this quarter that I have utilized in personal scenarios. My friend had some trouble dealing with a situation in her family her younger sibling was sick and hospitalized. Our friendship was affected as she was feeling bad about her situation and tended to want to keep to herself. I, therefore, had to understand her situation and learn how to deal with the situation in the right way. Through the teaching related to emotional conversations and interpersonal relationships, I was able to get to her and understand her situation. I was also able to talk to her and convinced her to be comfortable talking to me about her situation and that I would offer my support. Due to this situation or friendship became stronger.
Conflicts arise between friends, coworkers and also relatives. When we are growing up, conflicting with our parents is an inevitable situation, and I found myself in such a situation. There was a party at my friend’s house that almost all the people in our class were attending. I was excited thinking that I would also attend the party. I had to inform my parents about attending the party, but they did not approve of it. We argued about the issue, and I felt so angry that my parents were not willing to permit me to attend the party. However, after much thought about the issue and remembering teachings from Folger, Poole and Stutman (2015), I decided to manage my anger and explain to my parents why I wanted to go to the party. After a discussion with them, they allowed me to attend the party on a condition that I had to be back before eight o’clock in the evening. We were able to solve the conflict, and through the agreement both parties were satisfied.
During a group discussion, I realized that people were quick to interrupt each other and were listening to answer not to understand. This made the group use a lot of time deliberating on one matter. I decided to give the other members a challenge and talked to them about active listening. After giving them the five key points involved in active listening as outlined by Bond (2012), the group members were able to understand each other better, and we increased our pace in dealing with the group work.
Learning about communication has given me various communication skills and I have experienced personal growth in specific areas. One of these areas is learning to observe non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication shows the feelings of the person communicating (Bond, 2012). For example, I can tell someone who is uncomfortable talking to me or someone feeling tensed. Also, when communicating with others, I have learned to determine if the topic is pleasing or the people are disinterested.
In our day to day activities, we are required to make decisions about various things. Making decisions requires a person to critically think about the issue in which they are deciding about. The knowledge about critical thinking has helped me make better decisions that are informed. Critical thinking has helped me avoid hasty decisions that in most cases are the wrong decisions. Before I decide on something, I conduct a critical analysis of the issue after which I make an appropriate decision.
My ideas about communication have changed over the weeks, and I have learned how to communicate more effectively. I have learned how to avoid distractors when someone is talking to me, and I have learned ways in which to be a good and active listener. I have been able to manage my emotions, solve conflicts in a better way and maintain by interpersonal relationships.
References
Bond, C. D. (2012). An overview of best practices to teach listening skills. International Journal of Listening, 26(2), 61-63.
Folger, J., Poole, M. S., & Stutman, R. K. (2015). Working through conflict: Strategies for relationships, groups, and organizations. Routledge.