ALICE WASS
Exploring Media
Confident Communications
Global Awareness Skills
‘Confident Communications’ was the first of three stages of exploring communication. The aim of this workshop was to identify my style of communication and to help build confidence when I am communicating. The workshop was structured though a mixture of teaching, discussions and activities (both individual and group). Before the workshop began I believed I had reasonable communication skills, as my degree focuses around group work. However, like many people, I can struggle with my confidence when meeting and communicating with people for the first time, which is something that I want to improve on. Good communication skills are the biggest attribute employers seek, as technical skills can be taught in a shorter time-frame than it takes to develop good communication skills, so this skill is vital for my future.
Communication is a two-way process, which involves all our senses, both verbal, non-verbal, and written, making it extremely complicated as it involves everything. We were shown a study by A. Mehrabian (1981) which stated that: 55% of communication is non-verbal, 38% of communication is due to tonality of language used and the last 7% of communication are the actual words used. When people are talking, people only take in about 20% of what they are actually told. This means that what an individual would remember from the words of that 7% would actually be much lower. When communicating it is important to also consider our non-verbal actions and tonality.
Next, we explored the communication cycle, which demonstrated how what we say is not always what people hear, because individuals all take different information from what was said, for example the use of the word ‘urgent’. This is because we all have different filters based on our own life experiences, which links into the iceberg theory. We also explored how communication changes our feelings, but at the end of the day there is only one person in charge of our communication and that is ourselves, therefore we have the power to use communications to change our feelings for the better. We were individually challenged to identify four things that we can bring to mind to positively influence our thinking. When I started to consider this, many things came to mind. For example: when things are hard, I can remember how I succeeded in completing English Literature A-Level (with a grade B) even though I have dyslexia which makes words and reading extremely difficult for me; when I am in a new situation, I can remember how I went to Ghana to volunteer for three weeks and how I thrived whilst there; or in regard to the future, when I face another interview, I can think back to my university interview and how I managed to create a good enough impression to be given an unconditional offer.
Lastly we explored the different communication styles. This helped identify what our own styles are, as well as helping me understand why my communication style may conflict with others when I am doing group work. There are four different communication styles: Amiable, Analytical, Expressive and Driver. After completing the exercise, I discovered that my communication style is Driver. This suggests that I am a quick decision maker, I am time and activity focused, I am comfortable conducting formal business, I am tidy, organised and punctual. These attributes sum up my work ethic, especially when completing group coursework, as I often find myself in a leadership position. Now that I know my communication style, I can better tailor it to my approach in order to maximise my communication impact.
Our final activity was focused on how to open confident discussions. I felt before I came to university, this was something I struggled with, but as I have been constantly meeting new people and introducing myself to new situations, I believe I have become quite good at opening confident discussions. Through this exercise I believe this ability showed I was happy to start a discussion with anyone in the room and was told that I was friendly and approachable.
By the end of the workshop I had learnt much more than I could have possibly imagined. I now feel ready to start using some of the skills I have been taught, to improve my communication. I also feel that I understand myself and my own communication style better and by exploring this further and building on it, I believe my communication skills will improve. I would not change any aspect of this workshop. I greatly look forward to the next stage as now I understand how vital communication skills are, I want to make sure that mine are the best that they possibly can be.