Effective
Communication Blog
Upon
completion of the assessment I had a fairly long list of skills that all
received a five rating in the importance factor. After taking some time to
think about it, I was able to narrow it down to the three key skills. The three
skills I find to be the most valuable are; adapting to people of a different
culture or those with a different belief system other than your own, effective
assertiveness strategies, and reducing nervousness.
In my opinion, the most important skill is to
be able to adapt to people of a different culture or belief system other than
your own. So many times I have seen people treated differently because they are
not the same as the majority in some way. I believe this way of thinking still
goes on in many parts of Wisconsin regularly, and that it holds Wisconsin back.
I am a firm believer that a person should be able to humor an idea whether they
agree with or not. I also believe that people cannot communicate effectively when
only using their own beliefs and perceptions as a reference. Furthermore,
without this skill it will be difficult to be successful in our ever changing
workforce. I chose effective assertiveness strategies because I feel it can
reduce conflict on many levels. I have had trouble with assertiveness in the
past. It can be difficult to distinguish the line between assertive and
aggressive. On a professional level I feel that this skill helps people have
the confidence needed to be successful. I chose reducing nervousness because when
a person is nervous they cannot always focus on the task at hand. I have
anxiety with certain things in life, and I find that if a person can calm their
nerves it is much easier to focus. My career choice in HVAC influenced this
selection, in that there is so much detail that I can’t afford to be nervous. I
must be able to perform at a high level.
After thinking about which
competency I would like to improve on during the semester, I have chosen to
reduce my nervousness. I have had public speaking anxiety in the past. I have
improved by leaps and bounds since being in college, but I feel I still have a
long way to go.
