There are several people that I could cite as examples of competent communicators but the one person that really jumps to my mind is my sister. My sister, Angela, started working in the healthcare field as a junior in high school and now she is a patient coordinator for several doctors in a Houston, TX clinic. When she is home with family she is this loud, opinionated ball of joy and times I have observed her working she is this quite, professional ball of joy. She is the type of person that can draw you into conversation whether she is speaking or not because her nonverbal communication is just as effective as verbal. When I read that "competent, successful communicators adjust their behavior to suit particular individuals and situations," (O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M., 2009) I am immediately reminded of my sister. As a manager myself I find that I do need to model some of her behaviors as far as communicating because I sometimes, especially last week, I find myself having to count to twenty before I actually speak. Even in personal conversations I am amazed at her ability to listen, to reflect and to help me.
Reference
O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An
introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hi Latresa, I enjoyed reading your post. I have noticed that many effective communicators have to adjust their own expressions and emotions to suit and help other individuals. This is part of communicating effectively. It is also important to be respectful and be competent in communicating to cultures that are different from your own to avoid any disprect. Thanks for a wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteLatresa,
ReplyDeleteIt's great that your sister can change her communication from one person to the next. People respond differently to different types of communication, and I'm sure this definitely helps her in her job. By the way, I love the way your blog is set up!
Shannon
Latresa,
ReplyDeleteI agree, an effective communicator can adapt to any situation and "pull" their audience in by either their verbal and or non verbal form of communication.
I also agree that possessing the ability to listen is key in communicating....as a listener you can not just hear what you want to hear, you have to take in the entire message of the sender.
Nicky