Communication Apprehension And Satisfaction -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Communication Apprehension And Satisfaction? Answer: Introducation Communication is a very important concept under the functions of management and this is something which the people indulge in on daily basis. Communication gains more significance when it comes to the professional interactions and in order for making a good impression. In the business life of a person it helps in formation of a sound business structure, along with enabling an individual in being linked in a proper manner, with their associates. As per Mikkelson, York and Arritola (2015) communication is a key element for the purpose of getting the managerial and organizational effectiveness. By making use of good communication skills, the employees become more involved in the work done by them and they can also gain a better understanding to the job being undertaken by them. This is due to the fact that communication not only involves speaking up, but also elements of listening. Communication skills are not only important for the professionals but also for the students in their acade mic life. This is the stage from where the individuals improve upon their communication skills. For the very same purpose, this reflective essay is being undertaken, so that I would be able to gain an understanding and so that I would be able to pin point on the qualities I have and the things which work against me, particularly with reference to the communication skills. Reflective essays are means to put a reflection on the present standing of an individual, where they help the person in understanding who they are, their features, the manner in which they change, and the factors which have an impact on them. To further help in taking this journey of presenting a reflective of myself, I need to make use of certain tools which would highlight the things which work against me. In doing so, I would be using five diagnostic tools, on which I have gotten an approval for them to be used for this reflective essay. Once I make use of these tools, I would be conducting a literature review, which would present the view of the leading scholars on this. Based on this, I would be creating an action plan for the coming six months. To start with this reflective essay, I had to pin-point the flaws which I have and in this regard, I started making use of the diagnostic tools. I started with Communication Skills Self-Assessment as this seemed to be the most suitable and matching diagnostic tool for the purpose of this essay. I have already quoted the work of a scholar in the introduction segment where it is provided that communication skills are the root of any tree and where this root is not strong, the tree would not stand. This is important for both students and the professionals and even in the life of general people. This tool checks the level of comfort which a person feels in all of their modes used in communication. These include telephonic, written, verbal and the like (Mind Tools, 2018a). The next tool I went for was the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale or SPCC, which most of my friends were also using. I got curious in terms of comparing my scores with others and thus opted for this tool. S PCC helps in measuring the communication apprehensions of a person where they go and communicate with people who are not known to them, and where the numbers of receivers are quite high. This is particularly helpful in showing the comfort level of any individual when they have to deal with masses (Neuliep McCroskey, 1997). Next I came to the tool which helps the survey taker in learning how good they are when it comes to their people skills. The skills judged in this tool are the soft skills, which have a major impact over the person succeeding in their technical skills. In the management and leadership roles, this tool is particularly helpful (Mind Tools, 2018b). The second last took which I made use of for this purpose was related to checking my presentation skills and this was the tool of How good are your presentation skills? This helps in checking the presentation skills of a person (Mind Tools. 2018c). The last tool I used was not being used by a lot of my friends, but I still wanted to use this tool to check my skills. This tool was non-verbal communication. This tool helps in gaining an understanding on the use of body language and the non verbal communication by a person (Help Guide, 2018). I made use of these five diagnostic tools and have myself ratings on each of these to get the results of these tools. In Communication Skills Self-Assessment tool which I used, I got a scoring of 106, which puts me in the second last category of this rating. This shows that I am perfectly at ease in the world when it comes to the interpersonal relationships. The next tool I went for was the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale or SPCC, where I got average scoring in public at 73.33, average scoring in meeting at 73.33, average scoring in group at 85, average scoring in dyad at 83.33, average scoring in stranger at 76.25, average scoring in acquaintance at 72.5, average scoring in friend at 87.5, and a total score of 78.75 which puts me on an overall average rating. This shows that my communication skills are average and I neither have per se communication apprehension nor lack it. Next I came to the tool which helps the survey taker in learning how good they are when it comes to their people skills. In this, I got a score of 44 which placed me in the marking of 37-58. This shows that I accept that working with others in the workplace is crucial. This however highlights that there is room of improvement for me as at times I get stressed out and feel pressure. This could have an impact on the management and leadership roles for me in future. The second last took which I made use of for this purpose was related to checking my presentation skills and this was the tool of How good are your presentation skills? The score I got I this was 50, which puts me in the presentation skills of average range, which shows that I have ok presentation skills. This shows I am an average presenter and do not leave a lasting impact on the audience. The last tool I used was not being used by a lot of my friends, but I still wanted to use this tool to check my skills. This tool was n on-verbal communication. This tool depicted that I have a good understanding on the non-verbal communication and I got majority of the answers correct. From the use of diagnostic tools, I highlighted two key features which I had to work on improving as I could not find a clear area of weakness. The areas I need to work upon are improving upon my oral and my written communication skills, which would encompass the presentation skills. As I have average scorings in communication apprehensions, I would also be working on improving it. The two incidents from my professional life which demonstrate my weaknesses are very small yet need to be mentioned here. The first one is the presentation which I had to give in training for another course. I was required to present a summary on how Rio Tinto has excelled in Australia and had created a presentation on it. However, I received average feedbacks on the presentation as the trainer felt that I had not made the best use of presenting the facts which I had create. This was particularly due to my lacklustre presentation and the stutter in my words. Even though by the end of this presentation, I was not stuttering or sweating, but I still was feeling a bit nervous and my hands were cold. There is another incident which shows that I lack the proper communication skills and that I have communication apprehension. As a part of the training program, volunteers were asked for going to a firm for certain work. However, when it came to taking lead on this project, I became hesitant and one of my friends took a lead on it. I not only lost an opportunity of going to another firm to gain new experiences, but I also got a low score on taking initiatives and in being the leader and the responsible one, when it comes to important aspects of the life. If this issue is not resolved, as highlighted through the core of diagnostic tool, I would not be able to take lead in my professional or business life. This would in turn result in me not growing and my career path being stagnant instead of being on a rising path. Even though these two issues are not as prominent, but these do give important leanings in the context of this discussion. Oral communication covers the capability of the graduates to get and present feedback, to participate in the meetings and in verbally communicating in the business context with the others (Jackson Chapman, 2012; Jackson, 2014). As per Popescu (2013), it is an interactive and a dynamic process in which the understanding and the very meaning is exchanged by use of expressions, inflexions, gestures and body language, which helps in contextualising the spoken words where the non verbal, para verbal and the verbal language is applied. In context of oral communication for business, public speaking is a very important concept (Jackson Chapman, 2012; Paglis, 2013). It also covers oral presentation in which the communication is made to the audience. It covers the ability of planning and presenting the ideas in a clear and fluent manner, which is usually in a definite time frame and the ability of varying the pitch, pace and the tone of the presentation for eliciting the response desired fro m audience (Wisker, 1994). The presenters not only are required to hold the knowledge of topic being presented; however, they are also required to hold a strong command on the language and have the ability of succinctly organizing and expressions the thoughts which they have (Bodie, 2010). Aryadoust (2015) has identified three key and basic skills for giving the presentation, i.e., non verbal communication skills, the verbal communication skills, and the content and its organization. The success of a presentation requires verbal communication skills which help the audience in understanding the presentation. The volume, the voice tone and the pitch are some of the contributory factors in giving effective delivery, as is the speaking at the pace which is matched to the audience and the content covered under the presentation. Through the research, it has been shown that the presenters have rich vocabulary and strong grammatical knowledge, through which they are able to express the thoughts which they have, in a coherent manner. Further, the individuals holding these qualities are deemed as more proficient and more competent (Christ, 1994; Luoma, 2004, Aryadoust, 2015). The ones who have the ability of delivering the content which is logically organized and which flows in a coherent manner, is another crucial component of the oral communication. As per Aryadoust (2015), the use of discourse markers, and as per Whetten and Cameron (2011), the use of signposts, are the indicators of movement in between the topics covered in the content, which contributes to the comprehension of audience. Through the combination of oral communications with the visual cues like non verbal communication, text and pictures, the audience in further helped in understanding the message of the presentation and helps in improving the perception the perceptions of the presenting party (Aryadoust, 2015). Further, as per Aryadoust (2015), the non verbal cues which the audience interprets include the eye contact, the facial expressions, body language and gestures. There are a number of models and frameworks, when it comes to the practitioner literatures, which are based on the professional presentations. The typologies range typically from four to eight Ps and also include the factors like PowerPoint, presentation, planning, pace, pause, pitch, practice and projection. In the literature covered in Whetten and Cameron (2011), five S approach has been adapted to effective presentations. In this framework, the oral communication is dynamic. There is a requirement of the ability of adapting the presentation or communication style, based on the situation faced by the person, who allows for measuring and developing of this skill imprecise and complex in comparison to training, as well as, the assessment of discipline based technical skills (Whetten Cameron, 2011). Owing to the presentation skills being transferable to such contexts and situations, they become an important attribute for the graduates. There have been quite significant changes in the contemporary workplaces which propagates the employers to seek such graduates who are able to work and collaborate in teams, are able to think critically and solve the problems (Harpe David, 2012; Jackson, 2014; Campbell Kresyman, 2015). The employers continue to treat communication as the most important skills which they sought after (GCA, 2014; Jackson, 2014; Campbell Kresyman, 2015; Sulphey, 2015). In Australia, the employers have ranked communication skills as holding more significance in comparison to the academic results in consistent manner when they recruit graduates for the different positions (GCA, 2012; 2013; 2014). Communication covers the skills in both oral and written expression. For the graduates seeking employment in the different fields, oral communication is crucial as it is a core attribute for them in fields like information systems, accounting, science, engineering, entrepreneurial studies and business (Isaias Issa, 2014; Barratt et al. 2011; Basturk, 2008; Mercer Mathews, 2015; Perdigones et al. 2009; Bell, 2015; Caza et al. 2015). However, oral communication is not merely significant for assuring future employment, but is a skill which contributes in a crucial manner to the academic performance of a person (Aryadoust, 2015). Studies have also shown that the through the strong oral communication skills, the conflict management, cultural sensitivity and the relationship awareness of a person can be enhanced (Whetten Cameron, 2011; Campbell Kresyman, 2015). So, where the oral communication skills are improved upon by the individual, they develop self confidence which further helps in self achievement, and when it comes to employment, it helps in progression of their career (Du-Babcock, 2006; Popescu, 2013; Isaias Issa 2014). Since the late 1960s, communication apprehension has been a key focus in human communication field (McCroskey, 1966). It is defined as the level of anxiety or fear of an individual, which is either anticipated or is real in context of them communicating with other individuals. This is a very stressful situation and has the features of internal feelings of uneasiness and discomfort. Stress is quite often discussed as anxiety as the constructs share same effects, opinions and symptoms for treatment. The common symptoms include anxiety and stress, and are coupled with rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, trembling, sweating, irritability, tension, dizziness, and the other related negative side effects. And now anxiety is commonly associated with stress and vice versa is also true (McCroskey, 1977). In the education setting, communication apprehensions have a major negative impact on the learning opportunities and success of the students. Quiggins (1972) has highlighted the research whi ch has show that high communication apprehension is perceived as less attractive and less credible, which can also result in rejection in working and social environment. In itself, high communication apprehension is a negative feeling (Rubin Rubin, 1989). There are a number of communication traits which correlate to the communication apprehensions; though, there is a lack of specific traits to create a casual relationship. Amongst this skill is shyness. Shyness is, as per McCroskey and Richmond (1982), a tendency of being reserved, timid and the desire of talking less. This comes only in cases where the receiver is new and not known to the individual. Individuals who are talkaholics do not necessarily have a low communication apprehension which reveals that in certain settings, an individual would be confident particularly where they are dominant, but at other situations, confidence is transferred to other domains (McCroskey Richmond, 1995). The third trait is self-esteem where the perception of self has the ability of influencing the behaviours, evaluations and cognitions of a person. The support of audience is something which works in the favour of the speaker and plays a curial role in communication apprehensions. More importantly , Baqutayan (2011) has highlighted that the perception of an individual regarding the amount of social support they get, plays a key role in the life of a person in comparison to the actual support which is given. The manner of dealing with communication apprehensions has been suggested by Jones (2004). He has stated that there is a need to channel the apprehensions of a person, in such a manner that instead of letting the anxiety result in negative feelings, the same is channelled in a positive manner. Ohata (2005) has suggested that by changing the perceptions and by adopting a positive approach, the individual can learn to deal with the emotions which they feel during the time they had to communicate with strangers. There is also a need for the individual coping with communication apprehensions to undergo trainings which could help them in dealing with this issue in particular. There is a need for the individual to continuously practice speaking in public, as much is possible for them. There is a need for the individual to take on every opportunity to speak, even when it includes minor speaking time; for instance, introducing a speaker at any event. The anxiety has to be dealt externally al so, in place of working only on internal aspects. The individual needs to learn on how to focus on the task, in place of the negative feelings which are associated with them giving any speech (Reis, Clark, Holmes, 2004). Based on the literature presented in the previous segment, and the issues which I had, I have prepared an action plan, which I would be following for the next six months. This is presented below: Gantt Chart Feb-18 Mar- 18 Apr-18 May- 18 Jun-18 Jul-18 Daily Journal Details on courses Taking up any and all initiatives Creating presentations Publishing presentations online Reciting summary of fiction The action plan which I have prepared is simple and minimalistic in order to keep it real and practical. The first thing which I would be doing, as suggested in the assignment file, is keeping a daily journal. This journal would cover the different things I carry out in the next six months period and would particularly highlight the shortfalls which I continue to present. The literature stated that the individuals have to take trainings. In this regard, I would be taking suggestion from my mentor on the possible short course which I could take up, particularly to improve upon my presentation skills, so that my future life would be improved, in context of my career. As suggested through the literature, I would be taking any kind and all the initiatives which I come across in this academic curriculum, and also in the other spheres of the life. I would also be creating presentations on regular basis, which would be one every two weeks from March 2018 onwards. These would be on an array of topics so that not only my knowledge, but also my skill base is increased. Once these presentations are completed for four months, I would be setting up a blog and publishing these online. The success of my action plan depends upon the comments which I get on this blog, particularly from my mentor. As I love to read a lot, I would be taking up reading of new fiction books and would be reciting them to different crowds. This would help me in removing the communication apprehensions I have at the present. In conclusion, this reflective essay was aimed at analysing my communication skills, particularly in context of the areas I excel at, and the weaknesses which I have. For this purpose, I had chosen five diagnostic tools, which I read, scored and analysed. The analysis of these diagnostic tools highlighted that I had average presentation skills and also have moderate communication apprehensions. As these could have a negative impact on my future career, I carried out a literature review to analyse the key cause of these shortfalls and also to gain an understanding on the manner in which these can be improved upon. Once this was done, I prepared an action plan, based on the suggestions given in the literature to improve the shortfalls which a person has. The action plan also includes the criteria for judging the success of this six months action plan. 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