text 为什么良好的沟通至关重要 - 杰弗里麦克斯韦

Posted 2021-05-02

Jeffrey Maxwell

"Why Good Communication Matters"

In reflecting on my communication skills, I am able to recognize that, while I think my communication skills are strong, my experiences and the results of various social interactions over the years would indicate that I need improvement. At the same time, it is uncomfortable to reconcile self-perception and reality when they are dissonant. 

To be truthful, I have shown an array of communication styles and (un)skills throughout my life. In high school I was overly passive and too much turned to others for guidance and direction because I could neither connect with nor find meaning in the work I was doing; in college I was an engaged and active team member in my language classes (those are also the classes where I excelled) and my partners and I produced successful projects that I take pride in to this day; and, in social settings while in college, I progressed from being abrasive to making the conscious effort to heighten my awareness of the social contexts within which I was situated and cultivated a respect for the complexities and intricacies of social interaction. 

Today, I have the ability to “read the room” and to  develop an understanding of the nature of the relations between myself and others in real-time, but I have difficulty actively and confidently engaging others and overcoming excessive self-awareness by truly appreciating and investing myself in the thoughts, emotions, and experiences of others. I am confident that Thinkful’s EI program will be an excellent opportunity for me to improve my communication and social skills, especially in the areas where I’ve identified my weaknesses. I intend to focus specifically on improving my active listening skills, my concern for others, and leadership abilities.

The EI program will give me the opportunity to make a deliberate effort to master active listening while learning how to be more receptive to feedback. I am excited to improve my communication skills and social presence by reflecting on feedback in such a way that I can disconnect it from self-concern and assess its contributory value to my self improvement and to the success of my cohorts more objectively.

Furthermore, mirroring techniques will call on my active listening skills while also clarifying communication and reinforcing mutual understanding of class material. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those same techniques will also force me to make a directed effort to understand the thought processes of my cohorts, and I will better recognize how imperative it is to take into consideration contributions and feedback from others. My social perceptiveness, self control, and cooperative inclination will help me to better navigate the program’s collaborative nature, and, in the case of conflict resolution, to compromise effectively by employing both active listening and feedback techniques.

In fact, Thinkful’s article explaining the elements of good communication, the impetus to this reflection, illustrates just how much the EI program will be an excellent “sandbox” for improving communication skills. So, not only is it an environment conducive to the cultivation of communication skills, but it is an environment that demands willingness to improve technically, intellectually, and socially. As tentative cohorts in the EI program, we have all expressed common goals, and, as such, ought to collaborate and support each other to accomplish them. However, at the same time that we have common goals, we also bring diverse perspectives, abilities, and backgrounds to the program. These differences can be appreciated and managed effectively, but it will require that we show patience, understanding, and considerate, thoughtfully articulated honesty.