Do we consider how others may view us? Do we assume that they way we view ourselves is the same way that others view us? These are questions that I ponder on often.
When I think about the differences and similarities between how I evaluated myself as a communicator and how my sister and colleague evaluated me, I am most surprised about how they both viewed me as a person that loves to speak out at group meetings. I am surprised because I am not comfortable with speaking in front of a small or large group of people. In fact, I usually sit in the back of group meetings, but I allow my voice to be heard when the opportunity presents itself.
Here are two insights I have learned about communication this week:
1. You never know how others may perceive you as a communicator
2. We decide how we want to communicate with others based on their appearance
Each of the insights bring awareness to my professional work and personal life. It is essential to be careful with verbal and nonverbal cues because others could take it out of context. I may assume that I am a positive communicator but others may perceive me differently based on my attitude and body language. Also, I must be very careful when judging others based on their appearance because this has had an affect on my communication skills in the past. It is important to communicate with everyone with fairness and with a positive attitude.
Hi Latasha,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I also found it interesting to see how others evaluated me. Even though we may think that we communicate in one way, others may see it differently. I think that this is very interesting. In your case, others see that you are very confident when communicating although at times, you may not feel it. I think that this was a great exercise.
Great post indeed Latasha! It is good to occasionally time out to do such activities to find out how effective a communicator you are. I found that the scores given by my family were similar to mine. My colleague's scores were a bit different. This made me realise that my communication with my family was more opened than with my colleagues at work. I take more time to be cautious about the way I communicate with colleagues so they don't know me the way I do.
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