When a student takes a class they intend to learn things they previously did not know or truly understand the impact of. Having an open mind to acknowledge the things you do not know and recognizing the things you can improve on are imperative to educational growth. This semester Management Communication which covered how to communicate verbally, and in writing, and pointers to interacting effectively within the business environment. There are three main subject matters that I felt were pearls of wisdom that felt left lasting impressions on me to work harder to do them effectively. The three things I want to work on is managing conflict, effective listening skills, and communication anxiety.
One of the sections in the Management Oral Communications that I feel was very beneficial to me is “Managing Conflicts in the Workplace.” Conflict is inevitable and realizing the different conflict types, and strategies; and when and how to use them is important when trying to resolve conflicts. My goal is to be a leader and the ability to recognize conflict, understand the nature of conflict, and to be able to bring swift and jus resolutions to conflict will serve me in the ability to be an effective leader. The inability to do so will prove me as an ineffective leader. There are many steps one must take when choosing the best strategy. I think that avoiding conflict in a business situation is never the best move because avoidance creates more problems. However, in personal situations avoidance can be beneficial to keeping peace especially if the matter is of unimportance or the conflict is irrefutable. Sometimes we act off of emotions without thinking the entire situation through, and this can affect the way we resolve conflict. Accommodating conflict strategy can be favorable when the conflict is insignificant. I think that the accommodating strategy is more useful in personal situations than professional situations. Hopefully things in the business world are sorted out prior to becoming conflicts that would allow an accommodation strategy to be used. I am not sure about competing as a worthy conflict strategy, to me this would bring about dissention and I feel the conflict would not be resolved. When conflict is created by oopposing positions, competitive tensions, power struggles, ego, pride, and jealousy using a competing strategy to me would more likely intensify the conflict instead of subsiding it. Forcing an action is never the right choice unless you work or are part of an authoritarian environment, which everyone involved will know that the conflict will be handled and everyone will be informed of the decision afterwards. I believe when conflict is present the best and most successful way to handle it is by working as a team to come up with a solution that is acceptable to the majority or something all can live with. My personal opinion on the best strategies to resolving conflict are compromising and collaborating. These two strategies require all parties to listen and hear one another. Then it gives everyone a chance to state their opinions, and it also allows everyone to weigh their options. By going through these steps everyone may not be satisfied with the final outcome but they will all feel a part of the decision. They will feel that they have helped to make the most acceptable decision for the situation. No matter how you decide to resolve conflict the most important step to resolving conflict is addressing it and not ignoring it no matter what the outcome is. Matt Myatt stated in his article, 5 Keys of Dealing with Workplace Conflict for Forbes Magazine, “Conflict rarely resolves itself – in fact, conflict normally escalates if not dealt with proactively and properly. It is not at all uncommon to see what might have been a non-event manifest itself into a monumental problem if not resolved early on.”
Another subject matter that also hit home was effective listening skills. After sharing events in all of our lives and the professor expressing why it is important to listen not always give our opinions or help the speaker to express what they are saying, I recognized that I do lack effective listening skills especially in my personal relationships. I always felt I was helping the conversation by interrupting when I felt that the speaker was saying something that I did not agree with or I felt they misunderstood. I felt that these actions helped the conversation move along when in fact it was causing more conflict within the conversation and no solutions would ever come about. This is something I truly need to work on. I see my professional future in sales and one of the most important assets is being an effective listener, not hearing what you want to hear but hearing what they want you to hear. I do believe when the opposite party feel they are being heard it does help to build trust and loyalty that hopefully grows into prosperous and successful relationships. I think the professor used a good technique to get the class to use a form of effective listening. When working on our quizzes and test she had us work together and compare answers. When our answers did not match we each had to work together as teams which required us to listen to one another’s opinions where we collaborated and compromised to choose what we felt was the correct answer. Listening to one another state their reasons for their answers I feel was an exercise to help us open up and see others points of views and not just our own. I can’t say that I am good at it as we all saw in class I can be very stubborn but I do believe in compromise and working together so I truly want to work on my listening skills. In no way am I going to give up my feistiness because it makes me who I am, but I want others to know that I do value what they have to say and meeting an overall goal is easier to do when you show that others opinions are just as important as yours. The main things I feel I need to work on is to look at things in a positive way. Even if I do not want to hear certain things or have no interest in certain topics it is important that I at least approach the situation with an open mind. I usually try to take detail notes but I do agree that I tend to lose track of what is being said by trying to make sure that I got everything the speaker was saying. I will work on taking brief notes that will jar my memory of what the speaker said instead of reading it word for word from my notes. Realizing and understanding how to use the stages of listening such as sensing, interpreting, evaluating, responding, and memory will help me become a more effective listener. Emilia Harden author of, Active Listening 101: How to Turn Down Your Volume to Turn Up Your Communication Skills states that, "We have two ears and only one tongue, in order that we may hear more and speak less." Remember that it is important to listen to the speaker, with that being said just listen from beginning to end, do not interrupt do not make suggestions just use your ears and listen. The third and final subject matter I want to discuss is communication anxiety. I love giving presentations and speaking in front of an audience, even though every presentation may not be perfect. I have recognized that no matter how prepared I am I still feel a sense of anxiety. As a child I always ran for student body office and I always had to speak in front of large audiences and no matter what I really enjoyed it. Reading about situational and trait anxiety is good because you realize what may cause the anxiety you feel when speaking in front of others. I have learned that when I practice my speech in front of others it helps me to minimize the anxiety I feel prior to speaking. I would say that the best way to prevent anxiety is preparation and practice. I also agree that you do feel a rush of adrenaline and I also believe that it is something you can use to help you conquer your anxiety. When my adrenaline is running it makes me want to go and get it done and over with. When I speak in front of a crowd I try and think that the people in the audience need to hear what I have to say and the worst thing that could happen is that they disagree or are not interested in what is being said and either way it doesn’t matter as long as I am able to get my point of view across. I do believe that visual aids can help with anxiety because they can be seen as a pacifier because they help to keep you on track. So if you the speaker forgets something glancing at your visual aid can help to remind you of something you may have missed. In speech class I learned that some hand gestures are acceptable a speaker just doesn’t want to overdo it so visual aids that are held in your hand could be a distraction. When a speaker is nervous and trying to give an effective presentation, handling visual aids may be more of an inconvenience than a benefit. I do think that trait anxiety is easier to overcome over situational anxiety. There are so many training opportunities that can help a speaker conquer any anxiety especially trait anxiety. I have to say I do not agree with the book when it says trait anxiety is inborn or a genetically caused behavior, unless it is something like a health issue that hinders your ability to communicate with others. Now I can see how negative events could cause anxiety but as I mentioned previously training is available for speakers who truly want to be a successful speakers. People have made millions of dollars teaching others techniques to be able to overcome anxiety when making speeches. According to Corey Goldstein M.D., There are 5 Action Steps one can take to help manage stressful communication Step One Ride it out, it will pass; Step Two Say, “I’m excited.”; Step Three Manage your metabolism; Step Four: Fill your mind with positive thoughts; and Step Five: Know your topic. I feel that I have less trait anxiety because I do not mind speaking to anyone the only time I feel I am truly uncomfortable speaking is when I do not know my topic. When I feel confident in my knowledge of what I am speaking about is when I am most comfortable communicating to others.