Developing Core Skills for Personal Development

This document discusses the importance of developing core skills like time management, public speaking, team working, and written communication for personal development. It provides insights into the significance of these skills, self-assessment, contradictions, and future benefits. The document also includes a summary and action plan to improve these skills.

Assessment

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Reflective Personal Development Plan Journal.......................................................................................3
Summary and Action Plan........................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
A person should possess various skills in order enhance their overall personalities and
attain desired goals and objectives (Campbell and et. al., 2017). Skills like time-management,
public speaking, team-working, focus and attention etc. not only contribute to the overall
development of the person but also improve confidence.
Reflective Personal Development Plan Journal
What is the core skill to develop?
The core skill to be developed is Time Management, which can be defined as the process of
planning and organizing how to divide time between different activities so as to increase
overall efficiency, productivity and effectiveness. Different time management skills include
prioritizing, multitasking, goals setting, scheduling, strategic thinking etc. At times, I find it
difficult to divide my time between specific activities which affects my overall productivity.
Therefore, this is one of my weaknesses that I want to work upon so that I can use my time so
as to achieve desired goals and objectives.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use relevant
theories and concepts to support your answer)
Time management is important because it allows a person to attain desired goals as well as
objectives within a specific period of time. It also helps in lowering stress levels as well as
providing an access to various opportunities to enhance learning. Effective time management
helps an individual in delivering a better quality of work on time. I chose time management to
reflect upon because I think this is one of the most useful skills that is required by individuals
today. Bucket of Rocks is a theory of time management that describes an order in which an
individual should work on his/her activities (Time Management: Theories and Application
Report, 2020).
Reflect on your current competence regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence?
Currently, I am not very good at managing time while completing a task and need to improve
the same. Feedback from my tutor as well as peers and also, not being able to complete an

assigned task on time helped me in assessing my competence regarding my overall time
management skills.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is there a
match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
I don’t find any kind of contradiction from the above analysis because like my peers and tutor,
I agree that there is a lack of effective time management skills (Cunha, Xavier and Castilho,
2016). This is because sometimes I find it hard to manage the various tasks within an
assignment that is provided by my tutor and also, I even failed to submit an assignment
because I could not complete it on time. Due to this, I did not receive a good grade in that
particular subject.
How might this skill help me in the future?
Time management is an important skill because it will help in reducing the overall stress that
earlier used to affect my overall productivity (Tsakiris, 2017). It will help me in prioritizing
my work and thus completing an assigned work in the future well within time without any
kind of delay. This will provide me an access to various other opportunities that I could not
avail previously. As a result, my overall efficiency as well as productivity will improve and I
will be able to produce quality output without wasting any time.
What is the core skill to develop?
Public speaking is another core skill that I have to develop. It can be defined as the process of
delivering a speech to live large audience. The primary goal of public speaking is can vary
from educating the audience about a particular topic, influencing them or just to entertain
them and can cover a variety of topics (What Is Public Speaking? & Why Is It Important?,
2020). Public speaking is different from a presentation that is made online because the online
presentation can be viewed at the convenience of the audience which cannot be done in the
case of former.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?

Public speaking is a skill that is not liked by many people but can prove to be one of the most
useful ones a person can possess. It is important because it helps in improving the overall
knowledge of a person relating to a particular subject and also significantly contributes to the
overall communication skills. Apart from this, it can also boost the overall confidence of a
person and help them make new connections with new people. I selected this skill to reflect
upon because I think it holds a lot of importance in today’s world.
Reflect on your current competence regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence?
I believe that I have fair public speaking skills which, if worked upon, will help me in
standing out against each other (Fujita, Carnevale and Trope, 2018). It will not only boost my
overall confidence but also make me more comfortable around people which I sometimes find
hard. Feedback provided by my tutor based on a presentation that I gave in front of the class
helped me in assessing my competence regarding my overall public speaking skills. Also,
while giving the presentation, I felt that I lacked confidence and only spoke what I’d had
learnt.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is there a
match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
My tutor gave me a feedback saying that I completely lacked public speaking skills and
should work upon them. Although, I believe that I only lacked confidence and did not practice
well due to which my overall performance got affected. Also, I think that if I would’ve
practiced effectively, I would have been able to deliver my message across in an effective
manner. Therefore, it can be said that there is no match between how I see myself and how
others see me.
How might this skill help me in the future?
Developing effective public speaking skills will help me in increasing my social network
(Gilmore and Howard, 2016). The skill will be extremely helpful in whatever career line I
choose. It will act as an add on I my curriculum vitae and also help me excel a job interview.
It will improve my confidence and allow me to overcome my fears and insecurities. Also,
public speaking is an effective way of developing critical thinking skills because writing a

speech requires careful thoughts.
What is the core skill to develop?
Team working is the core skill to be developed that can be defined as a collective effort of a
team or a group in order to complete a particular task in the most effective and efficient way.
A team comprises of people who are linked together with a common purpose and are expected
to complete an assigned activity or task within a particular time frame. Team working
involves listening to the ideas of other members of the team, working collaboratively and
coordinately with a group of people to achieve shared goals and objectives (What are
teamwork skills?, 2020).
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
Team working is an important skill if an individual wants to work well with his/her
colleagues and team members to achieve a shared goal (Gu, 2016). The skill is also important
because an individual is expected to work as part of a team at many points in their career. If
the members of a team will work collectively and collaboratively with each other, they will be
more successful in attaining goals and objectives. Working in a team fosters creativity and
learning among the members. I chose team working skills to reflect upon because I consider
this to be one of my strong points.
Reflect on your current competence regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence?
I have worked as part of a team many times during my course at the university and performed
exceptionally well. I even received the title of best leader of a team for one of our assessments
not only from my peers but tutor as well. The tutor praised about my performance of being
leader of the group because I led my team members in effective manner and made sure that all
the tasks were completed, compiled and presented on time. Even members of the team were
happy to be a part of my team and worked collectively to get the project done effectively.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is there a
match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?

There are no contradictions that can be identified in this case because the tutor as well as
peers were satisfied with my performance of working as part of a team. I too believe that team
working is one of my strong skills and that I should keep working on the same to enhance
overall performance.
How might this skill help me in the future?
Every individual these days is expected to have excellent team working skills, they should be
comfortable in working with each other collectively (Isoda, 2016). Therefore, having these
skills will be very helpful for me in the future as I will gain more creativity and improve
overall learning skills as well. Also, it will help in creating a positive environment during a
project during my career in an organization. Lastly, as a team we will be able to achieve
desired goals and objectives in a more effective and efficient manner.
What is the core skill to develop?
The core skill to develop here is written communication, which can be defined as sending of
different messages or instructions in a written form either through circulars, manuals,
bulletins, memos, letters etc. Written communication is a formal form of communication and
is suitable for long distance communication. One of the advantages of this skill is that it helps
in creating a permanent record for evidence.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
Written communication is important because it helps in creating a permanent record of
evidence and incidents (Komives and Wagner, 2016). The record will help the business owner
in assessing the information in an effective and efficient manner. With the use of written
communication, distribution of tasks can be done properly. I chose this skill to reflect upon it
is considered to be one of the important skills in business organizations till date.
Reflect on your current competence regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence?
I believe that I lack proper written skills and need to improve the same. I assessed this through
my own observation when we were given a written assignment and I did not receive a good

grade. Also, written communication helps in communicating the desired message effectively
to the receivers. I assessed the same through feedback received by my tutor.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is there a
match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
No contradictions can be identified from the above analysis and I agree to the view point of
my tutor that I should work up on my written communication skills if I want to improve my
overall communication skills (Molenberghs and et al., 2016). Therefore, it can be said that
there is a match between how I see myself and other see me.
How might this skill help me in the future?
Written communication can help me cracking a written test for a job. I will also be helpful in
communicating the required information to the students if I take u a teaching career. Not only
this, but I will get an opportunity to enhance my overall productivity as an individual.
Summary and Action Plan
From the journal entries, it can be identified that while team working is one of my
strengths, I still lack behind in public speaking, effective time management as well as written
communication skills and therefore, need improvement. The three areas of personal development
that are recognized are written communication, effective time management and being able to
speak fluently in front of the public (Ninomiya and et. al., 2018). I have planned to improve the
skills by taking classes online, reading about the and applying the learnt theoretical concepts to
day to day activities. In order to improve my written skills, I will practice writing and would try
reading a lot. I will focus on maintaining the clarity of the text ad being as specific as possible.
Besides this, in order to enhance time management skills, my main focus will be on prioritizing
tasks, setting up deadlines and completing the same within that time frame. This will help in
overcoming my habit of procrastination and completing the assigned work well within the time
frame.
As far as public speaking is concerned, the most efficient way to improve this skill is to
prepare as much as possible. I plan to understand the requirements of my audience beforehand so

that I will be able to deliver the message in an effective way. Apart from this, I will organize my
material in such a way so that desired output is achieved in the most effective and efficient way
possible. This will help in boosting my confidence as well as connect with the audience so that
they have their full focus on what is being said. This will also influence the decision of the
listener in some way or the other which will be beneficial for them. Public speaking is one of the
most important forms of communication because they help the speaker in connecting with the
audience and understanding their concerns about something particular (Shaw, Choshen-Hillel
and Caruso, 2016). Also, I will adapt to the feedback that is provided by my tutor and make use
of effective tools in order to engage the audience.
Improving these skills will help in enhancing my overall performance as a student which
will be beneficial for me in the future as well (Spunt and Adolphs, 2019). This is because
individuals today are expected to have all the skills that are mentioned above so that they help
the organization that they work for in achieving their respective goals and objectives in an
efficient manner. Therefore, I should plan and improve my identified areas of weakness so that I
get an opportunity to increase my network with people and also get a high-quality placement at
the university.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that there are various areas of strengths as
well as weakness in an individual. Therefore, he/she should plan and accordingly make efforts in
order to overcome the same. This will not only help in improving their overall efficiency but
performance as well and help them in standing out from others.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Campbell, S. B. and et. al., 2017. Developmental changes in empathic concern and self-
understanding in toddlers at genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism
and developmental disorders. 47(9). pp.2690-2702.
Cunha, M., Xavier, A. and Castilho, P., 2016. Understanding self-compassion in adolescents:
Validation study of the Self-Compassion Scale. Personality and Individual Differences.
93. pp.56-62.
Fujita, K., Carnevale, J. J. and Trope, Y., 2018. Understanding self-control as a whole vs. part
dynamic. Neuroethics. 11(3). pp.283-296.
Gilmore, L. and Howard, G., 2016. Children's books that promote understanding of difference,
diversity and disability. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools. 26(2).
pp.218-251.
Gu, J., 2016. Understanding self-directed learning in the context of mobile Web 2.0–case study
with workplace learners. Interactive Learning Environments. 24(2). pp.306-316.
Isoda, M., 2016. Understanding intentional actions from observers’ viewpoints: a social
neuroscience perspective. Neuroscience research. 112. pp.1-9.
Komives, S. R. and Wagner, W. eds., 2016. Leadership for a better world: Understanding the
social change model of leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.
Molenberghs, P. and et al., 2016. Understanding the minds of others: A neuroimaging meta-
analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 65. pp.276-291.
Ninomiya, T. and et. al., 2018. Performance monitoring in the medial frontal cortex and related
neural networks: From monitoring self actions to understanding others’ actions.
Neuroscience research. 137. pp.1-10.
Shaw, A., Choshen-Hillel, S. and Caruso, E. M., 2016. The development of inequity aversion:
Understanding when (and why) people give others the bigger piece of the pie.
Psychological Science. 27(10). pp.1352-1359.
Spunt, R. P. and Adolphs, R., 2019. The neuroscience of understanding the emotions of others.
Neuroscience letters. 693. pp.44-48.
Tsakiris, M., 2017. The multisensory basis of the self: from body to identity to others. The
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 70(4). pp.597-609.
Online
Time Management: Theories and Application Report. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://ivypanda.com/essays/time-management-theories-and-application/>.
What are teamwork skills?. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/young-professional-training/teamwork-skills-
young-professional/>.
What Is Public Speaking? & Why Is It Important?. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/what-is-public-speaking--cms-31255>.