Effective Communication Skills for Success

This assignment delves into the crucial role of effective communication across diverse professional settings. It examines the application of communication principles in public relations, healthcare, environmental technology, and social work. The focus lies on developing active listening skills, assertive communication, and understanding the nuances of interpersonal interactions for successful collaboration and conflict resolution.

Running head: PERSONAL COMMUNICATION 1
Personal Effectiveness Communication
Name
Institution
Date

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION 2
Personal Effectiveness Communication
Introduction
Personal communication can be defined as the manner in which humans relate with other
human beings around them. Personal communication is very important in life since it enables
people to enhance their livelihoods through making good use of the daily opportunities that do
come their way. Not only does personal communication place one in a better position to
understand his/her shortcomings but also it helps them develop mechanisms to make necessary
adjustments to fit in the society. In this work, individual evaluation has been done and analysis
made concerning communication capabilities and possible problem solving mechanisms required
to overcome them as well elaborated. This aimed to help in developing a scheme that is useful in
rectifying the existing problems with regard to available timelines. This will cover different
dimensions of the day to day communications styles that are exercised within different domains.
(In Flanagan, In Allen & In Levine, 2015).
1. Diagnosis and Reflection.
The Communication Quiz
This technique seeks to evaluate one’s communication skills with great attention to
accommodating other people’s ideas and giving response. The procedure revealed that more
personal effort was needed to help improve the score. It was evident in the results that much
effort was directed towards offering solutions to any anticipated problems early in time before
they could manifest themselves. Some of the individual shortcomings involved postponing of a
majority of things and not embracing symbolic communication aids.

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Communications Style Questionnaire
The communications style questionnaire involves assessing the various communication
techniques that are available and applicable to interactions. This method places an individual in a
better position to understand the various situations in each conversation, be able to identify their
flaws and perfections and then make the required adjustments.
The questionnaire results were as follows: Out of the analysis, inner strength-confidence
was evident in my undertakings. Logical approaches are applied in the day to day interactions
and association with other people. Xenophobia and self-awareness were also noted as personal
strong areas. There is a strong individual belief necessary in winning other people’s resilience.
The individual strengths realized include; keen attention to detail during response evaluation
while weaknesses include, poor listening skills with intent to dominate conversations without
exercising turn taking. (De, 2015).
Assertiveness Questionnaires
With the aid of the assertive questionnaire, an individual can boost his/her learning
experience since it mitigates one’s challenges in communication without considering the
situation or context. The assertiveness questionnaire places people in a position to speak out their
ideas in every situation in respect of others’ opinions too. With the aid of collaborative research
website, the results indicated individual possession of etiquette and decorum virtues during
interaction with people. Graded on a 100-point scale, the score was an A. Translating to good
results though there was need to adjust some areas including working on individual listening
techniques and being accommodative to other peoples’ views irrespective of how they are
inconsistent with personal views. (Green & Chartered Institute of Public Relations, 2016).

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Johari Window
The Johari window does place people in a position to have a good understanding of how
they relate with other humans in society as well as understand and appreciate them. This
procedure is greatly applied in this paper to aid in selecting the appropriate identifiers to personal
description. In applying this procedure, five friends were selected and tasked to highlight the
qualities they found fit for personal proficiency in communication and personality at large. After
successfully highlighting and selecting, the results were outlined and presented in a consolidated
manner.
The results depicted in the first column showed an individual with knowledge of full
existence, brilliant, orderly and confident. A sense of authoritativeness and confidence in
interactions was also detected. This is in line to the ideas of good communication. According to
(Biafore, 2015) who claims that it is very important to express self-confidence in the process of
communication. The second column showed an individual who is radical, somehow proud and
possession of levels of anxiety in particular situations. Additionally, personal attributes of being
a seasoned introvert was also realized as well as efforts to be a considerate individual. The third
segment portrayed an individual who is tolerant and flexible. On the other side, some friends
alluded that there were traits such as being intolerant and non-accommodative of other people’s
views and more often anger was used to coerce others from expressing their views. Kindness was
portrayed in the fourth segment as well as being a realistic and a calm individual. The perception
of possessing some different values in the eyes of different people is important (Biafore, 2015).

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Personal reflection
When it comes to development in personal and academic issues, one very necessary
appliance is exercising practical reflection as this helps one build essential capabilities in
leadership skills in one’s academic life. Valuation of an individual’s deeds, character and rules
are key elements in personal reflects. Out of the obtained results, it was individual realization
that spirited approach to challenges arise from the fear of committing errors and letting good
chances go. Believing in oneself could be very useful in making decisions because finding out
that one does not support something; chances of avoiding the same were high, a component
which possibly limits ones thinking (De, 2015). The study’s results indicate the need for one to
work on their active listening and decisiveness. This was evident in interviews, group works and
in personal studying process. On top of that, the manifestation that individual dominance of
conversations and exercise of confidence on presentations contradicted personal judgments.
2. Literature review
Personal interactions with different people throughout the semester revealed weaknesses
in active listening and self-assured perception, making these skills a critical aspect needed to
work on for improvement. Going by the aforementioned researches, both intrinsic and extrinsic
stimuli are responsible for a person’s reaction in a dialogue (Eemeren & Grootendorst, 2014). An
important point to note is adequate revelation of self-assurance and tranquility can be achieved
using individual characteristics and distinctive psychological set up. For instance, self-possessed
and collected people find it easy to express themselves aptly compared to unsteady and
ungrounded individuals. In his study, Biafore (2015) argued that moments are likely to
traumatize such individuals, given that they expect nothing less than favorable results.

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The findings of The Australian Psychological Association confirms that a person’s
outward character is greatly influenced by such stimuli. In light to this, it becomes essential that
individuals identify their strength and weaknesses, bearing in mind how hard it can be for a
person to exhibit his/her strengths in an appropriate manner exclusively. Taking this step is
beneficial when it comes to underlining an individual’s strength as it facilitates a cover up for
his/her shortcomings. It is the same reason that makes De (2015) in his research emphasizes that
that failure to follow this step has the likelihood of causing uncertainties to a person, making
him/her tense and less confident when engaged in a conversation with others.
Active Listening
It is considered an important feature in any learning process as it ensures that learners pay
close attention, figure out responses and memorize the content that is bestowed to them. After
undertaking a test on personal communication abilities, it was a personal realization that active
listening skills were weak, hence needed perfections. This would help equip oneself with
adequate capacity to acquire significant information, grasp and appreciate the process of learning
essential notions (Brown & Smith, 2017). In addition, it was personal realization that the failure
to reach consensus with peers as being a result of low levels of attention when engaged in a
dialogue. Apparently, there were personal problems in comprehending new ideas taught in class
due to the inability to pay close attention to whatever was being taught until the end of any
particular lesson. In regard to this conduct, there are individual efforts to come up with new
techniques of checking these behaviors to ensure that they do not worsen and affect personal
undertakings negatively. Below are some of the approaches developed (Hoppe, 2015).

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Paying Attention.
This method comprises intense meditation and extreme devotion to the speaker while
acknowledging points from their presentations. Furthermore, it is vital to ascertain their verbal
and nonverbal signals. Some of the ways intended for use include maintaining an eye contact
with the speaker, preclude any obstacle that seem to be distractive, keep off contradicting notions
and pay precise attentiveness to the speaker’s body language. The rationale for adopting such
strategies is to ensure that one ends up with sufficient comprehension of whatever is being
passed across.
Show Them That Am Listening.
The significance of body language is to disclose whether one is listening or not. It also
establishes the level of concentration. A good example is nodding, where suitable and applying
facial illustrations are all influential since they enhance my attentiveness during dialogues and
when attending lessons in class.
Provide Feedback
Feedback in any communication ensures that the listeners grasp the message being
delivered appropriately, hence, considered an important aspect. In light to this, framing feedback
or providing appropriate responses to messages while being attentive to detail portrays that the
receivers of that particular information comprehended it adequately. Certain phrases are
commonly used, such as "What I'm hearing is," or "Seems like you are saying." According to the
results from a research carried out by Green & Chartered Institute of Public Relations (2016), the
implication of accurate feedback to speaker is that his/her listeners pay ultimate attention to
his/her content. The speaker can also utilize other approaches such as asking his/her listeners’
relevant questions from whatever he/she was teaching and using the feedback he/she receives to

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emphasize on the details and explore the content. A recent study (Green& Chartered Institute of
Public Relations, 2016) managed to establish that coming up with periodic summaries of the
content helps the listener to acquire a glimpse of the whole conversation since significant
pointers only are the ones that are reflected on to provide a faster recollection of the
conversation’s focal points.
Assertive perception
The results of the analysis, done on personal skills revealed that in some cases there were
scenarios of being uncompromising, especially when the prevailing opinions contradict personal
verdicts. In this regard, it is essential that one formulate some approaches to ensure that they
remain constructively assertive regardless of their peers’ inferences. This will require that one
remain persuasive and not prehistoric, given influencing any results requires one to put in more
effort and deliberate the judgments of others. In doing so, one will be able not to base their
conclusions on past instances that may be void in existing scenarios. Thus, one will be in a better
position to prevent disagreements with their peers when having a dialogue (De, 2015).
Another method worth adopting is by identifying and respecting participants’ opinions in
a discussion based on their personality as a way of establishing the variances between individual
personalities and how they can be beneficial based on the situation at hand (Drury, 2014).
The methods discussed above are crucial in overcoming individual flaws when having a
dialogue. One way of establishing them is via procedural implementation and deliverable
timelines in any particular setting, given the changing aspects that exemplify a learning
atmosphere, including interaction with others. As per the research finding of a study done by
Green & Chartered Institute of Public Relations (2016), one will be in a better position to
determine the preferred transformation that can ensure exceptional conversation with others.

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3. Action Plan
The process of self-analysis will be pinnacled by drafting an action plan that shall oversee
the execution of necessary program aimed at trying to assume the lodged profile. The activities
will be Important in perceiving the desired outcomes within the laid timelines as indicated
below.
Handling a communication course covering how to create skills in active listening in the
course of the first three weeks of the implementation program. This approach will place an
individual in a better position as an active listener as one can employ application of positive
opinions in the process of relating in a schooling domain. On top of that, one can fit to any
domain feasibly (Craig & Martinez, 2016).
To aid an individual in improving any weak areas that might be present after execution, it
will be an individual initiative to commence an advanced postgraduate communication program
at CQU. The program is intended to contribute positively to building personal career as required
in the job market. Such a domain needs well developed and good skills in communication
relevant in utilizing any emergent chance.
On top of that, reading of any available and relevant stored documents that comprise of
journals and books rich in mechanisms through which a person can advance his/her skills in
communicating. Besides promoting individual communication skills, reading also will bring to
light a number of contexts that would demand implementation of these skills and in the long run
help in equipping with the necessary skills to fit in any domain. Competence and ability to
exercise flexibility with regards to sending and receiving messages is also inevitable in some
situations and this is to be accomplished within four weeks.

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Noting down to record every step in the process is an essential way of keeping a personal
account. The journal is expected to give the groundwork for improving where personal progress
will not be concurrent with the preconditions. The anticipated results will also guide the process
of making improvements to help keep one on the right path.
Moreover, identifying a mentor will be vital because personal assessor will give a sense
of direction in the practices necessary to perform. In this situation, it will be an individual effort
to utilize the head of the CQU communication. They are likely to be productive in defining cases
of consistency with the training timetable and offering aid in identifying areas which require
powerful reinforcement.
The Gantt chart
The Gantt chart can give the deadlines as well as the activities which will be undertaken
to achieve the expectations. It can be utilized in measuring what is expected at a certain period
because the entire implementation process will occur for two months. Other programs can be
undertaken concurrently implying that it can consume less time than planned. After,
accomplishing, it will require personal effort to measure the improvement according to personal
behavior of interaction with other individuals. A positive implication should be encouraged
while the contrary will necessitate that one engage in relevant practices which will aid in
eliminating the mistake (Burnard, 2017).

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References
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Media.
Green, A., & Chartered Institute of Public Relations. (2016). Effective personal
Communication skills for public relations. London: Kogan Page.
Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute. (2015). Communication skills for the
Environmental technician. New York: Wiley.
Burnard, P. (2017). Effective communication skills for health professionals. Cheltenham,
U.K: Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd.
Koprowska, J. (2015). Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Exeter:
Learning Matters.
Battell, C., & American Society for Training and Development. (2016). Effective listening.
Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press.
Downs, L. J., & American Society for Training and Development. (2016). Listening skills
Training. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press
Hoppe, M. H. (2015). Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead. New

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York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Active listening: Teacher's book. (2015). Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press [u.a..
Burstein, J. (2015). Have you heard? Active listening. New York: Crabtree Pub. Company.
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University Press.
Drury, S. S. (2014). Assertive supervision: Building involved teamwork. Champaign, IL:
Research Press
In Flanagan, R., In Allen, K., & In Levine, E. (2015). Cognitive and behavioral
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Eemeren, F. H., & Grootendorst, R. (2014). Studies in pragma-dialectics. Amsterdam:
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Eemeren, F. H., & Grootendorst, R. (2014). Speech acts in argumentative discussions: A
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opinion. Dordrecht, Holland: Foris Publications.
Craig, S. C., & Martinez, M. D. (2016). Ambivalence and the Structure of Political Opinion.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan

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De, K. E. J. (2015). Assertive religion: Religious intolerance in a multicultural world.