Reflection on Effective Communication: A Personal Experience Essay

This essay provides a reflective analysis of a student's experience with effective communication, utilizing Driscoll's Model to dissect the 'what, so what, and now what' of a cultural event leadership role. The student details the challenges faced in communicating with both teachers and peers, highlighting the lack of confidence and stress management as key barriers. The essay further explores the student's journey from being an introvert to an assertive communicator, emphasizing the importance of continuous practice, feedback, and emotional intelligence in overcoming communication hurdles. The conclusion underscores the significance of effective communication skills for personal and professional development, referencing different communication styles and their impact on an individual's personality and overall performance. The essay also mentions the student's growth in debates, group discussions, and cultural events to overcome communication barriers.

Essay- Experience
based on a job or
education

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Part A......................................................................................................................................3
Part B......................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Communication refers to a process through which information, idea or message is
exchanged which involves common use of signs, symbols or behaviour between two individuals.
In order to communicate effectively, one must have the ability to exchange the information in an
efficient and effective manner (Konopasek and et. al., 2017). This report is a reflection of
education experience of effective communication and the process that helped in improving the
performance. The reflection shall be done using the Driscoll's Model of Reflection.
MAIN BODY
Part A
According to me, communication is a process where idea and information is conveyed by
one person to another in order to enable that person to understand clearly. Effective
communication is not just about exchanging information, but to have the ability to listen properly
and then convey your words.
In the past I have gone through an experience of effective communication in my
education life where I learned about skills which are required to effectively communicate and
also how to inculcate the same efficiently. In order to share my experience, I would use Driscoll's
Model of reflection, developed by Terry Borton in 1970 which involves three questions, mainly
what ? so what ? and now what ? (van der Vleuten, van den Eertwegh and Giroldi, 2019)
Using Driscoll's model, my experience goes like this. Where first question is What?
Which means to describe the event. In past, I have participated in a culture event where I became
the team leader which involves performing of play on the topic which demonstrates the social
issue. Groups were made and students were divided into the groups where debates and groups
discussions were involved to finalise the theme. As I was the team leader, I was entrusted with
the responsibility of communicating with each member and coordinate with teachers effectively
in order to avoid miscommunication.
The second question involves So What? which shows the analysis of the event. During
the preparation, I was entrusted with a duty to communicate both with formal authority which
included the teachers and with informal authority which included my teammates. For
communicating with my peers and teammates, I used informal verbal communication. And to
communicate with my teachers, I chose formal verbal communication which involved speaking

verbally and communicating through e-mails. In order to commence with the practice, I have to
communicate every details to my teammates and coordinate with the teachers so that practice
session can be held smoothly. During this experience, I faced many roadblocks in effectively
communicating with my teachers as I lacked confidence and was unable to handle the stress
which affected my performance.
According to me, the skills required for effective communication includes listening to
other person, emotional control, straight talking and many other (Clokie and Fourie, 2016). In
my opinion I lacked confidence and stress management but feel blessed that I have the ability to
listen to others and after listening to them, I share my opinion in a very straight forward manner.
The level of emotional control is average in me which sometimes act as positive tool whereas on
the other hand, affect my communication and places negative impact.
The last question for Driscoll's model is Now What? Which shows the action plan
following the event. In past, when communication became hurdle in my effective performance, I
choose to improve it by inculcating the skills into me which lacked in my personality
development. According to me, I need to become more focused on my work and try not to get
influenced from my work which increased my stress level. In order to prevent this, focus and
continuous practice of communication shall help me in working on my negative issues. I choose
to take regular feedbacks from my teachers and peers so that I can improve my skills.
Part B
From the every beginning, I have been an introvert which have become a major hurdle in
developing my personality. As the time has evolved, I have worked on my communication skills
in order to improve my skills and create a positive impact on my personal development. In my
past, I have started participating in the debates, group discussions, culture or educational events
in order to bring confidence in my communication.
In my perception, when I was a teenager, I tried to communicate with other people so that
I can build the confidence of speaking without stucking in between. I worked on my abilities
which helped in improving my performance gradually and at the end of my teenage, I became a
team leader to manage the event. These practices helped me in overcoming my barriers to
effective communication.
In my past, being an introvert made me a shy person of not speaking to anyone. This
showed rudeness in my behaviour due to which people tend to avoid me. After realising this, I

started to push myself to boost my confidence to speak effectively. From being a passive
communicator, I started to work on becoming the assertive communicator who can speak without
fear after listening to the opinion of other. This helped me in changing my behaviour and taught
me to manage my emotional intelligence.
Gradually increasing my ability to speak without stucking, my talents and skills began to
flourish which helped me in developing my overall personality. I find myself at better place than
before which helped me converting my negative body language to positive. This positivity
helped me in communicating with others effectively and improved my overall performance.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it is concluded that effective communication skills are essential for
efficient performance, behaviour and experience. To become an effective communicator, one
must possess the skills of listening, emotional control, stress management, focused and many
other. There are many types of communicators like passive, assertive and aggressive which
shows the overall personality of an individual (Bodnar and Clark, 2017). The communication
skills of a person shows a lot about the personality of an individual.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bodnar, C.A. and Clark, R.M., 2017. Can game-based learning enhance engineering
communication skills?. IEEE transactions on professional communication. 60(1).
pp.24-41.
Clokie, T.L. and Fourie, E., 2016. Graduate employability and communication competence: Are
undergraduates taught relevant skills?. Business and Professional Communication
Quarterly. 79(4). pp.442-463.
Konopasek and et. al., 2017. Evaluating communication skills training courses. Oxford Textbook
of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care, p.399.
van der Vleuten, C., van den Eertwegh, V. and Giroldi, E., 2019. Assessment of communication
skills. Patient Education and Counseling. 102(11). pp.2110-2113.