Reflective Piece: Communication, Performance, and Experience

This reflective essay explores the student's experience with communication skills and their impact on performance, drawing upon Driscoll's model of reflection. The essay details a specific scenario involving a group presentation where the student's initial communication skills were lacking. The student describes the feelings of nervousness and anxiety, the reactions of team members, and the subsequent analysis of the event. The analysis highlights the importance of effective communication for teamwork and achieving positive outcomes. The essay then discusses the implications for practice, proposing actions for improvement, such as focusing on listening skills and addressing areas where performance can be enhanced. The conclusion emphasizes the student's growth in communication skills and their understanding of the importance of these skills in academic and professional settings. The essay uses references to support the reflection, including works by Driscoll, Austin, Pinkleton, Gluyas, Thompson, and Arnold and Boggs.

TITLE: Effective Communication & Improving Performance, & how this
influenced My performance, behaviour & experience. Reflective
piece (1000 WORDS)
INTRODUCTION
What are you going to do?
Are you going to use any models?
Here you can reword: This piece of reflective writing utilises Driscoll’s model of
reflection (1994, 2000); and I will discuss my
experiences at work/in education where I
demonstrate effective communication and the
process that enabled me to improve my performance
in the table below:
1. What? 350 words A description of the situation or event
Description of a situation or event which
enabled you to improve performance because
of effective communication
What is/was the Purpose?
The following project is a reflection which is
related to my personal experiences which I had to
deal with in order to complete my research. This
reflection is having a relation with communication
skills which play a very important part in personal
and professional life of a individual (Driscoll 1994)
In the initial stages my communication skills were
nit so good and I was not prepared that how I will
be able to express myself in front of audience.
What happened in the
event/scenario?
There was a task given to us by teacher in which
he had to prepare a speech on a current economic
topic and also power point presentation had to be
made on the chosen topic. This activity mainly
focussed on what are various communication skills
which we all posses.
What did I see/do during the
event?
In the course of event I was allotted a team which
had 5 members and we all have to prepare
individual speech on a particular topic and here
was a group presentation which we had to make.
All my team members had there own personalities
some were very intelligent, some had excellent
communication skills and some were average. I
was very tensed as I knew I have to develop
adequate skills to deliver my speech in an

effective manner.
What was my reaction to it?
In the actual event, there were many feelings
which I was experiencing such as nervous,
anxious, happy, excited and many different
feelings as I knew in have prepared the speech
but I was not sure whether I will be able to deliver
it in or not in the required manner.
What did other people do that
were involved in this?
Other team members were also assigned some
particular tasks as there was one topic and its
different dimensions were assigned to each
member in the team. Such as finding data,
choosing a relevant sector, analysis of collection
data and final conclusion and preparation of
presentation (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015)
How did they react or what
did they do as a result of it?
All the group member had a very positive
response to various task which were assigned to
them as they all were very determined in working
towards their assigned topic.
2. So What? 350 words Analyse the Event
How did I feel at the time of
the event?
When I have to describe about my feelings in the
whole course of my experience was really a lot
nervous and there was a lack of confidence. The
main reason behind this is that I was doing this
first time.
Were those feelings I had any
different from other people
who were involved at the
time?
It can be possible that behaviour ad nature of
every individual is different from another. It is not
easy to predict any person or judge anyone but I
felt was that every member of my team was
equally nervous, even those who had very
effective communication skills were not very
confident.
Are my feelings now, after the
event, any different from what
I experienced at the time?
There is a difference, in feelings such as before
the project I experienced lot of nervousness and
after project there was a completely different set of
feelings which I was experiencing. Was at a
different level. I felt that now everything is in my
control and project has been successfully
completed.
Do I still feel troubled, if so, in
what way?
There are many issues which are related to scope
of improvement which I can feel. Such as there is
a need that the overall communication can be

made more effective.
What were the effects of what
I did or did not do ?
I has clearly understood the overall importance of
communication skills in a way that I developed a
belief that without adequate skills no task or group
assignment can be done. At same time the
participation of every group member is also very
important for completion of a given assignment.
What positive aspects now
emerge for me from the event
that happened in practice?
The overall positive impact of this project is
improvement of my existing communication skills
and apart from that there were some other skills
which I was able to learn many other skills which
are necessary for my academic future.
What have I noticed about my
behaviour in practice by
taking a more measured look
at it?
There were many challenges such as since
starting of the project I was very nervous but as I
was in course of my activity and I was performing I
realised that there was lack of quality of
performance level which I improved with time
(Gluyas, 2015).
What observations does any
person helping me to reflect
on my practice make of the
way I acted at the time?
The overall importance of having good
communication skills is that such type of skills is
very important for establishment of cooperation
and coordination which is relevant for
establishment of communication channels in
organisation. Team leader was able to have a
strong impact on all other members because of
effective skills which he posses.
PART B
3. Now What? 300 words Proposed actions following the event
What are the implications for
others and me in practice,
based on what I have
described and analysed?
With helps of such type of skills it will be possible
for me that I will be able to make effective
communication and make other person
understand what I want to convey. Also, it will be
of great help in making understand my teachers,
seniors and other team members in conveying
what is issue which i am facing.
Will it make a difference if I
choose to do nothing?
The performance of whole team may be impacted
in a negative manner as it may not be possible
that if there are no effort on part of all the group

members.
Where can I get information
from, if I were to face a
similar situation again?
In this present case it is important to make various
improvements such as focussing on overall
communication skills which is very necessary
while a person is part of a team. Such as listening
to all members, consideration of all
recommendations which are being made in the
course of initiation and completion of the assigned
task.
Do I need help to assist me to
‘action’ the results of my
reflections?
It is necessary that my actions are helping me in
understanding of areas where my performance is
lacking or I need improvement (Thompson, 2018).
This will help me in covering up and making the
required amount of improvements which are very
necessary in order to develop those skills.
Which aspect/s should be
addressed first?
There are many issues which have to be
addressed initially such as ways which can be
used in making improvements in the present skills
which I am possessing. Which will help me in
further improvement and understanding of such
skills (Arnold, and Boggs, 2019).
What is the main learning that
I can take from reflecting on
my practice?
While I was about to finish my research work I
clearly understood what is importance of
communication and other skills in life of any
person. This is a consequence which is related to
various presentations which I undertook during the
course of my activity.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that I have described that being in course of completing
my assignment I was initial level judged for what I can do and hat not, but with time I
was able to make everyone understand that I can work on my skills and deliver
increased level of performance. After this reflection I have understood that I am
having a experience in which I was able to learn something new this time. Which
lead to enhancement of my knowledge and not only communication skills was
something which I improved but there is a fundamental need which will help in
further increasing the effectiveness in the way I will be completing my assignments.

List of References
Driscoll J. (1994). Reflective Practice for Practise. Senior Nurse. Vol.13 Jan/Feb. 47-50
Austin, E.W. and Pinkleton, B.E., 2015. Strategic public relations management:
Planning and managing effective communication campaigns. Routledge.
Gluyas, H., 2015. Effective communication and teamwork promotes patient
safety. Nursing Standard (2014+), 29(49), p.50.
Thompson, N., 2018. Effective communication: A guide for the people professions.
Macmillan International Higher Education.
Arnold, E.C. and Boggs, K.U., 2019. Interpersonal Relationships E-Book:
Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.