Analyzing Personal Communication Skills: A Reflective Essay

This reflective essay examines the author's business communication skills through the lens of self-assessment. The essay begins by defining the importance of communication in professional and personal contexts. The author then details the use of five diagnostic tools – SPCC, PRICA, PRPSA, Talkaholic Scale, and NIS-S – to evaluate their communication competence, intercultural communication apprehension, public speaking anxiety, communication habits, and nonverbal immediacy. The results of these assessments reveal moderate scores in several areas, highlighting a need for improvement in communication apprehension and public speaking anxiety. Two professional experiences are described to illustrate these weaknesses. The essay then reviews relevant literature on anxiety, including the physical and cognitive manifestations of anxiety, especially in public speaking situations. The author plans to create an action plan for the next six months focusing on communication skills development and address the identified areas for improvement. The essay concludes with a focus on improving communication skills, specifically, addressing communication apprehension and public speaking anxiety.

Effective Business Communication
Reflective Essay
25-Jan-18
(Student Details: )

Effective Business Communication
Reflective essays are such essays which helps the writer in examining the experience
which they face in their life. Once these experiences are attained, the writer details about these
experiences in order to explore the manner in which they change, in terms of their growth and
development from the experiences faced by them. When it comes to communication, they are
deemed as an important element in the life of any person and are used to state what the person
feels or are going through. Communication is crucial not in the business life of a person, but also
in their daily life in context of their social and personal interactions, and their written
communication, along with the communications they undertake through their body language or
the gestures used by them. Through the self reflection, the individual could learn about the skills
which they have, the way they channel their emotions and also the other features for which the
reflection is adopted. This particular self reflection or the reflective essay is based upon
analysing the communications skills held by the writer and would also approach a first person
approach. This would help in getting clarity on the different skills which the writer has and more
importantly would highlight the skills which the writer lacks. The analysis would depend on the
aspects like assertive perceptions, verbal communications, active listening, and the like. For the
purpose of undertaking this reflective analysis, the writer would be making use of the five
distinctive diagnostic tools which had been approved by the tutor and would highlight different
aspects of the personality of the writer. In order to gain detailed learning on the shortfalls which
the person has, and more particularly the manner in which these shortfalls can be given away
with, a thorough review of the established literature would be undertaken. This would help the
writer in creating an action plan for the next six months, where certain activities and events
would be planned, in order for the writer to improve upon their identified shortfalls based on the
conducted literature review.
For the purpose of analysing the communication skills which I have and which I faced
based on the diversified situations, and as indicated in the introduction portion, I have made use
of five diagnostic tools. In this regard, the first tool was Self-Perceived Communication
Competence Scale, herein after referred to as SPCC. This tool helps in showing the manner of
the competence of an individual in their communication is analysed by them, based on the
different scenarios in which they had to use communication and with the presence of a number of
receivers or audiences (McCroskey & McCroskey, 1998). The second tool used for the purpose
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of this assignment was one related to the previous one and this was Personal Report of
Intercultural Communication Apprehension, herein after referred to as PRICA. This tool helps in
understanding the feelings which an individual holds when they have to communicate with an
individual belonging from diversified backgrounds. This includes the manner in which such
individual behaves when they come face to face with an individual from diversified backgrounds
(Neuliep & McCroskey, 1997).
The third tool I used was also related to the theme of this discussion and this was
Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, herein referred to as PRPSA. This tool was
developed to calculate the communication apprehension and is quite reliable where the entire
focus is over the public speaking anxiety. This is a useful tool for the purpose of measuring the
public speaking anxiety; though, it proves to be inadequate when it comes to measuring of the
broader communication apprehension construct (McCroskey, 1970). The fourth tool I used was
the Talkaholic Scale. This tool is helpful for the purpose of measuring the compulsive
communication habit and also shows the competence of a person based on their nature as being
either a talkative person or being a person who talks very less (McCroskey & Richmond, 1995).
The last tool I used was Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Self Report, herein after referred to as NIS-
S. This tool helps in highlighting the propinquity of a person regarding the communication. This
tool also highlights the person being positive or not, in their use of the non verbal immediate
behaviour undertaken with other people (Richmond, McCroskey & Johnson, 2003).
In order to use these diagnostic tools, I had to read the questions put in these tools in
detail and clearly, and then give the best possible scoring for the specific questions which were
asked. In doing so, I had to adopt an honest approach and this is what I did. Once this was done,
I was able to get a better understanding on the communication style I follow and also my
preferences in this context. In the use of SPCC, I got a score of 77.9, which neither put me in
high ratings of SPCC nor in the lower ratings of SPCC. This does leave a lot of scope open for
improvement for me as there is a need for me to improve upon my communications, irrespective
of the group I interact with; whether it is stranger or dyad. The next tool I used was PRICA
where I got a score of 24 which shows that I feel very comfortable when I have to deal with such
individuals who have a different background from mine, in terms of culture and ethnicity.
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The third tool I used was PRPSA, where I got a moderate score of 100. This shows that
when it comes to public speaking anxiety, I neither excel at it, nor am I horrible at it. This is
aligned with the scores I got for SPCC and both of these tools in combination show that I lack
public speaking confidence and become conscious when I have to communicate with the
individuals who are not known to me. The fourth tool I used Talkaholic Scale I which I got a
score of 31. This puts me in the borderline talkaholics range. This was a contradiction from the
scores I got in SPCC, PRPSA, and for the variance in these scores, I would be finding the
relevant answers from the literature review. The last tool I used was NIS-S, where I got an
overall score of 85. This again puts me in a moderate category and shows that I made an average
use of the non verbal communications. From these tools, two prominent areas of improvement
for me can be identified, and both of these are related to the communication apprehensions.
These two are the communication apprehensions and the fear of speaking in public. These are the
two areas of improvement which I have to work upon in order to have a better future. Both of
these areas are interacted, but are based on the markings given on two tools, i.e., SPCC and
PRSPA.
The weaknesses or the areas of improvement which I have can be demonstrated through
two small examples which took place in my professional life. Nearly eight months back, I was
working in a local cafe and had to deal with a number of customers from all walks of life. When
I was new at this job, and had to work as a pastry chef. But for gaining an understanding on how
each function works, I was asked to work as a server for two days. On the very first day as a
server, I had to serve a customer. However, I felt very uneasy while dealing with this customer
and started missing my words and talking very fast. I did manage to serve the customers, but
unlike my habit of talking a lot, I could not indulge in a verbal communication with them.
Though, during my tenure as a pastry chef, I was easily able to communicate with people who I
had been working with. Though, till this day, I find it difficult to indulge in conversations with
new people and even in approaching new people.
There is one more professional interaction, which is almost embarrassing for me to admit.
As a part of my training experience, I was helping in the local community program. As a
volunteer, I was asked to getting to different people and getting the forms filled where the
different viewpoints of the individuals had to be asked about. The first problem I faced in this
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was approaching people. Even when I could stop and communicate with the individuals, I was
feeling hesitant and even perspiring a bit. The matter escalated when I had to communicate with
a number of individuals who approached us to get their interview taken. I started getting more
and more nervous and even felt uneasy in my stomach. It was almost as if I would puke. I even
asked the nurse available at the camp to help me with my problem, but she informed me that it
was merely my anxiety and that I had to cool down. She asked me to lie down for a while. I had
never faced this much issue in communicating with others, but as soon as I saw this huge group
approaching me, I got very nervous. Ultimately, I could not take their interview.
Anxiety is something which is generally experienced by the individuals and can take
place due to a number of reasons for the different people. Each person experiences a different
type of anxiety and this can take place any time and at any place. This is the reason why anxiety
may be present at certain times and at other it is not. The signs of anxiety particularly become
visible when they are physical. As per Gaudry and Spielberger (1971), when a person feels
anxious, they start showing signs of tremors in their limbs, they start sweating in their forehead
and hands and also have flushing in their face and neck. The physical reactions which these
scholars have highlighted are just some of the common indicators of anxiety and there are a
number of other indicators which are easily exhibited in the anxious people, for instance,
stuttering and fidgeting. Woodrow (2006) had been cited by Liebert and Morris (1967) for
showing the two types of anxiety reactions, which are later on detailed in this discussion.
As per Lazarus and Averill (1972), the anxiety shown in public speaking is the emotion
which is based on the appraisal of threat, which covers anticipatory, uncertain and symbolic
events. Broadly conceived, these features show that anxiety results when the cognitive system is
disallows a person to relate to the world in a meaningful manner regarding their self. Upon a
person getting anxiety, the individual is not able to think in a proper manner or even make sense
of what they do or say during that time. This results in the individual behaving in a manner in
which they should not. This often results in embarrassment being caused to such an anxious
person (Gaudry & Spielberger, 1971).
When it comes to speaking before an unknown crowd, particularly the one from general
public, as per Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1991), it becomes a very difficult task for certain
individuals and this is especially for the students, who get very anxious when they have to
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address their own class. Upon this taking place, there is a level of difficulty faced by the student
in differentiating between what they hear, in terms of the sounds, and the structure which
surrounds this. They even have a difficulty in comprehending the very basic and simple words
used in daily lives. There are other scholars who have shared similar thoughts in this regard and
in this context, the word of Dunbar, Brooks and Miller (2006) also needs to be discussed. They
state that when the students have to deal with something which is a very crucial aspect in their
life, particularly in context of the communications skills, they often become apprehensive. The
reason for putting focus on this issue stemmed from the need of good communication skills in
order for a person to make the transition from the student life to professional life. The other
literature which held the same view and which discussed further on this matter was the one of
Beatt, Balfantz and Kuwabara (1989). They highlighted that when it comes to public speaking,
there is presence of emotional disposition, which comes even before an individual has to speak
and relates to anxiety. In line with this, there have been two common types or categories in
which an individual reacts when they have to speak in public, for the anxiety felt by them
(Woodrow, 2006). The first category is of the psychological reactions and the second category is
of cognitive reactions. In terms of the psychological reactions, there is such a reaction from the
body, that the body starts showing certain symptoms of anxiety. These symptoms include a
person stammering, blabbering or mixing out the words, or their heart rate speeding. In terms of
the cognitive reactions which an individual has to deal with, when it comes to public speaking,
the person starts building a negative environment in their brain, where they degrade themselves
and their work, resulting in lost confidence. This leads to a person becoming disoriented and
channelling such negative thoughts.
In communication skills, public speaking is an issue which leads as a cause of problem
for a number of people. This is faced by people from all walks of life and relates to the
apprehensions faced by an individual whilst dealing with people who are not known to them
(Jaffe, 2015). In view of North and Rives (2001), where any individual was asked to speak in
public, the majority would face apprehensions and would get anxious. The situations surrounding
public speaking are such that the people start feeling anxious about the notion of public speaking
and start depicting different signs, which are linked with the previous scholars. The signs
highlighted by these scholars include gastrointestinal discomfort, sweating, palpitating,
discomfort, confusion, heart racing, feeling of uneasiness and other related symptoms. Burnley,
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Cross and Spanos (1993) have even put a number on this and they state that nearly 85% of the
individuals faced this problem. As per Scovel (1991), by facilitating the feeling of anxiety and
that too in a learned and proper way, it could garner positive result. Where this is not done, it
results in the poor performance of a person. There have been certain scholars who have even
traced back the history of public speaking and its first mention in literatures in terms of being a
problem. They dated the issue of public issue back to 1935 and its neighbouring years. Again,
they threw light on the symptoms depicted by a person when they felt anxiety and these were in
terms of uneasiness and apprehensions. The unique point which they provided in comparison to
the other scholars was that these symptoms were shown as if a person felt very threatened.
Amongst the different types of anxiety is the speaking anxiety. This is one issue which
can greatly affect the performance of a person and is related to the public speaking aspect.
MacIntyre (1999) cited the work of Horwitz et.al (1986) for putting across the viewpoint that the
language anxiety is originated from three key sources, i.e., the communication apprehension, the
fear of negative evaluation by the others and the test of anxiety. These three sources are
connected to speaking anxiety. The communication apprehension and the fear of negative
evaluation are related as the former is caused by the latter. Where a person fears to be appearing
as awkward, incompetent or foolish in their peers’ eyes, they make attempt to communicate in a
confident manner, but this is something which is always not possible. The opinion of Ohata
(2005) has been cited by Young (1991) in stating that there is a self perceived low ability in the
students in a second language or in a foreign language and these are the most possible candidates
for the langue and other types of anxiety. Phillips (1992) too channels the same viewpoint and
provides that there is high language anxiety amongst the students.
Von Worde (2003) has highlighted that the fear of communication in an oral manner and
the public speaking anxiety are long accepted as being a psychological phenomena. A person is
not anxious when they talk amongst their own social or friend circle, as the people there are
known to them. The anxiety comes with strangers and in certain cases is also marked by
intercultural apprehensions. Due to such studies, it remains unsurprising that the individuals get
butterflies in their stomach when faced with public speaking. MacIntyre and Gardner (1991)
have also presented another aspect to the symptoms of fear of speaking in public, where they
state that when it comes to a person feeling anxious, they have a poor retrieval of items from
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their memory, which would not have been affected had they been communicating with someone
they knew. This view is again aligned with the discussion of different literatures carried on
above.
In order to work upon anxiety and almost to get a win over it, there is a need to facilitate
the anxiety faced by the person. This can be done by teaching the individual on how to deal with
their apprehensions and the manner in which certain problems could be overcome with. When
this is done, an individual can easily channel their anxiety and uneasiness in an effective and
almost positive way (Jones, 2004). Through the facilitation of these feelings of anxiety, a person
could be allowed to learn in a better way, along with their perceptions and attitudes towards
public speaking being changed (Ohata, 2005). There was a need for communication skills to be
proper and refined in order for a person to have good interpersonal working relationships (Russ,
2012). If a person has to excel in their business or professional life, there is a need for the person
to work upon their public speaking skills and give away the apprehensions they have (Marinho,
Medeiros, Gama & Teixeira, 2017).
Through the literature review conducted above, I was able to gain a better understanding
on my areas of improvements. However, this is not enough and I need to draw out an action plan
which could help me in actually improving upon the areas of improvement. This action plan is
made for the next six months, and has been presented on weekly basis. The first and foremost
thing which I would be doing is writing a daily blog, which would be like a journal covering the
daily highlights of my life. This would allow me to track my journey and present a success graph
at the end of six months. As the literature has helped me a lot in gaining insights on my areas of
improvement, I would be joining a book club and would be visiting the library on weekly basis.
This would serve two purposes. I would firstly develop a habit of reading which would help me
in finding the ways to tackle my anxiety and also help me in improving my knowledge base,
which would help me in my future professional life.
The next thing which I would be doing relates to the experiences discussed in the
previous segments of this discussion. I would be going back to the cafe where I worked eight
months back. However, instead of working on the role of a pastry chef, I would be working as a
server. This would allow me to get a chance of dealing with a new people on daily basis and
would allow me to adopt the literature guidance of channelling the anxiety in a positive manner.
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In line with this, I would also go back to collecting surveys from the general public and this
would again enable me to interact with new people, in large numbers. In order to check on my
progress, I would be interacting with my tutor for taking new ideas and would also be taking
feedbacks on regular intervals. These feedbacks would be the core of my success criteria, along
with the growth in my interactions at the cafe. The details of each of these events are better
presented through the action plan based on the timeline given below:
Gantt Chart depicting Action Plan
14-02-18 01-03-18 16-03-18 31-03-18 15-04-18
Daily Blog
Book Club
Visiting library
Interacting at the café
Collecting surveys
Taking feedback from tutor
30-04-18 15-05-18 30-05-18 14-06-18 29-06-18
Daily Blog
Book Club
Visiting library
Interacting at the café
Collecting surveys
Taking feedback from tutor
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Thus, in this reflective essay, I analysed the areas of improvement for me and conducted
a detailed literature review on the issues of public speaking and the anxiety associated with it.
Based on the literature presented above and the past experiences of my life, I prepared an action
plan which would help me in improving upon the areas in which I lack right now. This reflective
essay, even though is a requirement of the course module, but it has actually helped me in
gaining an insight on what my skills are and more importantly, what my shortfalls are.
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