Developing Negotiation, Teamwork, and Research Skills

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Understanding Self and Others
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Table of Contents
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 1..............................................................................................3
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 2..............................................................................................5
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 3..............................................................................................7
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 4..............................................................................................9
Summary and Action Plan..............................................................................................11
Personal Development Plan...........................................................................................13
Reference List................................................................................................................ 15
Appendix........................................................................................................................ 17
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 1
What is the core skill?
Negotiation is the core skill to be developed. Negotiation is the discussion of putting
upfront the point of views of all the people involved in the discussion in order to arrive
at an agreeable conclusion. Negotiation skills require confidence and a firm belief on
one’s point of view (Ebner et al., 2017). A negotiation must be logical and reasonable
to influence the decision made.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Negotiation skills are essential in order to put forward my opinion in the discussion.
A strong negotiation skill will help me to influence the agreement and bend it closer to
my preferences. In case my negotiation skill is better than the rest of the people
involved in the discussion, then the probability of the decision being favorable to me
is quite high (Caputo, 2019). The main reason for me to develop this skill is to gain
advantage in most of the discussions and hold an upper hand in the relative decision
extracted through it. The chaos theory is helpful in mastering this skill (Ting-toomey,
2015). This theory provides a variety of analysis on how to develop and use the
negotiation skill before a group of bright reasonable people.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)
My competence in the negotiation skills has developed moderately over time. I have
observed the discussions of intellectual people and tried to reflect it on the
development of my skill. My tutors have helped me grow in discussions. My peers
have also been involved in negotiation with me, which has provided me with
considerable experience. They have displayed optimistic response to my skill
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development. However, I need to develop this skill more efficiently to be far more
competent in future, than I am now.
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 have witnessed no contradictions on the analysis of my negotiation skills. The
confidence on my negotiation skills is boosted by the acknowledgement I receive
from outside sources. The view of other people on my well developed negotiation
skills are similar to what I believe. Further, I have never felt dominated in a discussion
after developing the negotiation skills and my competitors feel the same.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
Negotiation skills are vey essential in the day-to-day discussions in our life. It boosts
the inner confidence to present our views bon a matter an influence the conclusion
made out of it. As we grow older, the discussions grow mature and difficult to be
easily dominated. Thus, the development of negotiation skill at this age would help
me grow in future. It would also invite intelligent opinions and refined thoughts on the
matter of discussions.
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 2
What is the core skill?
Public speaking is another core skill, essential in one’s life. Public speaking is the
ability to perform a speech before a large number of people. The basic aim of public
speaking is to influence the audience. Traditionally, public speaking was believed to
be an art of persuasion (McNatt, 2019). However, in today’s times it can be generally
expressed to interact with the people and simply speak to them without trying to
influence their opinions. Politicians and leaders generally use public speaking. It is
also used for interview purposes, in universities, schools and to simply to gain
popularity.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Public speaking is important in a better understanding of the matter of speech. The
preparation of the contents and the ways to communicate effectively with the large
group of people helps in a clear understanding of the contents (Hostetler and Kahl,
2016). The most important development through public speaking is the creation and
boost of self-confidence, courage and boldness to stand up in front of a large
audience and put forward my views without hesitation and fear. The main reason I
developed this skill is to take my confidence to farther heights and bring the element
of fearlessness within me. The dialogic theory of public speaking states three major
elements to develop while acquiring public speaking skills, namely, message,
passion and skills (Gehrke, 2016). This theory taught me the importance of
possessing a strong message, a passion and belief towards my message and the
required communication skills to complement my speech.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
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behaviours to answer this question)
My public speaking skills is very efficient to draw the attention of a large number of
ears into my speech. My tutors have provided me with sufficient knowledge to
theoretically develop my message into a well structured speech. In addition, my
peers have directed me to many public platforms where my voice was heard and
appreciated. My peers and tutor have always helped me in assessing my work and
helped me in boosting my confidence level. Therefore, I can confidently say that I am
a well competent public speaker.
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?
In a large group of audience, there always exist contradictions to one matter.
However, my peers and tutors as well as a number of people have personally
appreciated my public speaking skills and raised the confidence of my belief towards
my skill. Therefore, my analysis on the efficiency of my skill is not different from the
views of other people.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
The public speaking skills is helpful not only in presenting my views to the public but
also in building confidence, fearlessness and boldness to face a large audience. The
world is full of people and we may need to speak before them at many possible
junctures. Therefore, the development of public speaking skills will help me to stand
boldly in front of the people and speak to them at those critical times. For example, if
I detect a possible threat in a public vehicle, I will confidently warn the entire public
without being affected with shyness and fear.
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 3
What is the core skill?
Teamwork is the coordinated effort of different individuals towards the
accomplishment of a common goal. Teamwork promotes diversification in innovation
and creativity of ideas. Various individuals possessing different ideas to perform the
same task are brought together and their methods are collaborated using the better
of each one (Firth, 2017). A proper team effort with the involvement of the maximum
efforts of all the team members helps in cutting the time of task completion,
increasing the efficiency of the work and reduces the effort of a single person.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Teamwork is the core skill to be developed in order to efficiently work in a group. The
development of teamwork skills is important to enhance the interaction among a
group and to learn to respect the work of others and collaborate it with my own to
derive the best possible result. It also helps in removing the element of shyness in an
individual. It further promotes the acquirement of knowledge and awareness on
unknown matters (Driskell et al., 2018). While working in a team, many myths and
doubts about the existing knowledge are rectified and clarified. I have reflected the
skill of teamwork in me to increase my efficiency in working with a group. Tuckman’s
theory of forming, storming, norming and performing has been helpful to me in
understanding the necessary steps involved in teamwork (Raes et al., 2015). It
suggests the formation of a team, the recommended ideas by the team members, the
agreement of all members in the suggested norms and the expected performance
derived from the work.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
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behaviours to answer this question)
My teamwork skills are not very competent in comparison to the other team
members. I have incurred a lot of effort in understanding the basic concepts and
requirements to become an ideal team member. My tutors assessed my low
competency, encouraged me, and provided me with a number of guidelines and
ideas to execute my effort in the attainment of team objectives. My peers have
supported me in many activities involving the element of teamwork. However, I have
not yet become competent enough to coordinate with a team and lead it to success.
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 do not find any contradictions in my analysis about my teamwork skills and the
response of other people. My team members in every task have been straightforward
and truthful in identifying my flaws and providing me with relevant solutions. They are
to believe that I can grow as a team member with time but not yet. Similar are my
views on my skills in teamwork, which requires more guidance and experience.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
Teamwork skills is very important to be possessed to perform a ask involving a group
of people. A well-established teamwork skill will help me remove the conflicts within a
group, originating from a difference in opinions and rather teach me to respect the
views of every team member. Most of the job opportunities in today’s world require
team efforts. Thus, an efficient teamwork skill will help me in providing potential
efforts in a task and successfully make use of my knowledge in coordination with the
potential of different individuals.
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REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 4
What is the core skill?
The core skill that I need to develop is research and information finding. It refers to
the research involved in finding contents for a topic and the relevant information,
which would be helpful in a better understanding of the matter (Mai, 2016). The
research and information finding activities require sticking to the point without losing
the track. Dispersed research and information can lead to moving away from the
important aspect of the topic.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Research and information finding is important in the attainment of knowledge and
facilitate learning. It helps in the clarification of doubt and myths and help in proving
the truth of a matter against the lies (sciencenews.org, 2019). An efficient research
and information finding activity is also important in building confidence on the
prepared matter. If a matter is sure to be true, the level of hesitation in bringing it
forward is minimal. Wilson’s model of Information Behaviour has considerably
helped me with guidance to perform appropriate research and it explains the needs
of an information seeker and ways to fulfill them (Ford, 2015).
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)
The research and information finding skills developed in me are not very well
competent. My peers have helped me assess my competence over time through
researching and finding information on specific topics along with me. My tutors, too,
have guided me and provided me with relevant materials to pursue my research.
However, without their support, it is difficult for me to complete the findings in the
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most accurate way. My tutors have provided me with negative feedbacks but with an
optimistic zeal in the future. I believe that with further learning and increased
research, I will become competent enough to carry out researches on my own in
limited time.
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 analysis on the low competency of my research and information finding skill is
non-contradictory to the views of my known associates. The people who assign me
the task, too, comment on my research skills to be less competent and not perfect.
My beliefs on my skills are quite similar to the received feedbacks from outside
sources.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
The research and information finding skill will largely benefit me in the future. A
proper way to research a matter would provide me with accurate details on the
desired topic. Every information that I need are present around me, however, the
necessary skill to find the perfect and genuine information is what I lack and needs to
be developed. It would help me to gain answers to all my questions and doubts and
on matters, I have interest in, without filling my mind with false information and
fabricated facts.
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