EDUC 6165: the similarities and differences between how you evaluated yourself as a communicator and how others evaluated you

After I completed the communication inventories, I found that my communication anxiety inventory is mild, which means I mostly feel comfortable in most communication situations, but some contexts may cause me uncomfortable. My verbal aggression scale falls into the moderate level, which means that I balance respect and aggressive communications with others. My listening style profile is people-oriented, which represents my concerns and empathy towards other people’s emotions. This listening skill may benefit the way I form relationships with others.

I selected two people who know me well to complete the communication evaluation. The first person was my co-worker, who has known me in the professional field for more than three years. We used to be co-teachers in the child development center, and then both of us got a promotion to be supervisors. We shared a lot of work and supported each other when helps were needed. My evaluation results from her perspective were close to the ones I evaluated myself that I got mild level in the communication anxiety inventory and people-oriented in listening style. However, she gave me “none level” in the verbal aggression scale.

On the other hand, my communication style results through the second person’s perspective were utterly different from mine and the second person’s. The third person was one of my close friends who is Thai and lives close to me. We share a lot of times, speak Thai to each other, and know each other for more than five years. She gave me a mild level of communication anxiety inventory, which means I feel uncomfortable in some communication. My verbal aggressiveness scale was significant per her perspective, and my listening style was action-oriented.

Two people have different perceptions about my kind of communication. The first person is my co-worker, with who I spent the majority time in a professional setting. However, the kind of communicator through my close friend's perception is different from my co-worker's. We share similar Thai cultural backgrounds and experiences. Some similarities and differences are comparing to how I communicate from my perceptions and the other two's. I evaluated my communication and listening style based on my professional perceptions, which relate to my co-worker's perception of my communication. On the other hand, I have a different set of self-concept and self-esteem toward my close friend, so I form assumptions about how I behave and communicate to her differently than professional setting (O'Hair, Wiemann, et al., 2018). Thus, the two people I selected to evaluate my communication styles may receive different ways of communicating and listening from me based on my self-efficacy and schemas.

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2018). Real communication: An introduction (4th. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.