Effective Communication Exercise and Analysis
Begin by identifying an issue about which you and another person have differing opinions or perspectives. The other person may be a co-worker, friend, partner, or spouse. It can be helpful to choose a dialogue partner with whom you feel comfortable seeking feedback after you have completed your conversation.
Arrange to discuss the issue with the other person and take this opportunity to exercise heightened awareness of your communication strengths and areas for growth. Listen to what you are saying and how you are saying it.
During the discussion, your goal is to come to understand the other person’s perspective and to effectively convey your own point of view. You do not need to reach a resolution of the issue.
After you have completed your discussion, analyze your use of each of the following
communication skills:
open-ended questions
direct facilitative questions
paraphrasing
perception checks
I-messages
clear, descriptive language
communication of ideas, feelings, and wants
If you were able to receive some concrete feedback from your dialogue partner, include this in your assignment. Based on what you learn, identify skill areas that you would like to focus on to strengthen your communication skills as a manager. Indicate how you will go about strengthening these skills.
Summarize your analysis in 4–6 typed pages, double-spaced, and submit it through Blackboard.
You do not need a transcript of your conversation. Page count does not include the cover page, executive summary, or reference pages.
The best approach to this paper is as follows:
Identify the issue.
For each communication skill, provide an academic reference describing the skill.
Describe how you used (or did not use the skill) and its effectiveness. It may have not
been effective, partially effective, or very effective. This does not matter as much as your analysis.
Identify at least three skills you would like to focus on to improve your communication and identify how you will strengthen these skills.
