Communication is the key 2 building relationships. I believe a great communicator not only listens wholeheartedly to others but uses body language, eye contact, speaks clearly and concisely two others, and uses active listening. A great communicator should be aware of what they're saying and think before they talk. They should know and understand the perspectives of the people around you. someone that is a good communicator should be confident and be able to articulate everything they want to get across to others.
I am a very
shy person. I always have been. I'm getting better with age and gaining more
confidence through education and interacting with the people in the world
around me. Still, I am quite an introvert. My role model for communication
would have to be my mother. Though she said she was shy growing up and didn't
like speaking in crowds, she isn’t anymore. Being in an Italian family you have
to be able to speak up and voice your own opinion or you will get left in the
dust. I see my mother is not afraid to talk to anyone. She is fine calling anyone,
emailing or writing letters, going up to people and asking questions, and
making conversations with complete strangers. These are all something that I
really need to work on. It makes me very nervous to have a voice, I'm afraid
people will not understand me or think that I am uneducated or slow. That's
just my nerves talking. It's the way I've been my whole life. I never really had
a lot of confidence in myself because of my learning disability when I was
younger. I do keep challenging myself. Putting myself in different situations
where I need to speak to others. Getting this new job as a childcare director
I need to have great communication with the children, the families, as well as
my staff, and the other administrators in the childcare business. Though it
does give me anxiety almost every day, it is wonderful to step out of my
comfort zone and two build my self-esteem and confidence in myself.
Thank you for your post Kathleen, To add to what you have said about the good communicator being articulate. Great communicators are very articulate, sometimes called the "The gift of the gab." They can express their ideas clearly and concisely and are endowed with the skill to choose appropriate words to give more clarity to their thoughts. This is one area I am still working on as an advocate who seeks equitability and fairness
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about great communicators should understand the perspectives of others. It is crucial that when we engage in dialogue with others, we need to remain open-minded. Seeing and understanding things from different perspectives allow us to broaden/deepen our knowledge and understanding about various topics. Continue to put yourself out there, the children, their families, and the staff will benefit from all the knowledge you are gaining from this program.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Kathleen! I love that your role model is your mom and it sounds like she really grew into that confidence... something I relate to very much!! I too grew up in a very loud, very big, very opinionated Italian family, and learned I had to speak up and with confidence to be heard!!
ReplyDeleteI use to be a shy person. I used to freeze up in front of the class and everything on speech day. My public speaking teacher broke me from that. She told me to be observant and confident and I've been speaking in front of crowds every since.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteI resonate with what you said about being an introvert. My model is my principal at work, and I am so thankful I have his experience and expertise to lean on. Sometimes stepping outside our comfort zones is what we need to do, but it can still be intimidating. Thank you for sharing your perspectives with us!