Who am I as a communicator?

This biggest surprise from this week's application activity was the big gap between my self score and those of my colleagues in Communication anxiety. I scored myself at a high/moderate level. Each of my colleagues scored me at a low/mild level. This tells me that I seem more confident than I feel when speaking.
A major insight gained from this week's discussion activity was that, despite my desire to be an open-minded person, I unconsciously make assumptions about others based on first impressions. I was dismayed that it was not very difficult for me to imagine characteristics of the woman in the photo. I feel that if I truly had an open mind these assumptions would have been more difficult to construct.
The positive part of this insight is that it has spurred my resolve to deconstruct my existing schemas.

Communication & Culture

I definitely communicate differently, depending upon the group that I am with. I have several different groups in which I have relations. At my job, the communication is less personal and more on a professional level. We discuss things that need to be done, how we can help each other, and ways to make things easier/more efficient. With my family most of my communication is on a very personal level, from things that we are dealing with in our lives to how we are raising our children.
I have a few groups of friends with whom I communicate on a regular basis. Some are closer than others. I tend to share very personal information with my closest friends and just socialize with others.
My differences in communication is not because of culture as much as it is because of relationships.

Communication Skills: Verbal and Nonverbal

In preparation for this assignment I watched an episode of Seinfeld. I have only watched this show a couple of times previously. What I learned the most from this assignment is that the sitcom actors work really hard to express what they are feeling nonverbally. I was able to successfully determine what each actor was feeling by their body language and facial expressions. During the course of the half hour show, the actors went through a myriad of emotions, from happiness to sadness to surprise to exasperation.
Completing this assignment helped me to see how you can understand how people are feeling by watching their nonverbal communication.

Effective Communication

When thinking about effective communicators two people from my education come to mind:
Flip Flippin and Stephen Covey.
Both of these men have written books and created tools for teaching individuals and groups how to be effective communicators.

Flip Flippin is responsible for Capturing Kids Hearts, a training for teachers and administrators. CKH is meant to be used by entire schools to create an environment of respect, trust, empathy and self-management. If you have not attended a CKH workshop, you have missed out on a great experience. For more information follow the link: http://www.flippengroup.com/education/ckh.html

Stephen Covey is a renowned author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book he outlines steps that are important for effective communication. Using the principles from this book, The FranklinCovey Group has developed a process to be integrated into the school's curriculum called The Leader in Me.
For more information follow the link:
http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/education-solutions/elementary-education-solutions--the-leader-in-me

For information about the book:
https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

Using the techniques and strategies I learned through these resources, I have been able to create a positive environment for my students.