My Communication Styles

I had a co-worker and my son take the tests to see how they felt I rated as a communicator. We all agreed that with the Listening Styles Profile I was a in group 1, as I am very people-oriented. Being in group 1 states that I am very trusting of others which sometimes can backfire for me, and it has! This reminded me of a situation when I was picked for jury duty and one of the attorneys asked me if I would trust everyone who walked into a store. I replied that since I am a Program Director of an early childhood center that my little world is full of trust with the children, parents, and staff, so yes I would probably trust everyone because I "live " in the perfect world of childcare. They did not pick me for the jury but everyone had a good laugh. My listening style is very important both in my professional and personal life especially when I am dealing with parents and their children all day. It is imperative that I do not "tune out" parents for the safety and well being of their children in my care. On the other hand, I do sometimes "tune out" some of my boring friends even though my non-verbal cues say that I am interested. 

My son and I both evaluated me as having a low level of communication anxiety, and my co-worker evaluated me as having a mid level of communication anxiety. I would tend to go with what my son and I thought, but I understand how my co-worker evaluated me differently. She does hear me complain when I have an issue about a child and I have to have a serious conversation with a family about their child's development or behavior. Because of my position of being a Program Director, I have to have a low level of communication anxiety because I address groups of parents all the time and I also teach child development classes. This also helps me in my personal life because I am not afraid to start a conversation with a sales clerk, manager, or even a person who is behind me waiting in line. 

My co-worker and myself evaluated me with having a moderate level of verbal aggressiveness which surprised me after reading the description. My son evaluated me with a a low level of verbal aggressiveness. I have been "watching" myself this week when I communicate with my staff and families, and make sure I do use the facts in my conversations and not to "attack" anyone personally.  

An insight that about communication that I gained this week is that my past experiences do make up my personal perceptions, but some of my perceptions have changed with age. For example, I know some people who shy away from people who have tattoos or piercings because they feel they are dangerous or illiterate which makes these people a bad influence. Maybe because I am fifty-five years old, I take things with a grain a salt. Most of my staff have tattoos; I have four myself. Parents will show off their own tattoos proudly to me and this does not change my communication outlook when talking with them.