Communication Assessments

The thing I found most surprising with the communication assessments was how similar they all were.  The ones I did for myself and the ones others did with me in mind all scored within a few points of each other.  I guess this means that how I perceive myself and how I present myself to others is pretty consistent. 

I also discovered this week that how we present ourselves if viewed differently by different people.  For our discussion board assignment, different people noticed different things about the woman pictured.  While making assumptions based solely on someone's picture is not the best of ideas, it was interesting to see how each of us focused on a different aspect of the picture.  I imagine this is true in face-to-face meetings as well. 

Another insight I gained this week was in regards to the many different listening orientations and how this can help us before more effective communicators.  It is helpful to know how I listen (people-oriented) so that I can focus more on other aspects of listening when needed, to details for example.  It is even more helpful to be able to interpret how other people are listening to me.  For example, I know my husband is very content-oriented.  If I want his opinion on something, I have to give him facts and details before telling him what I think on the matter.