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Communication Skills
The greatest communicator I know is my mother. I choose her because I know her personally, and I have learnt how she communicates. She does not repeat herself and people do whatever she asks them to. She is able to convey a message in a clear way, and no one can dispute what she says. She makes sure that everybody has understood what she says. She does not confuse people with a lot of information, but she makes sure that she gives detailed instructions and information, which everybody can understand. I have grown up with her and I can say with confidence that there is no time when there has been miscommunication between us.
My mother is a great listener. One of the most essential skills in communication is listening, because it ensures that the people communicating with each other are able to hear and understand (McKay, Davis and Fanning 10). My mother takes time to listen to people, irrespective of whether they are complaining about something, discussing an issue of importance, or negotiating over something. She at times stops doing what she is doing so that she can listen to someone. She will take the time to ensure that she listens before she speaks, even though she might have a pressing issue. She asks questions when she wants somebody to clarify something. This is an important communication skill. By doing this, she is able to have a clearer perspective of different issues. She takes the time to think of what she will say before responding. I realized this when I used to ask her for advice concerning something and sometimes she used to answer me some time later. The answers she gave were thought out, and they ended up being effective. Taking time when making decisions enables one to think at the issue from different perspectives.
My mother focuses on the person who is talking to her and she does not day dream. This makes one feel important and valuable. By doing this, she encourages people to talk more, and they end up giving more information than they had initially intended. I think that the strongest skill that my mother has when communicating is her ability to use different forms of non-verbal communication. She will often use gestures to demonstrate the point that she is trying to make. She constantly gives a person clues to show that she is listening and to encourage the person to keep on talking. She nods or shakes her head depending on the information received, and she uses different facial expressions to show her empathy to the person speaking and her level of awareness of the issue being discussed (Condrill and Bough 72).
My mother has made
a great impact on the entire family and me. This is because she has advised us
on different issues, without making us feel judged in the process. She has corrected
the mistakes that we have made in a way that we understand and this has made us
more sensitive towards other people’s feelings. She is able to counsel us
whenever we need counseling. She has in the past resolved differences that have
occurred between different members of the family, and thus our home has always
had peace. Because of her, I have learnt many things especially the importance
of listening to others first before offering any advice. I have learnt that
this avoids misunderstanding that end up causing more conflict. I have also
learnt the importance of responding to other people, as opposed to being
silent. She has taught me that non-verbal communication can be as effective as
verbal communication. Most importantly, she has taught me the importance of
having a positive attitude when communicating with other people.
Works Cited:
Condrill, Jo and Bennie Bough. One Hundred and One Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills Instantly. Palmdale: GoalMinds, Inc., 1999. Print
McKay, Mathew, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning. Messages: The Communication Skills Book. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications, 2009. Print