Evaluation of the Communicator

As a communicator I am influenced by both cognition and behavior (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009).  Cognition refers to those thoughts which I possess about myself and others whereas behaviors refer to the verbal and non-verbal messages and it affects behavior. 

All three assessments produced the same categories of results.  What was surprising to me was the similarity in the results. It is clear that the 2 persons who evaluated me (my brother and a co-worker) do possess a clear idea of my strengths and my weaknesses.  They are fully aware of my reactions to various situations.  While they were completing the assessments they kept saying you will not do that or you will do that. The relationship that we have fostered over the years made it easy for the 2 individuals to produce such similar assessment.

 One of the differences I observed was the variance on the continuum.  My brother’s assessment of myself and my own assessment on the Communication Anxiety Inventory (CAI) were both on the lower side of the scale with a difference of 1.  My co-worker assessment of me on the CAI was towards the higher end of the continuum When I compare my co-worker assessment to mine on the CAI there was a notable difference of 6 (Rubin, Palmgreen & Sypher, 2009).

 Two of the insights gained this week about communication are:

Self-Presentation requires communicators to find the appropriate level of self-monitoring for the situation and the people involved in order to communicate successfully.  Being aware of this, on a professional and personal basis will always help me to monitor the signals from the communicators so that interest is sustained in order for the desired objectives will be achieved.

 Self-Disclosure refers to the amount of information one share with others. It can be considered a tool for confirming our self-concept or improving our self-esteem (O’ Hair Wiemann, 2009 cited Miller, Cooke, Tsang & Morgan 1992). Both on a personal level and a professional level care must be exercised in terms of the quality and quantity of information that is shared because one can lose the respect of others should the lines become blurred and that can be very dangerous. 

Self -reflection is a good practice to embrace since it will identify areas of strengths and weaknesses so as a communicator who seeks to attain competence in communication, I will work towards eradicating those areas of weaknesses.

Reference
O’Hair, D., Friedrich, G. W., & Dixon, L. D. (2011). Strategic communication in business and the

professions. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.