Emotional Intelligence- Blog Post#4

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Describe what exercising emotional intelligence means. (p. 224)

 

Emotional Intelligence is an important quality to have, and is argued to be a valuable skill employers look for. To exercise emotional intelligence  is to have ‘a comprehensive understanding of their own emotions and an ability to rapidly assess the emotional state of other members of the team’ (Savel, R & Munro, C 2016, p. 105).  Dwyer (2016, cited in Costigan 2016, p.2) asserts that emotional intelligence is having the social awareness and skills to work effectively in different contexts.

 

best-friends-381984_960_720

Figure 1: Best friends
Source: Holt (2014)

Goleman (2006, cited in Kossen 2013, p. 354) describes key characteristics of emotional intelligence are:

  • Self-awareness– Your emotions and how it impacts others, being able to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses (Costigan 2016).
  • Self-regulation– The abiity to cope with change and deal with problems as they occur.
  • Self-motivation– The ability to persevere, and be self-motivated in trying to achieve goals
  • Empathy– Being able to understand and share the feelings of others (Costigan 2016).

To exercise emotion intelligence, therefore, is not merely to be aware, but emphatic, to relate, and to adapt.  It is the ‘capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, as well as the ability to effectively manage our feelings as we interact with others’ (Doe, Ndinguri & Phipps 2015, p. 105).

 

References:

 

Costigan, L 2016, Lesson 10: Understand Yourself and Others, course notes, COMM11003: Communication in Professional Contexts, CQUniversity e-courses, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au.

Doe, R, Endinguri, E, Phipps, S 2015, ‘Emotional Intelligence: The Link to Success and Failure of Leadership’, Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, vol. 19, issue 3, pp. 205-114.

Dwyer, J 2016, Communication for business and the professions: strategies and skills, 6th edn, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Goleman, D 2011, ‘They’ve taken emotional intelligence too far’, Time, November 1, http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/01/theyve-taken-emotionalintelligence-too-far/ Neff, KD & Vonk, R 2009, ‘Self-compassion versus global self-esteem: two different ways of relating to oneself’, Journal of Personality, vol 77, no. 1, February, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467- 6494.2008.00537.x/full

Holt, C (2014), Best Friends, digital image, Pixabay, viewed 20 May, 2016, https://pixabay.com/en/best-friends-girls-friendship-381984/

Savel, R & Munro, C 2016, ‘Emotional Intelligence: For the Leader in us all’, American Journal of Critical Care, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 104-106.

 

 

Different Types of Non-verbal communication- Blog post #3

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What are the different types of non-verbal communication? How can non-verbal communication make or break a speech? (p. 369)

*Voice recording element*

(Script and referencing below video and image)

Nonverbalconmunication

Figure 1:  What Makes an Impression
Source: Phutela (2015, p.45)

 

Voice recording can be downloaded here.

Video direct link here.

 

Script and references:

Non-verbal communication is the type of communication that relies on how something is said, rather than what is being said (Costigan 2016).

There are different types of non-verbal and verbal communication. Cenere et al (2015) describe some of these as:

  • Movement- such as facial expressions
  • Objects such as clothing, make-up, hair-styles, ‘accessories, tattoos and piercings’
  • ‘Haptics or tactile communication’
  • Eye contact
  • Body posture
  • And more.

Non-verbal communication can make or break a speech for several reasons.

First, it can allow a person to effectively convey meaning by adding non-verbal cues, in addition to what is being said, or by itself. Figure 1 presents this information, showing how body language plays a great role in communication. Posture, for example can easily send a different meaning; ‘when an individual slumps forward he or she is usually perceived as being bored or extremely interested’ (Phutela 2015, p. 45).

Meaning, furthermore, is also different for every culture. If one does not understand their audience, meaning can easily be misinterpreted. Phutela (2015, p. 45) asserts that ‘different gestures often have vastly different meanings to people of different cultures’. Further, one might find touching in some cultures as ‘an invasion of their personal space’ (Phutela 2015, p. 45). It is important to be aware of social and cultural contexts because what one might say might be offensive to a different culture. For example, traditionally, white may be considered mourning for some cultures, and for other cultures it’s a sign of purity (Costigan 2016). Rather than being misinterpreted, one can also misinterpret the message that is being sent across, making it a barrier against effective communication.

It also makes one more self-aware and a better listener by being able to understand body language and non-verbal cues. One can learn to understand others better, and in doing so, understand one’s self better.

References:

  • Cenere, P, Gill, R, Lawson, C & Lewis M 2015, Communication Skills for Business Professionals, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, Vic.
  • Costigan, L 2016, Lesson 7: Non-verbal communication, course notes, COMM11003: Communication in Professional Contexts, CQUniversity e-courses, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au.
  • Costigan, L 2016, Non-verbal Communication, lecture video, COMM11003: Communication in Professional Contexts, CQUniversity e-courses, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au.
  • Phutela, D 2015, ‘The Importance of Non-Verbal Communication’, IUP Journal of Soft Skills, vol. 9, issue 4, pp. 43-49.

other images:

Importance of Soft Skills- Blog post #2

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What are ‘soft skills’? Why are they important in business? (p. 21)

Soft skills are the personal skills that allow a person to communicate effectively with others, and are valuable qualities to have in the workforce. These skills include honesty, diligence, a reliable and admirable work ethic, and a good management of workload.

Soft skills are valuable skills to have in a business as they extend beyond technical expertise. Cenere et al. (2015, p.8) asserts that  ‘soft skills’ are just as important as ‘hard’ skills are in the workplace and stress the importance of  individuals to ‘develop their communication skills’. Figure 1 displays how valuable soft skills are to employers. It is the ability to effectively communicate and interact with others that cannot be learned the way technical skills are acquired, and experience has a great role in this. It can be common for people to learn these skills but ‘the ability to communicate face to face will always be one of the most important aspects of business’ (Jamail 2015, p. 10).

 

soft skills

Figure 1: Here Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Business
Source: Salesforce (2014)

 

With the rise of technological advancements, there will be an increase of quantity in communication, which highlights how it is even increasing importance to have soft skills and practice them in business. Jamail (2015) contends: ‘While social media and a litany of gadgetry have streamlined our ability to connect and interact, there will never be a substitute for stout communication skills’. What will separate an individual from others with similar technical skills will be their soft skills in a society where communication is becoming increasingly convenient and expansive.

It is therefore highly important to be able to deal in complex situations and varied environments require the ability to efficiently communicate clearly, concisely, and coherently.

References:

Cenere, P, Gill, R, Lawson, C & Lewis M 2015, Communication skills for business professionals, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, Vic.

Jamail, N 2015,  The most desired skills of the future: Three practices to communicate, engage and influence people, Canadian Manager, Vol. 39, issue 4, pp 10-11

Leung, S (2014), Here Are the Soft Skills Most Important to Your Business, Digital Image, Salesforce, viewed 8 May 2016, https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/08/business-soft-skills.html

Impact of Technology on Communication- Blog post #1

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Explain how technology has impacted communication. Provide an example of how technology has influenced how you communicate. (p. 79)

 

Technology has allowed people limitless options to communicate, it has increased convenience for people to reach out to one another. Communication has been ‘energised by technological development’ (Guirdham 2005, p.5) and thus enabled the prevalent use of:

  • Email- rapid increase of usage, a ‘convenient and an inexpensive means of communicating’ (Costigan 2016, p. 2)
  •  Rise of technology is such that it has created a “digital culture of sharing” (Nicholas, A & Wolfgang, S 2016, p.439) with with social networking sites such as Facebook, Google+ and Youtube.
  • Mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Line, and Snapchat. Figure 1 displays this with the rapid increase of users in mobile and social messaging in just 2013.
  • Video conferencing has also been made possible with applications such as Skype, Zoom, and Wiggio. It ‘allows the group to hear/see/solve issues first hand’ (Costigan 2016, p.2) while being relatively cheap than travelling physically.

    mobile social scale

    Figure 1: Mobile Social Scale
    Source: Benedict Evans (2013)

While technology has expanded options or people to communicate, Barnett and O’Rourke (2011 p.3) states that it is still important to ‘develop more skills to communicate effectively and quickly’. One must still expand and try develop other types of skills, especially in the workplace, and the sheer amount of posting in social media sites may not necessarily improve these.

Social messaging applications such as Facebook have aided me a lot in sending short and quick messages to friends and family, where long chunks of text are not necessary. It has been an extremely valuable tool in this aspect.

 

 

References:

  • Barnett, S & O’Rourke, S 2011, Communication: organisation and innovation, 3rd edn, Pearson, Auckland.
  • Costigan, L 2016, Lesson 3: The medium and the message, course notes, COMM11003: Communication in Professional Contexts, CQUniversity e-courses, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au.
  • Evans, B (2013), Mobile Social Scale, digital image, Benedict Evans, viewed 29 April 2016, http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2013/11/5/mobile-is-eating-the-world-autumn-2013-edition.
  • Guirdham, M 2005,  Communicating across Cultures at Work, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
  • Nicholas, A, Wolfgang, S 2016, The rise of ‘sharing’ in communication and media studies, Information, Communication and Society, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 437-441.