Misheard or Misinterpreted

There comes a time where communication is key or else conflict will arise.  I learned in class that everyone handles conflict, and even communicates, differently.

I believe having the conflicts/communications lesson in the second month of school was a great place to set the lesson because we would have lived with each other for half of a semester, so for some, conflict and communication problems probably have arisen between some people.

An interesting thing I learned, but sort of already knew, was that I am a Compromising Fox.  This means I have a "meet me halfway" or "you bend, I bend" mentality.  Even though I'm a Fox, I'm also a Collaborating Owl, Avoiding Turtle and Accommodating Teddy Bear.  These also all make sense as well, cause I can see different situations where I one of these personality animals come out.  For example: the Avoiding Turtle comes out when I have a problem and I don't want to talk about it a that particular time and place.  This example actually happened recently with me.

In my personal opinion, my greatest communication strength would be the ability to come up with a compromise.  I may not have all the details in place, but negotiating is a strong point.  My greatest communication weakness would be the fact that I don't open up about what's truly bothering me, I just let it continue until I break.

I believe I have communicated with my team fairly well, but I will continue to do what I have been doing this whole time.  I will continue to tell my team of situations that arise in life and with the project.  Also, to become a better leader, I will attempt to help in the resolution of a conflict that may occur.


Deidre R. Hardy

Communication is Key

Communication is important in every aspect of life.  Therefore, consistently learning about ways in which we communicate and resolve conflict is important in order to remind ourselves that we always have communication skills that we can improve on. 

In the Conflict Management Style exercise, my top conflict style was the Accommodating Teddy Bear.  I think this style fits me well because I am more concerned about other people’s happiness more than my own.  I try to make sure that there is no conflict and that if there is, that it gets resolved quickly.  Lately two of my best friends have been fighting with one another, and I am trying to help them resolve it.  This is evidence of the “Teddy Bear” within me.  I want everything to be peaceful between everyone, however though this is not always possible.

I would say my greatest communication strength is being considerate of others because I value other’s opinions and feelings.  Making sure that you understand and consider other’s opinions and ideas is important for effective communication to take place.  I would say my weakest communication strength is not always effectively communicating my own opinion or feelings because I often will let my opinion fall to the wayside in order for others to be heard and matter.  This weakness is not good because it causes repressed feelings to sometimes build up and explode all at once.  This definitely affected me my freshman year of college because issues with my roommate arose late in the semester because I finally voiced my opinion and feelings that I had kept to myself. 

Communicating with my Summit group this semester so far has been going well.  However, in living with others conflict can always arise.  Ways that I can better communicate with my group is making sure they know how I am feeling so that a conflict doesn’t arise way after when it should have been previously handled.  Conflicts can be handled much more easily and quickly if the issue is resolved right after the fact. 

In order to be a better leader, I would need to make sure that my opinion is known.  Effective leaders cannot lead if they do not have any opinions or morals in which they stand by. 

-Caitlin L.

Communication - Cathy

During our class last Friday, I found out that my communication style is Collaborating Owl and my back-up style is Compromising Fox. This is pretty much what I expected. A lot of times, I feel strongly about my own opinion, but I also realize that others feel strongly about their opinion, so I don't always want to make people go along with what I say. I can recognize that they probably have valid points as well, so if we put our ideas together, it will be even better than what either of us could do on our own.
When it comes to communication, my greatest strength is that I try to be very considerate of the other person's feelings and remain as polite as possible, instead of being demanding and accusatory. I also try to use neutral terms and approach the conflict from an objective angle. That way, the other person won't feel like they are being attacked, and they will be more likely to act more rationally and begin good dialogue about the problem. My greatest weakness is that sometimes I am a bit of an Avoiding Turtle if I am not comfortable with the person or I don't want to "rock the boat" if I think it might be unnecessary.
In order to communicate better with my Summit team, I could make sure that I am being open about concerns I have very early, instead of avoiding them to the point where they become big problems. I haven't had an issue so far but I don't rule out the possibility since we are only 2 months in so far. Also, we could try to meet and delegate responsibilities so all of us know the expectations up front. In handling and resolving conflict, I could just make sure that I am trying to keep an open mind to other people's suggestions and just be honest all the time so it doesn't lead to miscommunication.

Conflict? Nah, we got this!

29 October 2012 Summit Blog:

Kay Honeycutt

This presentation could not have been better placed in our schedule. Conflict will arise at some point in most situations; it’s inevitable. Conflict in itself is not a bad thing as long as the individuals involved know how to work together to get past it and, in the best circumstances, learn something from it! Recently I have had to confront a member of our project (Not a student member) about how a lack of communication or even the method can cause confusion, and hard feelings. The last thing I want to take away from this experience is anger or annoyance with anyone evolved. I contacted the individual and as of now, the issue is out in the open and attention has been called to it. It is hard to say whether or not it is resolved – only time will tell. Lesson learned from this…. Even though texting may be the easiest way to ensure immediate communication, it is NOT the best way to approach any situation that may end negatively. Face to face should always be attempted.

When dealing with a conflict I would have to say my strongest communication strength is just not being afraid to confront the situation. I don’t always jump right in and call it out; I consider the best method for confrontation and to whom I should speak with. I always try to consider how to word what I want to say and if something should come out wrong I never hesitate to admit it and either apologize or reword it in a more positive way.

My greatest weakness regarding conflict would have to be the moments where I read too much into things or take too many things personally when they are not meant to be taken that way. Example: while talking with one of our advisers half the time the only response we get is “okay” or “thanks”. It is completely possible that said individual could just be very busy. It is also very possible that that person is not happy with the answers given and are showing that in the response. Our contact with this adviser is mainly through text thus making the tone of an answer impossible to know. I have a tendency to automatically assume this individual is unhappy or upset with my responses and I take it personally. I do this in many situations and it is very difficult. I do realize when I do it and that makes it easier to stop myself and question whether or not it is really something to fret about. If I can have a clear mind then I am able to objectively consider the situation and confront it in the best way if it is needed. This also aids in “picking your battles.” Too many people act like the sky is falling every time anything happens. Thankfully I am not this way too often and neither are the members in my group. Most of us are very easy going and the communication is very open so we can decide as a group what is a situation that needs to be discussed and how best to break it down and make sure everyone gets something in the end.

As of this point in the semester, there have been no communication issues within our group as far as students go. We all are very open and considerate of the others and I love that about us! When issues do arise (on topics from day to day life) there is always someone to get opinions from and listen and I could not ask for anything better out of my group. One of our girls had a very difficult situation recently and the three others spent multiple conversations discussing how best to help her deal with and learn from the experience and just be there for her in the end. We all were able to come together and just be there for her. The situation was less than ideal but the level of open communication has brought us even closer. (: