interpersonal communication journal

Background

This course has taken an experiential approach, with the goal of not just learning about interpersonal communication, but also improving relationships and improving communication habits. In this last journal, you will be reflecting on your communication habits, identifying areas for growth, and creating a personal action plan for improving your interpersonal communication style.

Your action plan be organized into five sections. You will share portions the first, third, and fourth sections with a partner, friend, or co-worker and integrate their feedback into your plan, because involving others in our personal improvement plans helps ensure commitment and success. Ensure that both of you can schedule 15-25 minutes for a conversation space that facilitates a safe, honest, and thorough discussion. Also, make sure you start working on this journal early enough in the week to allow time to collect this valuable feedback.

Instructions

Reflection on Delivery and Messaging (1-2 pages)

Using insight from the course and textbook, analyze your communication delivery style and messaging.

• What are your communication strengths?
• Ask a friend, family member, or co-worker about your strengths as a communicator, and about areas for improvement. Explain who this person is in your life and why their opinion matters. Did you agree with their assessment? Did any feedback about your communication style surprise you?
• Which areas of your communication style could use improvement (e.g., listening, expressing vulnerability, nonverbal communication, emotional expression, conflict resolution, better eye contact, tone, body language, appropriateness of voice, pacing, delivery, messaging, countering negativity, posture, staying present, eliminating overly reactive responses, creating boundaries, etc.)? The aforementioned is a small part of what makes up communication. You may have more to add to the mix. Use personal examples to demonstrate why you need a makeover in specific areas.
• Reflect on how your communication impacts your relationships. Is the messaging engaging, authentic, and relational? Are you speaking with the person rather than at them? Are you a good listener? Use terminology from our textbook and cite them, and provide specific, real-life examples to support your conclusions.

Practicing New Skills: Understand Your Audience (1 page)

In this section of your plan, you will consider the audience with whom you will practice and improve your communication style (e.g. partner, friend, or coworker). Remember, it is important to understand who your audience is, so consider the following factors: relevancy, receptivity, setting, adaptability, cultural norms, etc.

• Identify your chosen audience. Who are they, and why does your communication performance matter enough to focus on improving communication with them?
• Describe the setting of your conversation.
• How might these strategies improve your relationship moving forward? Provide specific examples.
• Relay a past awkward conversation with your chosen audience and how you might have handled the situation differently with your newfound knowledge.
• What could you change in terms of messaging and potential setting (e.g., a private space with fewer distractions or time of day) to ensure what you are saying is understood? Why would these changes matter to your audience?

Setting Goals (1-2 paragraphs)

Identify 2-3 specific goals to improve your communication with your chosen audience. Cite where in the textbook, resource videos, or this course, you found these strategic remedies. Ask a friend, family member, or co-worker if your goals are doable. Include their commentary.

Goal examples:

• I will practice active listening in all my conversations for one week by paraphrasing key points to ensure understanding.
• I will use I statements instead of You statements in my next three conflicts to express my feelings without blaming.
• I will pause for 3 seconds before responding in conversations to improve thoughtfulness.
• I will practice summarizing others’ points during disagreements to ensure I understand their perspective.

The Makeover Toolkit (1 page)

Develop a communication makeover toolkit that includes small actionable changes that will help you achieve your goals. Ask a friend, family member, or co-worker how these changes could be applied to promote long-term results.

Toolkit examples:

• Listening: Commit to not interrupting for 48 hours and journal your experience.
• Conflict Resolution: Role-play tough conversations with a friend or family member beforehand and ask for their thoughts.
• Confidence in Speaking: Record yourself giving a short talk and critique your tone, pace, and body language.
• For assertiveness: Practice delivering clear I statements in a mirror or recording app.
• For nonverbal communication: Track posture and facial expressions during the day and situations that caused your body language to shift.
• At a family gathering, explore how conversations could be a carryover from your childhood. Perhaps your makeover is to focus on stopping yourself from using a reactive style with certain family members and explain how easy it is to go there.

Final Reflection (1 paragraph)

What are some of your favorite concepts you have discovered in this course? This reflection will be useful in the future development of this course.

Submission Guidelines

Length: This assignment must be 4-5 pages (excluding the title and reference page). Include a heading for each section.

References: Use APA formatting for in-text citations and a References page for documenting the textbook and any other course resources you use.

File: Submit your journal in Microsoft Word (.docx) file format.

Grading

This assignment is worth 15% of your course grade and is due by Saturday at 11:59 PM PT. Refer to the rubric for more specifics on how this will be graded.