Milestone Essay
As put by Dalmas Taylor and Irwin Altman in the Social penetration theory, the interpersonal communication in a relationship develops from shallow and non intimate levels between individuals to a more intimate communication (Griffin, 113). In this theory, the two psychologists state identify the path of communication in a relationship as one that starts by general communication between individuals to an in depth and detailed one. Ideally, this theory is true as I came to learn from my relationship with my supervisor. The following essay will give a real life experience of the social penetration theory.
About a year ago, I got to work with a certain manufacturing company X (name withheld for confidentiality) over my school vocation. In addition to my desire to make an extra dime in order to make ends meet, I was also interested in gaining some experience in the corporate world which should surely be a big addition to my professional life. My first day at work goes down my memory as the most horrible day I have had in the recent past. My supervisor was such a strict person; he was a man of many words, most of which were aimed at keeping workers on their toes. According to me, this man was a no nonsense man. He talked nothing apart from work. I vividly remember that he did not even say hi to me on this day, he just assigned a role to me. The workers seemed to be unhappy with the communication between them and the supervisor. However, I later came to refute my opinions when I saw the supervisor engaging in healthy conversations with some of the employees over the lunch break. He was even cracking personal jokes with some of them. At that instance, little did I know that I would become one of his closest allies over the 4 month period that I was to stay at the company.
Over the first week, the communication between me and the supervisor was minimal. It was mainly job related; he would assign tasks to me and frequently come to check on my progress. He spent minimal time in my work station. However, this situation changed over the next two weeks. He would spend more time at my work station as we talked about the job at hand and frequently talked about my school life. He would often compare it with his. Generally, I was a good worker. I had the theoretical knowhow which was quickly turned into practical knowhow as I was a fast learner. This was one of the factors which led to the increasing close relationship between me and the supervisor.
The frequent visits and stays at my work station continued. By the fourth week, we were cracking jokes and had gone for a football match with him. After this, I and he in the company of other workers would always hang out on every weekend in a local joint together as we watched the English Primer league together. By then, I was calling the supervisor by his nickname, ‘robot’ which he acquired after he introduced a robot in one of the production lines some 5 years ago. By the end of the third month, Robot knew about my love life and I also knew about his family. I knew how he had met with his wife and he always told me when something was happening between him and his wife. By the end of the fourth month, my relationship with Robot had developed from being a general one to a deeper one. He was no longer a stranger; he was a great friend. I could confide in him and so did he. Up to now, he is a close friend. We hand out occasionally and once or twice, he has brought his kids over to my place as he and his wife went on vocations.
Works Cited
Griffin, E. A. A First Look at Communication Theory. 8th ed. (2011) Boston: Mcgrawhill.
