Improving Communication Competence
Human interactions would not be possible without proper communication. The transfer of information from one individual to the other allows individuals to understand each other and as such take relevant action. In a world that has rapidly developed over time, communication plays a significant role towards this advancement. Therefore, the importance of the process cannot be stressed enough. In this case, interpersonal communication does not only happen automatically, but is one that takes into consideration the participation of individuals in the process through different ways, whether this is done consciously or subconsciously.
The complexity of interpersonal communication stems in the realization of the different ways one can communicate. In this instance, whether this involves verbal communication in which case involves aspects such as face-to-face communication, or non-verbal communication, in which instance is subtle in nature and guided by various body cues such as eye-contact or body movements (Fielding, 26). As a result, interpersonal communication becomes a challenging concept to master. In this regard, I am adequately challenged in this respect, especially when making presentations. As such, I realize that this is one area that would catapult me to higher levels once I am able to manage the challenges associated with this type of interpersonal communication. For this reason, this paper endeavors to shed light on personal complexities revolving around verbal presentation. This aspect will involve the engagement of communication theories aimed to understand the underlying reasons, and hence provide actionable steps that I can follow in order to flourish in this respect.
As indicated above, I have realized that public speaking is an art I am yet to grasp. By virtue of my future goals, it is imperative for one to have strong communication skills in order to advance in the course of my career. This aspect considers the communication ability of an individual in conveying the message, as well as selling the concept and fostering understanding of the issue under discussion. Despite being a social and talkative individual in a small group setting, I find it rather challenging to address a large crowd. In spite of taking adequate amounts of time preparing for such situations, I always seem to deliver the message poorly to the audience as a result of several factors. Firstly, I seem to forget a bulk of important information that I seek to convey to the audience. In this regards, my mind blocks off information upon the realization that I am making the presentation to a large group. As a result, the message is ineffectively delivered to the audience. Secondly, I find it difficult to maintain eye-contact, one of the most essential non-verbal cues, while making presentations. As such, I always prepare a speech beforehand, and as a result of stage fright, I seem to read directly from the prepared speech. In addition, I do not have a formidable stage presence.
As a result, I barely engage with the audience who often times lose their attention in which case getting it back is a daunting task. Thirdly, my voice stutters while speaking to large crowds of people. This aspect is often characterized by inaudible sound which lacks clarity and as such fails to command a presence while making the presentation. In the end, the speech appears rehearsed, plain, and boring. Lastly, my body movement is rarely existent as I am always rooted in the same position. This aspect portrays an image of rigidity to audience members and as a result become less engaged in the process.
The above factors impede my communication process as I am not able to convey the message to the audience in the right package. In the end, the message gets watered down by the minor specifics of speech delivery which create significant impact on the message recipient. For instance, in one instance, I had previously rehearsed greatly for a presentation. However, when called to present, my heart raced and was unable to control my breath movement. As a result I became very anxious and as a result became highly uncomfortable. In this regard, I lost my initial focus and ended up mixing up concepts to a point where I did not understand the message myself. This situation has set precedence to other presentations I have undertaken as they are also plagued by my uncertainty and fear of communicating the message to the audience. As a result, such situations have hampered my goal of achieving set communication goals.
The prime candidate responsible for the above situation is anxiety. In this case despite being adequately prepared for speech presentation, I always seem to get anxious about the upcoming speech presentation. As such, this realization clouds up my mind and tricks it to believing that I am not ready for making my presentation. Therefore, this aspect creates the spill-over effect through the exhibition of other behavior patterns such as forgetting the message content, or rigidity and speech changes, aspects evident during my presentations. In this regard, several communication theories have been formulated to explain both the context of these communication problems and the intended communication process as detailed further below:
The premise of this theory lies in the determination of the essence of human relationships and their connections to culture. In this regard, one is expected to maintain face in accordance with respective cultures. In this regard, the face mainly presents one’s persona and an identity individuals present in the public (Mortensen 34). In addition, various factors exist applied in negotiation of face as indicated below:
Concern over one’s face and that of others- in this regard, one may become mainly concerned about the image they present to others and as such guide the context of resulting behavior from this realization. In this regard, this concept applies to my situation in which case I become highly critical of my image and how the audience will perceive me. As a result, this aspect provides an ideal ground for fostering self-doubt and therefore manifests itself through other ways such as forgetting the message’s content, lack of appropriate stage presence through body movements, amongst others.
Individuals from a collectivist background often aim to avoid conflict while those from an individualistic background tend to dominate conflict in an attempt to maintain their face in the society. In accordance with my situation, being an individualistic person, trying to fit in the audience’s main collectivistic aspect invokes the understanding of relevant cultural consideration in an attempt to communicate with this group. As such, this means that I have not managed to adequately address cultural considerations in this respect and as a result, creates the mental perception of a lack of preparedness.
The status quo concept contributes significantly to the maintenance of face in an attempt to maintain power. The already established precepts of power in the society affect the communication process in regards to the respective power warranted to individuals in the society. In this regards, my personal belief creates self-doubt through the consideration of a lack of the required power to influence an audience.
Classical Rhetorical Theory
This theory explains the art of persuasion in public speaking and how it can be effectively utilized. According to this theory, there exists three main elements required for effective communication, these are, the speaker, speech, and the listener (Mortensen, 52). The theory depicts the powerful nature of speech which the speaker uses to influence the speaker in order to change his/her perspective. In this regard, rhetoric is identified as an art which takes into consideration the speech content and its potential to elicit required action from the listener. For this reason, the theory encompasses five canons, invention, disposition, style, memory, and delivery.
Invention explains the creation of content that involves good ideas, which will be delivered to the audience. In order to persuade the audience, one must have fairly good points that provide an argumentative basis that clearly directs the listeners towards a specific point. In this instance, I undertake research on the topic I am presenting, in order to have supportive claims in my arguments. Disposition involves the consideration of the most appropriate arrangement that allows a logical flow of the speech’ points, in order to enhance the listeners’ understanding. I always reread my speech with the listeners in mind, so I can organize the points that will persuade the audience towards accepting the main point.
Three Factor Theory
This theory encompasses the three main facets of behavioral, physiological, and cognitive considerations. The first aspect takes into consideration the controlling of feelings of tension. The physiological element focuses on the physical manifestation of tension through sweat and breathing rate. The cognitive factor creates the consciousness of the existence of the physiological and behavioral aspect (Mortensen, 64). In this regards, I manifest the three factors identified thereby affecting the impact of my speech delivery process.
Conclusion
All in all, the essence of communication boils down to one fact, whether the message has been communicated effectively. With the aid of the above discussed communication theories, I have been able to identify my weak points and as a result devised the most appropriate measure to address my communication challenges. In the same way, the assessment of theories in relation to one’s communication challenges will assist individuals to understand their communication process and how they can improve it.
Works Cited
Fielding, L. Effective Communication in Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2005. Print.
Mortensen, C D. Communication Theory. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2008. Print.
