1. Introduction
Working in groups might present problems which may develop into conflict during group work tasks. However, such a scenario presents an opportunity to reflect and learn new things. Therefore, I in this paper I will discuss my interpersonal effectiveness, which includes my communication effectiveness working with my group members on course assignments. This will be done by reflecting a specific incident that happened in our group and linked it with a theory, which will be media richness. The media richness theory proposes that the channel used for communication presents the implications in production of the message as it was sent. Hence, different media have different varieties of richness or effectiveness in delivering the message as intended. Later I will discuss some SMART goals that will be done through several steps for the interpersonal skills development to help me to improve my skills to develop my performance as a team member in my career future.
2. Critical Incident Analysis
Developing an understanding of the interaction outcomes between myself and colleagues in my group requires that various aspects of experiences are placed in perspective. Thus, my interactions with colleagues are informed by activities that are collectively done which encompass observation, experimentation and conceptualization etcetera. I note that these aspects are crucial in self-reflection in order to divulge weaknesses and strengths in my interpersonal skills.
As I have mentioned earlier in the introduction, the theory of media richness argues that various forms of media present different levels of effectiveness in accurate delivery of messages. For instance, face to face communication has far more effectiveness as compared to say email or SMS. In this regard, I infer that different forms of media are useful for different purposes. For example, email can be effective in sending a message about a meeting at a far off date such as in a month’s time while Facebook can be effective for sending urgent (short period such as a day) meeting notifications through instant chats. Hence, emergency messages should utilise channels that can reach out to intended persons in good time.
Based on this assumptions it is immediately clear from the table above that my mistake was using a not so rich media for delivering a message that required urgency. It is apparent that the wall on the Facebook page did not impact the urgency with which the message was meant. Instead, a richer approach would be to send Facebook inbox chat messages to members Facebook messaging is regarded as personal as compared to wall posts and, hence, expected to capture the attention faster.
3 Development Area
As I reflect on the experiences I went through resulting into failed communication, I observe that I require to make improvements in the future to better communicate intended message to the group members. In this regard, I note that group members require a more instant and personal communication channel to achieve effectiveness. Hence, in the future I would employ messaging on Facebook as an appropriate approach to delivering my message to the clientele. Therefore, I will focus on having discussions with group members that yield suggestions for communication channels that enhance collaborative efforts. Which can result in the use of a media channel that is acceptable to all in delivering messages communicated on the group’s activities.
3.1 SMART Goals for Development
Presented here in is a collection of my reflections on the effectiveness of interpersonal skills in communication employing Facebook as a communication medium. The evaluation of my experiences reveals that I was ineffective in developing appropriate communication through Facebook wall posting. However, after engaging in deep reflection, I have presented SMART objectives that are geared towards eradication of my shortfall in appropriate interpersonal skills. Consequently, the execution of the SMART goals presented serve as a first step towards improving my interpersonal skills while at the same time enhancing the effectiveness of communication medium used in future.
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