Meeting Context Summary
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Port St. Lucie on May 12, 2014; the meeting started at 7:00 PM at Port St. Lucie City Hall, 121 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States of America. Present during the meeting were Vice Mayor Linda Bartz of District 1, Council Member Michelle Lee Berger of District 2, Council Member Shannon M. Martin of District 3, Councilman Ron Bowen of District 4, Jeff Bremer the City Manager, the City Clerk, committees, and the public.
The agendas of the regular meeting are the proclamations and special presentations of the National Safe Boating Week, National Public Works, Community Action Month, Police Memorial Week, Relay for Life Day, and Presentation of Certificates. In addition, the other agendas are Public to be Heard (agenda items only), Addition or Deletion to agenda and Approval of Agenda, Approval of Consent Agenda, Readings and Hearing of Public Ordinances (first and second), Resolutions, New Business, Reports of Council Members on Committee Assignments, Public to be Heard (non agenda items only), and Adjournment.
Linda Bartz, Vice Mayor of District 1 presided the meeting. She was very calm, soft spoken, and focused on the presentation of the Agendas during the meeting. Vice Mayor Bartz possessed the character of a good leader; her manner was kind while she assisted the people who accepted the plaques of proclamations. She focused on the common objectives and the desired results of the City Council meeting. During the meeting, Vice Mayor Bartz established information for the completion of the agendas presented. She listened and talked authentically with the other members of the council and discussed the common issues of the City of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Poor and Good Communication Skills Observed and Examples
Vice Mayor Bartz communication skill and style is sympathetic, expressive, and systematic. During the proclamations, she was very focused as every recipient accepted the plaque and appreciative on the different opportunities she has attended, and she listened to every response from the other members and committees in the meeting. Council Member Berger communication skill caught my attention; her communication skill is good enough and her style is direct, expressive, and systematic. She has participated in exchanging of ideas during the meeting most of the time. Council Member Martin is straight forward, direct, and calm when she talked during the meeting. One of the proclamations she suggested for a clearer presentation from the committee to let the public understand the situation. Councilman Bowen is soft spoken and systematic both in skill and style of communication. He has spoken about the absence of the Mayor and explained the reason that made the other members understood. All the members of the City Council of Port St. Lucie have good communication skills. They all possessed the ability of being good leaders with good communication skills. Their communication skills and styles affect how others reacted and responded, and it managed to avoid any conflict, increased productivity, and improved teamwork during the meeting.
Rate of Questioning and Active Listening Skills
Council Member Berger among others was the most responsive during the meeting. She cheerfully encouraged the person as one of the representatives through asking the Engineer to present a better picture of the project. She suggested that the representative should present better insights for the benefit of the public to understand everything.
Council Member Martin possessed a good question that made her as one of the best in terms of asking question. She was very observant and listened carefully as others do; among others, she was the only one who asked about the period or when would the project start and end in scheduled since it was not mentioned by the Engineer representative. She was referring about the Crystal Lagoon or Tradition Lagoon Ordinance 14-20 Rezone.
Councilman Bowen has the least response during the meeting. He was a sort of a listener that observed the flow of the meeting. When he was asked about a resolution, he automatically responds with a very accurate answer. The flow of his communication was good and conveyed a strong awareness to the entire body.
Overall, all the leaders were active listeners, respond to any questions, and asked credible questions from the different committees. Regarding the absence of the Mayor, everyone agreed to wait for the clear explanation about the Resolution 14-R75 in particular. Both Berger and Martin suggested not rushing over or deciding without further clarification. They only showed what a good leader they were.
Persuasion and Influence
It was evident that the members of the City Council of Port St. Lucie are good leaders; they communicated not only to convey some information, they persuaded and influenced others. They established credibility that is based on their knowledge and expertise, and the credibility of their relationship among the other members and the population of the city as a whole. They described the benefit of the public about the ordinances and resolutions passed in the council. They were very flexible when it comes to some adjustments and changes. The leaders compelled in certain levels emotionally and not plainly relied on data. They have the sense of emotionally attached with the public overall benefits. Despite some comments raised by some citizens during the meeting, the audience received their message clear and fruitful, and they influenced the audience in a positive manner. In addition, they obtained a better grasp on how the public reacted to their proposals, proclamations, or resolutions.
Nonverbal Communication Techniques
During the meeting, every leader has distinct nonverbal communication skills. The audience or spectators watched their appearance, actions, behaviors, and attitudes while delivering their individual ideas about the agendas especially their facial expressions and tone of voice. Personally, I would say that they have their techniques on how to react or respond to the situation through their actions only. Through their nonverbal communication, they conveyed well every single idea in the meeting. I never noticed of any awkward moments or any negative gestures even on sensitive topics discussed. They were very professional in terms of movements and body language, and they were very accommodating and warm to everyone in the room especially the people involved in the proclamations.
Analysis Summary
All the members of the City Council of Port St. Lucie are great leaders. They are the type of leaders people would follow based on their knowledge and expertise of their profession. The fact that the people of Port St Lucie, Florida with different needs, challenges, and talents, the leaders still perform their responsibility or duty to the public. The leaders have the responsibility to support the overall objectives of the entire community. They adapted the communication that complements the public to sustain harmonious and productive city. From the Vice Mayor to the Council Members, City Manager, City Clerk, and different committees have powerful and high-impact communication skills and abilities to lead the people better.
Great leaders are great communicators. Leaders have the ability to develop awareness internally and externally. The acquired or gained communication skills are suitable for the public interest and application in a positive manner. Good leaders are good communicators, good listeners, and smart in everything they do. They are skilled at reading and sensing the dynamics, values, moods, attitudes, and other concerns of the audience or the public. The quality of good leaders makes a good success.
Reference
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