Tell about the Activity: What/where/who/when/why
Over the holidays, I got a chance to watch a polo match which was aired on television together with my elder cousin. My cousin happens to be a fan of the polo match and convinced me to join him in the activity after a praise of the sport. I found the polo match; which is a sport that involves riding on the back of horses, a very interesting sport to watch. Most importantly, my attention shifted to horses that were involved in the match. Consequently, I was very interested in knowing more about the horses since this was my first experience with these animals. A discussion therefore ensued between me and my cousin where we chatted on length about the horse animals. I gained important knowledge about the unique characters of horses, the different breeds of horses, different horse games, the different foods they feed on, their uses and many other things about them.
What did you learn about your communication skills?
During the discussion, I learnt that I was not a very good listener. I happened to lose track in the course of the discussion and my cousin had to brief me on various aspects more than once. I also established that it was difficult for me to maintain eye contact during the discussion process. Lastly, I was not confident enough to express my thought about horses since I thought my cousin knew more about them than me.
What did you learn about how native speakers communicate?
I learnt that native speakers are soo much acquitted to their language that they talk with speed, and make use of idioms and signs that they only consider comfortable to them. Most of the time, native speakers usually believe most of the people they communicate with are just like them.
How successful were you at communicating with others? What were your difficulties? What were your strengths?
During the discussion, I managed to use body language to express my feelings over the topic. I used nodding for example ,to approve of my understanding of what we were discussing about. I was also patient during the whole discussion process with hope that I could learn more about horses. This happened to be my major strengths in the communication process. Conversely, I sometimes lost my listening ability. Also, I found it difficult to maintain proper eye contact during the discussion.
How are you making progress in your communication?
After the discussion about horses, I learnt that I had really improved in my communication. This especially is with reference to the communication skills. I was able to apply some of the skills like the use of body language and exercise of patience at a personal level. I however learnt that I still have to purse some other skills like proper listening, which are useful in effective communication as well.
