FREE ESSAY ON COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

More on How I Communicate…
I have always made the extra effort to express my ideas and opinions as clearly as I
possibly can; idealistically hoping that most people can understand and embrace them.
However, I have just realized, after reading Chapter 6-8 of my Looking In Looking Out
textbook, that I have yet to develop my full potential as a communicator. Before
completing this reading assignment, I did not fully understand a few critical
communication concepts and principles, such as the ambiguities of non-verbal human
behavior, kinesics, proxemics and the process of self-disclosure, among others. But, most
likely, from now on, I will be able to engage in different types of conversations that
can be more rewarding for my interlocutors and myself.
As the years have gone by, I have been noticing that I increasingly listen more carefully
not only to what people say and how they say it, but also, to what people do not say,
knowingly or not. May be I have been growing older and/or have been learning from my
personal experiences. Since, there have been occasions in which my limited ability to
read the non-verbal content of what people were "telling" me, did not allow me to achieve
what I had initially intended. For instance, a few years ago, when I was beginning to
sale life insurance on a part time basis, I lost numerous sales because I could not
always discern what the client's non-verbal behavior was signaling or showing me
throughout the sale's presentation. In time, by trial and error, I learned to perceive
and react more appropriately, to what my prospective clients were communicating
non-verbally. However, If I had understood, at that time, what I understand now about the
subtleties of kinesics and proxemics, I probably would have been a more effective and
prosperous salesman.
Likewise, the process and management of self-disclosure explained in the textbook has
taught a great deal not only about the subject matter, but also, most importantly, about
myself. Since I was a child, I have been considered a rather extroverted individual who
exercises a high level of self-disclosure with most people. Generally, my experience
sharing personal and sometimes intimate information with my relatives and my friends has
been rewarding, because they have always seen me as someone who is honest, reliable and
trustworthy. Notwithstanding, I have been in relationships in which I have disclosed too
much information about myself, perhaps too soon, and its results have been detrimental
and/or counterproductive. Now, I realize that in those instances I did not follow the
appropriate guidelines to choose the adequate level of self-disclosure, as explained in
chapter 8 of the textbook.
In second thoughts… I have just decided no to resale my Looking In Looking out
textbook. I am sure that I will need to refer back to it many times in the future.