Personal Reflection On My Interpersonal Communication

From the beginning I struggled with many things when it came to my overall communication skills. Speaking publicly was not something I had experience with so I didn’t know what to do with my hands for starters. I would feel a sense of uncomfort when talking to an audience. My instant reaction to this was to either play with my hands or keep them glued by my side. This was the first challenge that I faced over the duration of the class, but it certainly wasn’t the last.
Using buzzwords in my speeches was a habit I had to shake early because it was becoming a distraction to my audience. I knew this because it was distracting me when I reviewed my speeches after the fact. My biggest communication challenge of all though is my emotion. Stepping …show more content…
I have learned to open up to people and be comfortable enough to talk about things I care about. Some of the people in my audience throughout this class were people I needed to grab last minute that I never really socialized with never mind presented a speech in front of. I am also comfortable with starting conversation and getting to know people even if it’s our first interaction with each other. Opening up and starting conversation has drastically improved my interpersonal communication skills, but there are things I still need to work on as well.
Like I stated earlier, my body language and emotion doesn’t always compliment what I am actually trying to express. This is definitely something I need to continue working on in the future. This class hasn’t just taught me how to present to an audience or have a conversation one on one, but it’s helped me with group communication too. The discussions week to week in class have allowed me to improve my group thinking, brainstorming, and even criticism toward other classmates work. Back in week 4 I stated that a group of minds is better than one and I believe the same to be true …show more content…
My language, voice, and body language had a negative impact on my speech communication. I think I studerred with some sentences because of nerves during my speeches throughout the course. My voice was very monotone and I was criticized for that after almost every single speech I did. Like I said earlier, it was a comfort zone thing for me and I think it reflected in my grades appropriately. Not only was I monotone, but my body language mirrored my voice as well. I was criticized for being stiff and looking back on my speeches I look awkward up there like a pole. I believe language, voice, and body language go together and without one the other two are affected also. It’s like a domino affect so if one falls then they all fall. With practice I can improve these areas and overall my speech communication will thrive as a result.
Every speech had a message, but the supporting details are what make those messages so effective. In my introduction speech I told my audience a personal story about my cousin committing suicide. This wasn’t something I had to share with them, but I believed it was going to help the audience understand who I am. My informative speech was meant to talk about the history of Boston, but I opened with grabbing a sausage at Fenway Park before a ball game. This was my intent because getting the audience to understand how I view my city can open them