Raquel's Communication Post-1

One example of a time when I was able to share and create meaning through interaction with others is during group work in my Spirituality & Conflict Transformation course this summer. I was amazed that as an Atheist I could share the same concept of the word “spirituality” as someone who was quite religious (Gonzalez 2006). My group expressed a shared understanding of the meaning of the word. Additionally, through interaction with them, I decided on a new word to replace spirituality for myself: humanitarianism.

Working fulltime throughout my college career has enabled me to practice and advance my communication skills. When I first began applying for jobs after graduating high school, I lacked the work experience of older applicants, so I included a section on my resume for volunteer work to show my qualifications. Since then, my resume has been revised several times to reflect my skills and relevant experience as clearly and accurately as possible. Part of what made this successful is that I rephrased or enriched terms, titles, and responsibilities in my resume in order to present the language most appealing to employers.

In addition, I crafted a new cover letter for every position I applied to so I could target the specific needs and interests of that company. This taught me how to tailor my writing (academic and non-academic) to attract very different audiences. I learned how to emphasize my organizational and multi-tasking skills when I applied for a bookseller position, but to accentuate my people skills and active problem solving when I applied for a position as a Senior Customer Consultant.

Lastly, I have gained valuable experience through interviews on discerning the appropriate responses based on the company culture and the personality of the interviewer. There are some interviews where the atmosphere is relaxed and it is acceptable to wear more casual clothing, use slang, or even eat or drink during the interview. Other times, the setting is much more rigid, requiring formal dress and language, with little conversation.

During my Freshman Writing Seminar at American University, I read an anthology of famous speeches edited by Senator Robert Torricelli, called In Our Own Words (1999). This book is absolutely bursting with examples of the characteristics and application of great communication. The best example of the power and importance of practicing effective communication is found in Virginia Senator Don P. Halsey’s speech to Congress extolling the virtues of great oratory during the 1890’s (In Our Own Words 3-4). Senator Halsey describes the power of a great public speaker by saying:
…when our social fabric shall become rotten and need renewal-then no
one need ever fear that there will not arise great men who, by the
power of oratory greater perhaps than the world has ever known before,
will arouse the people…(4).

This statement shows how important it is to be an effective speaker. I have already shown how it is imperative to practice effective writing and listening. A great communicator can persuade, motivate, and inform crowds and people of extremely diverse backgrounds or interest through his/her writing or speech.



Works Cited

Gonzalez, Raquel. “Spirituality From the Perspective of Two Different Cultures”.
Spirituality & Conflict Transformation. Professor Al Fuertes. George Mason
University: Fairfax, Summer 2006. 4.

Hasley, Senator Don P. “Extoling the Virtues of Great Oratory”. In Our Own Words. Ed.
Senator Robert Torricelli and Andrew Carroll. New York: Washington Square
Press, 1999.

Lindas Communication part1

Communication

I feel as though the communication is one of the competencies that I am the most experienced with and have the most fluency in. Communicating with people is something that I have done since birth, and continue to do to this day. We communicate with others to show how we think and feel, and express our opinions. Communication relates to everything we do in life.
One example of Communication through my academic career would be my experience with tutoring sixth graders. I was working with a small group of boys who had different learning disabilities. They were taken out of their class room and placed into a smaller room with me. They struggled with math because the pace of the class was just too fast for them, so it was all on me to find ways to communicate with them so that they would understand the concepts. I took the approach by interacting with them in a way that we were going in this together, learning this new information as one. It was simply me teaching them the material and having them do a worksheet that I would look over and tell them what they got right or wrong. We had conversations about what they were learning, we talked about ways we could help each other remember how certain problems were solved or how some things could be remembered. There understanding improved greatly, and I feel like the way I was communicating with them was what made all of the difference.
A written example of communication would have to simply be the text book I used in my Comm101 class. I do not have the text books name at hand right now, but I will post in my later blog about what I got from reading everyone else’s with the details. This book was such a great tool to knowing and understanding the different ways we communicate. We can communicate so fast these days, such as shooting one another emails that we can receive instantly, or even faster through instant messaging or text messages to cell phones. There is also a big portion in the book about non-verbal communication, and how powerful that is.
A non written example can be found everywhere you go. As a person lives their daily life, they can observe the communication between people at their job, school, home, store, any and every where. People exchange messages differently to others, and there are so many tools used to help communicate.
Sorry this blog is short, but I am kind of on the run!!

Colleen's Communication Exercise Part One

Academic Work:
One important lesson I have learned throughout my academic career, is the overlooked fact, that communication extends beyond the spoken word. Typically when one brings up the comptency of communication, the topic of oral communication is automatically attached. Yet, one of my favorite forms of communication that has developed throughout my college experience is written communication. English 396 Creative Writing tested my communication techniques on a variety of levels. First of all, the writing assignments were much different than your average paper. Rather than responding to a piece of literature, experience, etc. I was placed into the position of the author, where I created my own poetry and stories. The ability to write down ones thoughts, ideas, emotions, etc. in the form of a story or poem truly tests one's communication skills. I needed to be able to connect to my readers, as well as myself, as I tried to express certain narratives without verbally communicating. After class discussions in which we would have a peer read the story for us, I was able to see correlations and differences between what I thought I was writing versus how it sounded once it was read aloud. These shared discussions improved my written communication skills, because I began to focus on how to write so that my reader could connect to the story without any verbal explanations.

Written Text:
The competency of communication extends far beyond the world of academia. In order to survive in society one needs to have adequate communication skills. The way we communicate with others affects our interactions in the work place, in our communities and amongst our family and friends. One text aimed toward communication in leadership positions is titled, Managing Your Mouth. This text focuses on the importance of practicing and improving one's communication skills in order to succeed in managerial positions. According to the author, Robert L. Genua: "Communication makes the world go around. We communicate in complex ways, and we use an incredible variety of equipment and services to do it" (1). This statement raises an excellent point about our current generation. We have the capabilities of communicating with people all over the world at any given point in time. Technological advancements with the internet, cell phones, blackberrys, etc. have given us the means for communicating on a moment's notice. Each of us are members of this communication force as we post our weekly blogs. It is truly incredible that without being physically in class, we are able to communicate and learn from one another through internet communication.

Yet, at the same time this raises a challenge for us...Considering we have become capable of communicating with all of these technological devices we need to accomodate for the lack of face-to-face communication. Although I think it is phenomenal that we can communicate in so many different ways, it is still just as important for us to work on our verbal communication. Body language and facial expressions can create just as many important meanings as words, and without face-to-face communication, people can lose touch with this form of connection.

Non-Written:
I have had the pleasure of seeing a performance by the Capitol Steps, a group of former Congressional staffers who perform satirical skits based on the politics of Capitol Hill. This particular performance group is unique in that they are extremely knowledgable about the topics they poke fun at in their performances. Their witty humor and creative scripts have made them a successful hit. Through watching their performances, I have learned the importance of knowledgable communication. By this I mean, knowing what you are talking about before you open your mouth. Personally, I know it can be difficult for us to think before we speak, and what I have learned from group interactions is that thoughtful communication goes a long way, whereas speaking before thinking can lead to conflict. The Capitol Steps performers do not just go up and make fun of the political leaders of today, rather they use their experiences to communicate the humurous aspects of politics. They are articulate, creative, and know how to communicate to their audience. All of these aspects are vital when we interact and communicate with others, especially when we are trying to express a certain message, whether it be serious, or as in the case of these performances, humorous.

Works Cited:

Capitol Steps Live. By: Capitol Steps. W.T. Woodson Auditorium, Fairfax VA. June 2003.

Genua, Robert L. Managing Your Mouth. New York: American Management Association, 1992.

Jessica's Communication Exercise - Part 1

a) Academic Work - Communication is the foundation for all things, and how we communicate makes a difference in everythign we do. I don't think that I could find just one thing that I have done over the last 4 years and say that it has helped me better understand communication. I believe that just being a student and interacting with my peers has helped me the most. Being in a major where group interaction is a part of life communication is what keeps us together. We learn about each other and we recognize who is more outspoken and who is shy and quiet. Recognizing others communication styles helps when their is group interaction. If there is a conflict you communicate until it is solved, when there are questions regarding assignments we ask each other and email others until we get an answer. I find that we are affected by communication everyday and you can't just read a book and become better at communicating; you have to work at it until you get it right.


b)Written text - I am sure there are tons of books and articles that I have read that have helped me become better acquainted with communication but the only one that comes to mind right now is "Pride and Prejudice." All throughout the book the characters especially Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet let their pride and ego stand in the way of true love. They would meet at parties and refuse to speak to one another.. saying that the other was dreadful when deep down there was a real interest and relationship developing. This book helped me to see that when you have something to say to someone, set your ego aside and say it. Who cares what others may think or even how that person may feel about you after you've expressed your feelings.. its better to have spoken then to say nothing at all. Understanding that the worst anyone could ever say to you is "no" is worth the risk instead of staying silent and never knowing what could have happened.


c)Non-written text - A movie that makes me better understand the communication competency is "Love Actually." Not only is it my favorite movie but with so many different characters and story lines you see all types of communication. If you've never seen it.. it is a chick flick about people falling in and out of love, and discovering that "Love actually is all around". In the beginning of the movie Sam's mother dies and when he doesn't come out of his room his dad thinks something is terribly wrong.. when he is actually so in love with a girl from his class that he is thinking of a way to impress her, she is "the one" and even tho he's like 10 he learns to play drums to be in the school play to impress her. By the end of the movie he actually speaks to her and she says that she's noticed him since school started. There is also another character played by Colin Firth who finds out his wife is having an affair and then they get a divorce. When he thinks that all hope is lost, he moves to his house in the countryside and falls in love with his housekeeper. The only problem is he speaks English and she speaks Portugese; their communication starts as non-verbal until they learn how to communicate verbally with each other. One more example before I tell the whole movie - Hugh Grant plays the Prime Minister of England and when he meets his new staff their happens to be a pretty girl working for him. Well seeing the obstacle in this relationship he has her sent to help someone else and gets a new staff member. There is obviouslly some unspoken attraction and since the movie is around christmas time she writes to him in a christmas card how she feels about him.. this was her attempt to communicate with him since she didn't see him on a day to day basis.
This movie has helped me understand communication the most becuase there are so many different types exemplified throughout the film. Even when there are challenges and struggles it shows the lengths people go to to communicate and how effective it can be.


In the end communication affects everything we do. It causes us to build relationships and sometimes ruin them, it clarifies what is expected of us, and shows us just how useful speaking to one another can be. Living in a fast paced society we get caught up in e-mails and IMs and sometimes forget how critical effective communication can be.

Works Cited:
"Love Actually." Universal Studios. Working Title Production. 2004. www.loveactually.com

Austen, Jane. "Pride and Prejudice." Bantam Dell. New York, NY. 2003.

Matt - Critical Thinking: Part 2

It seems that the class has accurately identified the significance and value of critical thinking skills in the daily setting. As I indicated in my previous blog entry, I believe that critical thinking is one of the most valuable skills one can refine for their professional career. Moreover, it seems that this method of reasoning is the bridge between academic and “street smarts” as it equally employs commonsense and deductive reasoning. Among the many excellent blog entries, the following submissions I found to better illuminate the “every day applications” of critical thinking:

• Never Discount an Idea: Critical thinking necessitates that one objectively review a subject before issuing a judgment. Brandi provided an excellent example of how it is easy to discount an idea without full evaluation. Like Brandi, I have prematurely rejected some ideas/matters/concepts and then retrospectively acknowledged mistaken prejudices.
• Subjectivity/Relativism: Although some may contend that there are absolute Truths, much of life is relative to one’s perception. As TeeVee noted, art is a brilliant instance where the work is entirely subject to the viewer. There may be common interpretations of the intent of the artist or history may contextualize the piece, but the significance is determined by the spectators. Critical thinking is intellectual catalyst for one to realize the value of art work. What do you think of this?
• Deciphering Rhetoric: Westerners are inundated with slogans that we decipher and subsequently render decisions. In an era of mass-communication, where advertisements grace public bathrooms and school houses, it is increasingly important to fully utilize critical thinking skills. Million provided an excellent example of the ambiguity often present in political rhetoric and its influence on public policy. Due to the importance of voting, it is essential that we fully deduce political rhetoric and properly identify its meaning.

Matt - Critical Thinking: Part 1

Written

Objectivity is an essential function of the critical thinking process as it necessitates a complete and thoughtful analysis of the subject. This skill is particularly fundamental in the liberal arts because of the vast conceptualization and variance of ideas.

Last spring I was enrolled in NCLC 422 Approaches to American Foreign Policy, which analyzed the ideological foundation for contemporary international policymaking. The curriculum was holistic and dynamic; it chronicled the policy decisions of American political leaders, while identifying the subsequent issues. There was particular emphasis on the influence of economic policy on foreign relations, which is the premiere variable for many American policymakers (see Iraq, re: contemporary imperialism). Although the curriculum was provocative, my personal reading complemented this study of globalization.

I have long been skeptical of free trade agreements that simultaneously export American jobs and create nearly insurmountable barriers for local third world business people. I was forced to reconcile this dire scenario with the relentless – and seemingly inevitable – pace of globalization in Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat. Defying many of my convictions about free trade, Friedman forced me to see the “other side” of the spectrum on globalization. He fastened the proliferation of democracy with free trade by using the “11/9 v. 9/11” model to demonstrate the impact of globalization. Although my core beliefs on globalization and trade policy remained unchanged, Friedman effectively articulated the paradoxical nature of macroeconomics. I thoroughly enjoyed The World is Flat because it challenged my personal notions about globalization and provoked an open review of the underlying principles.

It is ignorant for one to retreat into demagoguery and erect an ideological fence because objectivity is a catalyst for human progression. Critical thinking enables one to sift through a diversity of ideas and establish a preference or merely identify the merits. Such an environment will cultivate innovation and social awareness, often for the betterment of society. Objectivity is the preeminent attribute of critical thinking because it enables all of its other functions.

Academic

Critical thinking necessitates a commitment to identify the tone, intent and impact of the subject. By employing objectivity, one should welcome a diversity of sources to fully analyze the topic. From these (presumably) varying ideas, one should be able to synthesize the concepts and form an opinion(s) or a conclusion(s).

Perhaps the most perplexing subject I have studied in college is the Middle Eastern peace crisis. Although I have established some clarity on the matter, the historical depth and extensive cultural diversity in the region has made my studies a bit daunting (this conclusion became painfully evident while studying at St Antz). The complexity of the conflict is quite dense; it seems that the more I read about the conflict, the less I know. While abroad, my tutor pressed me to articulate the reasoning for many of the ME’s most fundamental questions. Below is a delightful sample:

- Can the political ills of the contemporary region simply be blamed on the old colonial powers?
- Compared with sub-state patterns of allegiance the state will always be weak. Do you agree?
- Has oil wealth been a blessing or a curse for the Middle East?
Nativ, Shachar. Syllabus: Politics of the Middle East and Arab-Israeli Conflict.

Clearly there is not a “right or wrong” answer for these questions; thus, I had to make reasonable deductions from the readings and establish an opinion. Due to the inherent complexity of the questions I appealed to a variety of sources across the ideological spectrum. Undoubtedly, this was the most difficult course I have taken in college because of the extensive historical and cultural information that I was unfamiliar with at the outset.

The mere acknowledgement that there is no “correct answer” to the Middle East question is indicative of its complexity. This was realized last spring when I authored a blog on Lebanon (pre 2006 war) addressing many of these fundamental questions. However, you may notice that the answers I provided are strikingly ambiguous – that it is shades of “gray” rather than “black and white.”

Non-Written

The primary application of critical thinking is to make decisions, which is a necessary attribute for one to provide leadership. Among the many intellectual and professional skills I have refined while working on political campaigns, the sense of independent leadership is most significant.

The fast-pace environment of campaigns demands that the staff people operate resourcefully and methodically. Among the many roles that I have served on campaign, I believe that I have emerged into my own right – that is, I am one who can walk into a stressful environment and immediately get to work. While this may be a general function of maturity, the decision-making skills are the direct result of critical thinking.

Raquel's Critical Thinking Post-2

The most striking thing I learned from reading posts from other students is that I am a pessimist and it is not necessarily a bad thing. Million’s post made me consider my own approach to life, specifically to other people. I am suspicious of everything, questioning and analyzing what I read, hear, and see. I remember once when I worked in the café at Barnes & Noble, a coworker passed an idea by me to see what I thought because he said, I am “good at finding flaws in other peoples’ ideas”. He meant it as a criticism but I took it as a compliment. I also try to do the same thing with my own ideas, although it is definitely more difficult to do critically analyze my own thoughts and behaviors.

Additionally, I was reminded by Brandi that we need to remain critical thinkers regardless if we are not interested in the message or content. I was reminded of the time I recommended the movie, Fight Club, to one of my friends in high school but she was unable to get half way through because the intense violence turned her off and made her disinterested (1999). She could not see why I liked the movie so much. Similar to Brandi’s example, my friend was unable to think critically because she was not interested in the superficial topic. I was able to convince her to watch it again (the whole way through) for a deeper meaning and she realized that the movie is not about fist fighting at all, but was actually about fighting the Capitalist ideology that stuff makes you happy. Once she was able to get past her initial disinterest, she thoroughly enjoyed the movie and felt guilty about brushing it off.

Although this of course has to apply to the other side also. We need to remain critical even when we are extremely interested in a topic or person. We cannot be soft on information we agree with especially when it comes from people we like. For me, it all goes back to something someone said at a debate competition in high school: “73% of all statistics are made up on the spot.”


Works Cited

Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham
Carter. 20th Century Fox. 1999.

Jessica's Critical Thinking Exercise - Part 2

When I started my part one assignment for this blog critical thinking was a way to analyze an idea and see if after questioning it, would that make a difference for me. After reading other part one posts It seems that most of us took critical thinking to mean a similar definition and some actually quoted the dictionary but we all expressed our ideas of critical thinking in a different way. It seems that most of our academic works came from an NCC class that made us question and idea that we thought we were sure of. For example questioning hot topics, values, and previous judgements. I think that we all see critical thinking as a way to explore another side of an argument or topic without being biased. Critical thinking has led me to see some topics in a new light and I think that most of us have changed our thinking about things from time to time throughout our academic life.

When it came to discussing a non written text I read a few (including my own) that dealt with a tradgedy. A few of us related critical thinking to 9/11 and how the terrorist attacks make us look at the world and question why something that awful could happen. This part of the posting made me realize just how much critical thinking influences our everydays lives.

Thinking critically isn't just making judgements about a topic but it involves thinking outside the box and coming up w/ new conclusions to existing ideas.

TV's Critical Thinking (part 2)

Critical thinking requires one's to distinguish facts and opinions, be able to analyze clearly and critically with reasonings from one's experience to have a precise conclusion, collaborate ideas from many sources besides one's own opinions to connect diverse ideas, facts and experiences of others. While my critical thinking experience happens through observation, most of my colleagues who are doing education use it through planning. I never thought of it that way before. My fiance went through a lot of hours researching as well as contemplating as he prepares for his sermons. Now that I realized that critical thinking comes to use during planning and preparation when it comes to teaching a group, I really admire and respect his work. For someone tho use that kind of effort takes up a lot of energy and strength.

TV's Critical Thinking (part 1)

Academic Works:

As a dance minor, all of my dance classes require me to attend performances whether it'd be modern, ballet, jazz or cultural performances. I were to write a critic paper on my opinions of the performance from the choreography, costumes, expressions, and the music. In one of my first dance classes, I was so nervous to write the paper because I didn't really understood some of the performances since most of them weren't as obvious, especially modern dance. After many courses, I learned that dance is an art which has many interpretations depending on your own experiences and emotions at the time given. There was one spectacular performance called “Two Face” by the GMU Dance Company. I had to critically think of what the message was from the costumes, extraordinary and frightening facial expression, body movements, etc. From my emotions and the knowledge that I had of psychology studies, I interpreted that piece as someone who is diagnosed with bipolar personality struggling for attention. The facial expressions and odd body movements showed the internal pain aching within one's mind hoping someone could understand. Being able to think clearly and critically with reasonings and experiences helped me form an analysis of a masterpiece in a dance performance.

Written Text:

I have bible study with my Youth Group Staff and our Youth Pastor weekly. We've just recently learned how to really learn the bible and interpreting God's words into applications. As many mistakenly assume that the bible has many ways to interpret and it is done so according to our opinions and experiences, we've learned that the bible only has ONE correct answer. The bible was originated from Greek and over the years, people translated into different languages. During the process, of course some translation aren't very exact or has enough details from the original bible. Therefor, when we learn the bible, we need to have many sources with us, such as the Greek translation, the bible dictionary as well as the regular dictionary. On our last bible study, we studied on “The Parable of the Sower” (Mark 4: 1-20). Without being able to distinguish among facts, opinions, and inferences we weren't able to go in depths of why Jesus did what he did and what the meaning really is. We went back and analyze the time setting of that verse, too many definitions that relates to the verse from many sources, and also debate on what we believe the verse is about.

Non-written Text:

When it comes to critical thinking, I always go back to art. It is not so much as debating or arguing about one intelligent subject, but more of an observation and metaphoric interpretation with emotions and relevant experiences. We ask ourselves many questions that could possibly help us come to the conclusion of any work of art whether it be from a child or from a professional artists. I love to look at a child's work of art because there are so many meanings within it. My finance's younger brother was working on his project for class in which he had to decorate a brown bag with anything he wants that signifies who he is. When he showed it to me, I saw his name of course, brand names, different objects like candies and rice, chopsticks, etc. I observed it for awhile and realized that there are many things I haven't learned about this kid. When we observe any biographic art, we are actually looking at someone's heart.

Works Cited: The Bible (NIV), Mark 4:1-20

Colleen's Critical Thinking Part Two

I have found this critical thinking exercise beneficial on a variety of levels. First, in our initial blog posting which required us to reflect on three personal experiences where critical thinking enveloped the course of our learning. The activity required me to analyze my past experiences and by using the critical thinking competency I was able to choose experiences in which I felt my peers would establish their own connections. Second, after reading my fellow classmates' blogs I found myself critically thinking about their critical thinking (haha sounds like a mouthful.) Yet, reading other's experiences enabled me to connect to similar critical thinking experiences of my own. For instance, reading Jessica's response to her thinking about 9/11 and how the events drastically altered the way she valued life, placed me back to that day. I feel all of us can agree that day has shaped every day since. I too, witnessed friends frantically try to get ahold of parents working in the pentagon, and will never think of life the same way.

Another response which I was able to connect to was Raquel's connection to the text Nickel and Dimed. I read the book a couple years ago, and after reading Raquel's response remembered how enlightening it was to read about Barbara Ehrenreich’s experiences. I reflected on how Ehrenreich placed herself into the life of a "working class," individual and how truly challenging and basically impossible it is for a person to survive on minimum wage. I feel that there are so many societal issues that people do not give a second thought to unless it directly affects their personal lives. One important point this book stresses is the need for people to critically analyze the social issues of our country. If we, as a nation, were stronger in the critical thinking competency, I believe our society would tackle these problems in a more sufficient manner.

Overall, I noticed a strong connection between each person's non-written critical thinking experiences. I found these particular ones most interesting as I was able to connect and apply them to some of my own experiences. Although we generally believe critical thinking is best employed in academic environments, it is evident that some of the most beneficial critical thinking experiences have occured for us when we have been able to utilize those skills in events outside the classroom.