When evaluating myself on my listening skills I got a score of 37, which indicated that my listening style is people-orientated (Rubin, 2009). My sister gave me a score of 35 and therefore I also fell into group 1. However, one of my colleagues gave me a score of 25 which indicated that my listening style is action-orientated (Rubin, 2009). This surprised me as I thought of myself as being more empathetic and concerned with others emotions when communicating with others. I then thought about the people and interactions that I was thinking about when answering the questions to determine my listening style, and I realized that I was thinking about the interactions that I have with friends and family. These results show how different I am when communicating with colleagues and friends/family members.
Becoming aware of how the action-orientated listening style might intimidate sensitive listeners, has allowed me to reflect on ways in which I can be more empathetic and concerned about the emotions of colleagues when communicating with them (Rubin, 2009). I also realized that having a people-orientated style when communicating with family members and friends could sometimes be negative as this listening style could interfere with proper judgment (Rubin, 2009). Therefore, I think it would benefit my communication with colleagues if I show more of my people-orientated style when communicating and then also show more of my action-orientated-style when communicating with friends and family members.
When evaluating my verbal aggressiveness I got a score of 55, my sister gave me a score of 60 and my colleague gave me a score of 57. These scores show that I have a moderate level of verbal aggressiveness and indicate that I “maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others viewpoints, and have the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding that position” (Rubin, 2009, p. 1). I think that having a moderate level of aggressiveness allows me to be an effective communicator as when I consider others viewpoints I am trying to be more understanding. Being understanding when communicating with others allows me to manage stable relationships as being understanding is a strategy for managing stable relationships (Dan O’Hair, 2015).
References
Dan O’Hair, M. W. (2015). Real Communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Rubin, R. B. (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.
Laying a Solid Foundation for the Early Years 
It is awesome that we are able to get a small glimpse into how others see us. It can be difficult because we always want to represent ourselves in the most positive light but with being around people who handle communication in different ways based on personality, culture, and other influences, having an evaluation like this allows for self-reflection and an honest look into how another person perceives and receives us.
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Lindie,
You make a really valuable point about the importance in acknowledging how we interact with those we are very familiar with, versus those in which we hold professional relationships. As humans, we are lucky that we have the ability to tailor our responses and mannerisms when interacting with different groups of people. I think this skill allows us to be more effective because it shows the range in which we can function. It was neat to see the difference in scores! You are “people orientated” like me!
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Hi Lindie,
I had the similar results in my assignment this week. I also had people-oriented in the self and family assessment; but action-oriented in the colleague assessment. In my reflecting, I did not see this difference as a negative. I believe we communicate differently for different purposes. Perhaps, your action-oriented communication is the most effective form for your profession. Something to think about. Thanks for sharing; I enjoyed your post.
-Elizabeth
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It was interesting comparing my results to those who I picked to take the test as well. I chose my mom and a co worker. They each had similar results but were different. They each see me in a different context.and would evaluate me differently. We know ourselves in all contexts. There were some questions that I answered that I wish I could answer differently and then made me though I should make those questions into my goals. This task was very fulfilling and eye opening.
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