Communication Skills and Active Listening

Part 1:

Many people believe that organizational communication skills should come naturally and are not difficult to obtain. However, this week’s readings might have given you a different perception. Effective organizational communication skills actually require a lot of time and practice. Complete a self-assessment of your organizational communication skills by answering the following questions:

· Which area(s) do you feel are the most developed for you?

· Which area(s) do you need the most improvement?

· Based on the course material that you read this week, what are some ways that you plan on improving the development of your organizational communication skills?

Part 2:

One of the most effective ways that we can improve our communication within the organizational context is through adapting the language that we use. A simple, yet effective way to do this is through the method that your textbook describes as “active listening”. This strategy is explained in Chapter Four of your textbook.

Describe a time when you were trying to communicate with another person and active listening would have been helpful. What was the situation? How did he/she respond? How did you respond? What could you have done to improve the communication?