Learning about our own communication style

This week we completed an exercise that evaluated our communication anxiety, verbal aggressiveness and listening style through self evaluation and via evaluation by two other people. I chose to have my husband and one of my colleagues evaluate me. I was surprised that all three  evaluations showed similar results in the verbal aggressiveness and listening style exercises, while they varied greatly in the communication anxiety exercise. My self evaluation confirmed that I have significant anxiety communicating in group settings. The larger the group size, the higher my anxiety level. However, my husband noticed less communication anxiety overall, and my colleague noticed the least. I found it interesting that I am apparently able to conceal my communication anxiety and be an effective communicator in the workplace. As a result, Ione insight I gained about communication this week is that no matter how anxious or nervous you are about something, if you believe that you can do it then you will be able to conceal your anxiety better than if you do not. Concealing your anxiety and presenting your position confidently raises your effectiveness as a communicator. People are much more likely to consider your position if you present it in a confident manner. The other insight I gained this week regarding communication is that if you conduct yourself in a manner that respects the viewpoints of others and you work to change their position by arguing fairly and disputing the facts rather than the person, you will receive much more respect and be a more effective communicator while helping others maintain their dignity. This is especially important if you wish to enter an administrative position, but is also important to remember when working collaboratively in any field.