Effective and Competent Communication - Week 1

Robin C. Miller                                                                                              EDUC 6165

Blog Week 1

During my educational journey at Community College of Philadelphia I had a professor whose name was Dr. Watkins. I had her for a few semesters and would always enjoy her lectures. Not only were they based on an interesting topic that the class was learning but she made it interesting by communicating well with her audience. O’Hair & Wiemann says, “behaving appropriately is not enough to ensure success in communication (O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M., 2012)” and I completely agree. Yes, Dr. Watkins behavior was well intact. She talked in a calm, appropriate, and educated manner. She answered questions and did not mind veering off topic every now and then. She had a way of always using real life situations to help others understand the major points of what she wanted us to learn. It was easy to listen to her because she was very well organized and knew exactly what she wanted to say and when she wanted to say it. She kept a binder of lectures that helped her stay on target with the overall message. O’Hair & Wiemann also states that, “Research shows that many students feel that their most effective teachers are those who are organized, logical, enthusiastic, and approachable (Kramer &Pier, 1999, & O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M., 2012).”

I think two major key elements that were mentioned above were being enthusiastic about what you’re speaking about and also being approachable. When you are happy and excited about relaying a message and teaching others about something it helps the listeners to gain a better understanding of the message as well as allowing them to see how important the message is to the person communicating it. It also allows the listeners to feel comfortable enough to approach the communicator with questions they might not have felt comfortable asking in front of everyone. Being approachable is an aspect that all communicators should have. I believe that Dr. Watkins is an effective communicator because she displays the many traits described above which should deem her fit to be a competent communicator. I would want to model some of her behaviors such as the organization and the approachability to help me become an effective communicator. Her style and effectiveness has helped many people learn a lot about early education not only from her lectures but also from her willingness to share personal stories that relate to the topic. I would definitely like to become as effective and competent communicator just like she is.

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York:            Bedford/St. Martin's.