My Reflective Cycle

Inventory self- Inventory self-means becoming more aware of your own nonverbal communication.  Before this class I never noticed how much nonverbal I actually use.  I talk a lot with my hands and noticed that my eyebrows assistant in a lot of my conversations.  Although, talking with your hands can be very helpful at times, it can also be too much and cause a big distraction.  The "talking" with my eyebrows, when I am listening to someone can lead to misinterpretation and possibly be seen as a rude gesture.  However, on a positive note, I am ALWAYS caught smiling during conversations as well, perhaps a little to smiley.  

Change self-When in conversations or when listening I need to become more aware of movement and facial movement.  The talking with arms and hands will be a little easier to "change" than my eyebrow movement because I cannot visually see my eyebrows.  I am going to try and focus on only using hand motions when I am accenting or emphasizing. As for my eyebrow movement, if I catch my self-doing it, I will apologize and continue trying to prevent it.  

Inventory others- when I view others, a big nonverbal attribute I notice is their posture and position of their arms.  For example, when I see a girl standing with her hip popped out and hands crossed, to me, she is sending off the "leave me alone" or "not good mood" vibe.  Where as a girl standing, talking with her hands, head bobbing and smiling reveals she is into the conversation and is in a good place.  

Transact with others- Interacting with others is the best way to pick up nonverbal communication.  By viewing others and having others view you, it is a good way of letting each other know the different cues you are putting off.  By asking friends to observe your nonverbal cues, it will assist you in correcting your flaws and allow you to continue your good nonverbal actions.

Reflect, Assess, and Re-Inventory Self- It is hard to view all the nonverbal cues I give off.  However, doing this exercise and going through each phase I was able to come notice some nonverbal flaws.  I plan to work on those the best I can. I know it will be difficult to maintain because I have made them a way of communication.

Before taking this class I never took notice to my nonverbal communication.  I am about to enter the work place and find it is very important to understand nonverbal cues, good or bad.  Having people judge me off poor nonverbal skills is not a way I wish to be judged. Throughout this class I hope to learn the proper nonverbal cues in which people will look at me in a positive way.