A Critical Analysis of My Strengths and Weaknesses in the Skill of Assertiveness

Empathy is a two way process, its about trying to fully understand what your client is saying and feeling and also showing your understanding to your client.

I received a moderate score of 27 for assertiveness and-and 42 for my level of responsiveness and this information suggests that my social style is amiable according to mapping my results. In general, assertiveness can be defined as a person’s ability to make appeals, actively disagree express positive and negative personal feelings, and stand up for themselves without criticizing another person (Beebe & Mottet, 2016). Likewise, responsiveness is the capacity to be sensitive to the communication of others while being seen a good listener in order to make others comfortable in communicating. There are various ways to respond to others as well as steps that I can use to style flex. Upon sharing my scores with my co-worker, her perception of the results seemed somewhat accurate and she offered suggestions about my social style. Furthermore, there are manners that my social style may affect my listening skills and ways that I can improve as a listener. Also, style flexing can assist with communication effectiveness in different manners.

Empathy is therefore a vital link in the process of Emotional Intelligence. (Ioannidou, F. 2008). In relation to Nursing, it enables nurses who have well developed empathetic listening skills to establish a rapport with a patient which can assist in establishing effective solutions and building a trusting professional nurse/patient relationship. By using effective skills in empathetic communication, Nurses have the ability to divert a potential highly emotional situation into effective and positive interactions. (Halpern, J. & Ebrary 2001)

It means that a therapist understands what the client is feeling at a particular moment. Empathy will help a therapist to communicate his ideas in such way that will make sense. It also helps the therapist to understand the clients when they are communicating. It is a building block of a great social interaction. By having empathic understanding, the therapist will have the ability to appreciate sympathetically and perfectly the client’s experiences and feeling. It will ensure that the client is not lost in his or her own feelings. By understanding how a client truly feels without analyzing or judging them, the therapist and the client will have a successful

and felt her distress as she became emotional telling her story. Carl Rogers ( 1980 ) felt very passionately about empathic listening. He states: ''Empathic listening means entering the private perceptual world of the other. It involves being sensitive moment by moment to the changing felt meanings which flow in the other person and temporarily living the others life without making judgements''. ( Rogers, 1980. p.142 ). In being empathic towards the client during the session I also was able to reassure her, particularly when during the session she questioned her own capabilities.

Interpersonal Communication Competence is defined as constantly communicating in a way that is effective, appropriate, and ethical (McCornack, 2016). When a person is communicating competently, they are following social norms, are able to accomplish their goals, and treating persons in an unbiased manner. In my paper I will be discussing my own interpersonal communication competence and the evaluations that I, and my close companions, have made about my ability to communicate proficiently. I will begin my essay by explaining what effective and appropriate communication consists of, and follow up with my argument on how effective and appropriate I am in my interpersonal relationships. As I continue I will examine my empathy and why I am strong in this aspect of communication, followed by my deliberation of my conversation management and why I am weak in this category and how I could possibly improve. As I near the conclusion of my paper I will focus on my interpersonal communication motivation, knowledge, and skills. After reporting my scores in each category I will reflect on my skills, my lowest score, and explore why I am poorest at this quality and how I can grow in my capabilities. Overall I am a competent communicator, but enhancements can be made in my conversation management, effectiveness and skills in order to build up my competence.

Empathic listening “means entering the private perceptual world of another and becoming thoroughly at home in it. It involves being sensitive, moment-by-moment, to the changing felt meanings which flow in this person, to the fear or rage or tenderness or confusion or whatever that he or she is experiencing. It means temporarily living in the other’s life, moving about in it delicately without making judgements” (Rogers 1980 A Way of Being).

Empathy is the way you feel or understand another person; it is a deep emotional understanding of a person’s feelings or problems. It is as we often hear people say put yourself in someone else’s shoes. An empathic listener gives the other person his or her undivided attention. When being an empathic listener you have to focus on the words the speaker is saying and not let yourself be distracted. As you focus on what the person is saying, you can respond when needed. If you don’t

Before doing this log, I did not realize how much of this I did every day. Empathic listening occurred in my days while doing this log when I listen to my roommates talk about if they were physically hurting from a workout and how they hoped it would get better. These conversations occurred typically while icing and we would discuss our pains and give each other the support that we needed at the time. The other times when I caught myself empathic listening was when I was talking to someone who was stressed out about school. It may just be that they are struggling in one class but I listened to them because that is what they needed at the time. Again, from doing this log I learned that empathic listening is crucial and every person needs someone to listen to them empathically. As the listener you do not always have much input but just being there is typical all the person

My next strength in public speaking is my eye contact. I am able to face my audience and express positive nonverbal communication by maintaining eye contact and giving my audience my undivided attention. Interestingly enough, I feel that sometimes my eye contact can be too excessive in the sense that I look around too much. I was told of this by one of my friends while I did a presentation on the civil rights movement. I can strive to improve this strength by learning how to hold eye contact longer with certain individuals as opposed to constantly looking around. This may be a bit uncomfortable to me, but I intend to challenge myself to attempt it.

When someone has empathy if gives them the ability to look at the situation from the perspective of the client. According to Martin (2014), “empathy in a counseling relationship, involves the ability and willingness to experience a client’s beliefs, thoughts, and feelings through the client’s personal lens” (63). Consequently, by having empathy it will allow you to properly evaluate the whole situation, and provide sustainable help. An empathic heart will promote active listening skills. Being empathic will give you an engaging mindset. Martin states (2014), “Active listening counseling relationship also includes behaviors such as maintaining direct eye contact and observing the client’s body language. This will make for better

My current strengths include; my honesty and passion towards my work. I have always been positive and confident regarding my aims and targets. Along with these, I am a good decision maker, due to which I can make right and quick decisions. Moreover, I have ability to motivate others and do team work. I am also a responsible person, when I make a target; I work day and night to achieve my goal.

Being assertive means asking for what you want and refusing to take NO for an answer. Practice expressing your feelings without anxiety or anger. Let people know what you want in a non-threatening way. Practice 'I ' statements. For example, instead of saying, "You shouldn 't do that," try substituting, "I don 't feel comfortable

stories, we may get caught up in our own emotional reactions, how we would feel if we were in a similar situation. To listen empathically, you have to set aside as much as you can of your own "stuff" and enter the world of the client.

“From negotiating for a promotion to resolving a conflict with a spouse, good communication skills can greatly improve life, while weak communication skills can make everyday interactions frustrating and tense. Interpersonal communication encompasses a number of communication styles; there