Essay Sample on Personal Communication Style

Introduction

Communication is an important aspect of all beings. Humans and animals, alike, use their distinct languages to communicate with each other. It is almost impossible to survive without communicating. In order to create good communication skills, one needs to identify with one or a combination of communication styles. Generally, there are four different communication styles, assertive, passive, aggressive and passive-aggressive. Identifying with communication styles does not only help one to adapt to others and their style of communication.I am an assertive communicator. As an assertive communicator, I always express myself when I feel the need to do so. I stand one hundred and one percent behind my opinions and feelings; however, I do it in a respectful manner. I listen well, respect others, and speak in a calm tone.

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It is through disagreements that I learned my personal communication style. Usually, whenever there is a disagreement, I let people know how I feel but at the same time, I respect them and how they feel. This way, I end up creating a respectful environment and allows everyone to be mature enough to address issues at hand.In my family, we are all assertive communicators. Growing up, my parents always advised me and my siblings to learn to always be the last ones to speak. According to them, being able to hold your opinion until everyone else has raised theirs does two things. One, it gives everyone the feeling that they have been heard. It gives everyone else the ability to feel that they have contributed. Two, it gives you the benefit of hearing what everybody else has to think before rendering your opinion. Communication between members of different cultures is affected by several factors such as gender, race, age, social class and ethnicity among others. In our day-to-day activities, we get to meet and mingle with people from different cultures and as such, it is important to know how to handle intercultural communication challenges. People from all walks of life inhabited my neighborhood. This meant that I had to learn to understand people whose background is diverse from mine. This also helped to shape my communication style.
An effective professional communication style is the cornerstone of any successful career or business. A good customer relationship is built by listening, being proactive and personable. Being a good listener means focusing on what the client or colleague is saying rather than formulating a response. This is related to my personal communication style in the sense that I take time to listen to other people's opinions, ask questions before rendering my opinion. By so doing, I get to understand what they mean and why they have the opinion that they have. That said, being a good listener is one factor that will be a benefit to my career.On the contrary, I am transparent and this may not sit well with everyone, especially those who are corrupt and conniving. I understand that being transparent creates a stronger and more profitable client relationship, and maintaining this in an institutional setup that does not fully stand for it might be the biggest challenge.

In this case, I will try to promote candid conversations with my clients and colleagues, help everyone understand the importance of transparency, encourage everyone to speak their minds and raise concerns (Boggs, 2019). I have learned many skills from this course but one micro-skill that stands out is friendship. In as much as friendship with a client is required to remain professional, one may learn so much about the client. Being able to maintain a great bond with the client makes a working day pleasant and communication easy. A solid client relationship translates to increased sales, referrals and repeat business. The only way to achieve this is by communicating regularly and being personable. Moreover, I have learned how to manage diversity. Handling people from diverse backgrounds requires good communication to avoid the chances of accidentally offending each other. In the event that employee rules are not clear, a certain group may feel discriminated against. Therefore, it is important for companies to have policies that clearly spell out how rewards and penalties are applied to avoid unwanted conflict. Finally, I have learned team-building skills. One way of having smooth operations with an organization is to have in place effective and honest communication as this binds employees together. Employees who talk with each other are enthusiastic and work together for the progress of the company. Bad communication, on the other hand, creates rifts, unnecessary competition and lowers employer loyalty (Ting-Toomey & Dorjee, 2018).

On the other hand, when communicating with a client, it is advisable to observe the nuances of a conversation. Treating a client as a friend entails caring about their needs. As a social worker, my communication with the client is expected to the language my company uses in conversation with clients, and this includes even the real conversions. I would not communicate to a client I would my family because, with a client, I have to be friendly but professional. As a professional, understanding the boundaries is key.

A client benefits a lot from an organization that has a well-laid professional communication style. One, a professional communication style ensures that the client gets a clear understanding of what actions will be taken regarding their request, and this helps to eliminate confusion or misunderstandings. Similarly, communication is important in reinforcing sales. Staying in touch with the client after the sale reinforces the benefits of the service or product and ensures that any problems that may arise after the sale are quickly addressed.Additionally, in the event that the client's needs change over time, then the ability to communicate with them helps the company or organization to adapt to the changing needs of the client. In some cases, it is easier to predict the client's need for change and advice accordingly. Failure to stay in touch with clients makes them feel or think the company does not care about their business, and may consider taking their business elsewhere. NASW code of ethics plays a crucial role in guiding individuals not only on how to view issues but also how to go about working with clients.

Usually, issues are not straightforward and these codes of ethics act as the guiding principles that can be relied upon when handling morally ambiguous issues.A section of the ethical Principle dictates, "social workers should treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. They should promote clients' socially responsible self-determination and enhance clients' capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs" (Congress, 2017). All this is to ensure that the client relationship is placed at the core of every business.

References

Boggs, E. C. (2019). Interpersonal Relationships. London: Elsevier Health Sciences.

Congress, E. P. (2017). What social workers should know about ethics: Understanding and resolving practice dilemmas. Social Work ethics, 1(1), 1-9. Retrieved from https://advancesinsocialwork.iupui.edu/index.php/advancesinsocialwork/article/download/124/107

Ting-Toomey, S., & Dorjee, T. (2018). Communicating Across Cultures; The Guilford Communication Series. (Second, Ed.) New York: Guilford Publications.