What are your main take away lessons from the assigned reading this week? Describe and explain.

Chapter 9

The reading on this section focuses on communication in groups. People have affiliations to varied groups to help fulfill different needs. Most of these groups are informal like families, school mates and work associates among others. According to Adler et al. (2014), “a group consists of a small collection of people who interact with one another, usually face to face, over a time in order to reach goals” (p. 269). This definition goes a long way in showing that not just any collection of people can be regarded to as being a group. In a group, there is interdependence, interaction and individuals working towards specific goals among other things.

A team is an advanced form of a group. A team is usually characterized by a results-driven structure, unified commitment, clear shared goals, collaborative climate, principled leadership and competent members just to mention a few. How an individual in a team or group works is likely to have an effect on everyone. This is why individuals involved should be working towards common accomplishments.

The reading has also delved into good leadership. There is the assertion that a single leadership style cannot be effective for all situations. There is the need to assess a group or team climate before deciding on the way forward.  Being an effective communicator is important for a good leader. Effective communication helps in bringing the group together and enhancing cohesiveness. The positive relationship that comes with effective communication will help to foster fruitful operations.

Chapter 12

This chapter has focused on organization and support with regards to speeches. The reading has provided various insights on how to plan a speech. There is the explanation of how to structure a speech to help make it more appealing to the audience.  The type of pattern that a speech should adopt is usually dependent on the audience involved and the type of information that is desired to be passed across. There is need to have an outline that reflects a logical order of the points that are going to take the center stage.

The reading also puts an emphasis on the need of paying close attention to the introduction and conclusion while developing a speech. These sections might not take a huge percentage of the speech content, but this does not make them less important. The introduction gives the audience an idea of what the entire speech is all about. This is what helps in building their interest in the speech. The conclusion on its part works in providing a memorable final remark to the audience. This is the last thing they hear, and they are most likely to remember from the speech.

How will they affect the way you communicate?

I have learned the importance of a leader approaching each situation in a different way. This aspect will be helpful in my professional life when I find myself in a leadership capacity. The importance of effective communication has come out quite well. I will ensure that I am fostering a favorable communication climate at all times. This will help make the team members comfortable hence motivate them in working in partnership.

I have also learned the importance of ensuring that every section of the speech has been given the attention that it deserves. This is because there are some sections that we might think are not very important, but they usually have a significant impact on the entire speech.  This is one thing that I will always put into consideration given that I never focused much on the introduction and conclusion sections before.

In what ways do the concepts in the videos and readings relate to your professional life in education?

This week had numerous videos that were quite informative.

Chapter 9

The “Nelson Mandela” video demonstrates aspects of good leadership. Despite his position and status he still shows aspects of humility. This is a man that has contributed a lot in his country, and his humility portrays good leadership prospects.

“Failure is Not an Option- Apollo 13” on its part demonstrates aspects of democratic leadership. There is involvement of team members in making decisions. A good example is how everyone was being involved in discussing the way forward to actualize successful landing. Democratic leadership ensures that there is effective communication; which improves the workplace environment.

“First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy” on the other hand shows the importance of courage coming from a leader.  This is something that should be incorporated in a workplace where equality ought to be enhanced to encourage everyone to get involved.

The video “Leadership: Lollipop Moments” shows why it is good to appreciate people when they contribute positively in your life. People are leaders to others, but they do not necessarily know it. This is something that happens in life as there are people looking up to you, based on the impact that you bring in one way or another, but you are not aware.

“Build a Tower, Build a Team” shows the efficiency that comes with collaboration in teams. Collaborative teams normally have minimal conflicts if any and this creates a high probability of success.

Chapter 12

The video “Tan Le: My immigration story” incorporates a speech where Tan Le tells her immigration story. The way that she brings out the speech is likely to tickle interest from the audience. The introduction makes the audience to develop an interest since it has outlined on what is to be expected.

“Josh Silver demos adjustable liquid-filled eyeglasses” on its part demonstrates on how people should be taking initiative in life when it comes to varied issues. The tendency to stay there and wait for other people to do it on their behalf should not be entertained.

In the video “A guerilla gardener in South Central LA”, Ron Finley showcases pictures in the background as he is giving a speech. This approach helps in emphasizing on the main points when delivering a speech hence making it easy for the audience to comprehend and develop more interest.

“How Giving TED Talk Improves Public Speaking” shows the importance of giving speeches frequently based on how it helps in developing and enhancing speech skills. This is applicable in all professions since the more one does something, the better they become at executing the activity.

“TEDxFlanders –  Lars Sudmann” gives tips on how to deliver an efficient speech. Such a video would be very helpful for people that will find themselves giving speeches at some point in their life. They will be able to ascertain the does and don’ts.

Reference

Adler, R., Rodman, G., & DuPré, A. (2014). Understanding human communication (12th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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