The Interpersonal Communication Skills Assessment

The Interpersonal Communication Skills Assessment indicated some possible areas of relative weaknesses in your skills. For this, select a specific aspect of interpersonal communication that you would like to work on improving. Typical improvement goals include:

Listening
Reducing communication anxiety/communicating with confidence
Using technology to communicate effectively
Message encoding
Message decoding
Channel selection
If you would like to work on another aspect of your interpersonal communication skills not mentioned above, please get your instructor’s approval before proceeding. Your final project for this class involves improving an aspect of your interpersonal communication skills. You will complete some work on this each week during the class. While five weeks is not enough time to develop high-level skills across the entire spectrum of interpersonal communication, it is enough to have a meaningful impact in an area of importance to you.

Brief skill area descriptions as well as reading lists are available for each of the six skill areas previously mentioned in the IPC Skill Area Resources

You will need to find at least three additional sources beyond those in the IPC Skill Area Resources. Sources may include articles, books, videos, interactive trainings, or other materials that have the potential to improve your selected skill area. Because these additional resources will contribute to your progress throughout the rest of the course, you should find them by Week 2. Note that you will not need to identify these resources until your Week 2 journal.

Live Learning sessions are available each week to support you with your IPC Skill Improvement Plan. You can also ask other class-related questions at Live Learning. All students in COM200 are required to attend one Live Learning session during the class but are encouraged to attend more. The day and time of Live Learning sessions will be given in a class announcement. You will confirm your attendance in an element of your Final Assignment.

Identify your improvement goal. (one or two sentences)
Provide a motivation statement. Why do you want to improve this area of your interpersonal communication skills? (one-half to one page)
Review of literature: Identify gaps in the research and information packet about this skill area to extend your understanding and contribute to your skill improvement during the coming weeks. You can search for the resources you identify in this part during Week 2 and will be reporting on what you find in your Week 2 journal. (one-half to one page)
List personal goals for Weeks 2, 3, and 4 of the class. There will be weekly journal entries (viewable only by you and your instructor) where you share your progress on these. You should also keep a written record of the work you do on your improvement plan, as this will be a required element of the Final Assignment. (at least one page)
Describe how you will measure your progress toward your goal for your final Assignment. Try to be as specific as you can and identify progress you can actually measure or assess. (one half to one page)

Full Answer Section

   
  • Provide feedback to show that I'm listening. I want to make sure that the person I'm talking to knows that I'm listening by using nonverbal cues, such as nodding my head and making eye contact. I also want to provide verbal feedback, such as saying "uh-huh" or "I see."

Here are three additional sources I found that can help me improve my listening skills:

  • The Non-Obvious Guide to Listening by Celeste Headlee: This book provides a comprehensive overview of listening skills, including how to be more attentive, ask clarifying questions, and provide feedback. [Link to The Non-Obvious Guide to Listening by Celeste Headlee]
  • The Power of Listening by Mark Goulston: This book focuses on the importance of listening in relationships and how to use listening to build trust and rapport. [Link to The Power of Listening by Mark Goulston]
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey: This book discusses the importance of listening in the context of the habit "seek first to understand, then to be understood." [Link to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey]

I plan to use these sources to learn more about listening skills and to develop a plan for improving my own listening skills. I will also practice my listening skills in my everyday interactions with others. I believe that by improving my listening skills, I can improve my communication skills overall and have more successful and fulfilling relationships.

Sample Answer

 

Based on the Interpersonal Communication Skills Assessment, I would like to work on improving my listening skills. I scored relatively low in this area, which is important because listening is essential for effective communication.

Here are some specific goals I would like to achieve:

  • Be more attentive and focused when listening to others. I sometimes find myself getting distracted or thinking about other things when I'm listening to someone. I want to be more present and engaged in the conversation.
  • Ask clarifying questions to ensure understanding. I sometimes don't fully understand what someone is saying, but I don't want to interrupt them to ask questions. I want to be more proactive about asking clarifying questions so that I can avoid misunderstandings.