As chapter one mentioned, I think that positive or negative self-talk also plays a big role in how we perceive ourselves. I think that if talk to ourselves with compassion and understanding when we have negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves, it would definitely help increase our self-esteem. This section talks about how if you only think good things about yourself, it can lead to an unrealistic sense of self. Like I said, I think that it's okay to have positive self-talk when things go wrong, or you make a mistake to maintain your self-esteem. This can allow you to self-reflect and make improvements without harming your self-perception.

I feel like this concept is hard for some people to understand. Like the book said, some people may think that getting medication is more important than buying a cell phone, but it all depends on the person's reality. This reminds me of things I heard growing up. For instance, when I go through personal struggles and challenges, my mom downplays it sometimes by saying, "There are starving kids in Africa, get over it."

We learned about this in my sociology class last semester, and I found this concept fascinating. I think this is interesting because the first impression you make on someone does really determine how they feel about you in the long run. If someone really likes you, they halo effect can come in to play and they can perceive every interaction with you as good, whereas the horn effect will do the opposite. I wonder if it is possible to eventually change someone's mind about you.

My friend and I butt heads about this all of the time because I tend to look at external factors while she focuses on internal factors. When something doesn't go her way or someone is rude to her, she decides to attribute their behavior to who they are as a person. As a result, she makes comments basically tearing them down as a person. I try to explain to her that maybe they were just having a bad day and decided to unintentionally take it out on you.

This happens with my boyfriend and I all of the time. He will be playing a video game or on his phone, and when I try to get his attention, this happens. I also thought it was because he was tuning me out on purpose or something. I also heard that humans are not meant to focus their attention on multiple things at once, so this makes sense. I think that this concept is super interesting and now I know why people do this.

In casual conversation, I sound way better than I do when I have to speak in public. I get so worked up over having to present that I forget what I have to say or have a shaky voice. I am anxious because of how I think people are going to perceive me, so I find it interesting that when my CA acts up it can lead to this becoming a reality. I look forward to learning more about how I can overcome my CA in later chapters.

This idea relates to topics I discussed earlier about self-reflection and being open-minded from sections 1.1 and 1.2 of this chapter. Once again, I think this is an essential skill to try and develop. As this chapter mentions, it can boost your communication competence. I find it interesting that most of these concepts are interconnected in some way.

I think that the idea of civic engagement is essentially what a social worker does when they do advocacy work. My understanding of this section is that using our voice to spread awareness and help those in need shows the relationship between communication and civic engagement. I haven't thought about this concept in terms of communication, so I think that it is interesting to learn about.

I attended the Idaho Conference on Refugees in February where we discussed this topic known as cultural humility. Cultural humility refers to the ongoing process of learning more about other cultures while reflecting on your personal beliefs that requires compassion and understanding of yourself and others. I find this topic to be super important for people to understand and implement in their daily lives. This idea is relevant to this class because going into every conversation with an open mind can also help you become a better communicator.

We have discussed the importance of self-reflection in my social work classes. I have learned that good intrapersonal communication is a useful skill to have as someone wanting to work with others. For instance, if someone develops greater self-awareness, they are more likely to recognize their own biases, triggers, etc., enabling them to speak more clearly and purposefully and regulate their emotions. Without intrapersonal communication, we would be unable to process our thoughts and feelings before we speak to others, making us ineffective communicators.