Since I travel alot for work, I am always meeting new people. Speaking up clearly and loudly is something I've noticed I do not do very well. It seems the nerves get the best of me and I am unable to speak how I normally would. I will be focusing on this more as I grow in my communication journey

The language the kids are using now a days is just insane. "Skibity rizz' means you have charisma or charm. These are not just words used around friends, kids are saying these words in social context where there should be some level of respect. Language seems to be changing for the worst. Maybe I am just getting old but there seems to be a dumbing down of language with the younger generation.

Situations like this have always peaked some curiosity inside me. I've thought about this quite a bit, the LGBT community reclaimed this word and put a positive spin on, however referring to someone as queer if your not in that community is seen as derogitory. Even when just describing it. Why does language seem to get captured in different groups and only able to be used by those groups? Does society just generally agree that this is the case and we all accept it?

I remember being in a relationship where I was unable to express my emotions. If something bothered me it was an attack on the other person. I also see this alot in the workplace, they preach safety culture but as soon as you speak up about the unsafe practices you are attacking the company and the management. It is not healthy to live like that but unfortunatley thats the reality. Hopefully this course will teach me how to properly recieve the response and rebuttle it.

This is a tricky one because words in different regions of our own country have different meaning. For example when I moved to Tennessee for a couple years they use tabogins. I had to no idea what they were referring to, but turns out thats just a beanie. Moving to the south I had to basically learn a whole new vocabulary, Kinfolk which is family member or close friend. Holler, didint mean to yell but it means a valley or long road in the base of the hills where people live.

I feel like language has become so complex that it is again becoming a thing for the pepople of power and status. Think about taxes, or Wall Street, the language they use is so complex but it boils down to such simple meanings. I think they do this to keep normal people from being able to play the game by making it so complicated that the average person just gives up. Language is being used as a form of war on the average people.

My question would be, what expertise does the professional editor have. We have been living in a time where much of what we see has clear bias to it even from professionals. How can we determine who the experts are now a days. We have alot of comfirmation bias in our world and someone may be an expert but to someone else they are not.

I used to sell real estate, and before I would go to a potential clients house I would always look them up. The amount of information that can be learned about someone just by a google search is scary. Its also not polite to take the time out of someones day, not be prepared and ask them basic questions that are readily available.

There are many issues with using google and the internet in general. We have become so divided, it is almost impossible to know what is real. Research the researchers and dig deep to see if they are a credible source.

This is interesting to me because I feel that when I get up to give a speech, which I avoid like the plague, I lose my humor. I try to craft the speech as someone im not, and it adds so much more pressure to me. I try to write speeches without humor and it always felt so stiff. Reading this in the book has given me some reassurance that I can play to my strength even if it a small joke here and there.

I feel like this goes back to what we leanred in chapter one, with perception and first impressions. I think it is much easier to gain credibility with a newer audience vs one who knows you. In a new audience with professionals, you have to upper hand becuse you are on stage at the same event they are at. You must have some credibility to be on that stage. The credibility becomes yours to keep or yours to lose based on the supporting information you provide.

To me this has never even registered in my head. I am going to focus on this the next time my girlfriend is watching reality tv. I know that I am most aware that I tend to root for the underdogs in most scenarios. I want the one who was counted out to win. I wonder how that relates to my personality. I know I always admire the extroverts, but I felt like that was because I am not very extroverted and wanted to be like them. Intersting self observation for me to try in the coming days.

I am currently working on a construction site here in Boise. I am from Tennessee and all my coworkers are from Kentucky. One day a coworker told me the superindentent didnt like me. Obviously confused since we had only been working together for 3 days, I asked, Why? My coworker told me simply for the fact that I am not from Kentucky, he did not trust me or think I was a capable worker because of where I grew up. I know its not fair but the only thing I can do is prove him wrong and help him recognize his inherant bias is not always correct.

The mentality of “I hit the game winning shot because I’m the best” vs “I missed the game winning shot because you didn’t get me the ball fast enough” Fascinating to see these examples from life be put into a structured explanation.have a coworker who, if there is a mistake, will always be the last to get back to the office and then proceed put the blame on someone else. If the job is completed on time, looks good and mistake free he will be the first one in the office reporting to the boss how good he did on the job.

This fundamental attribution error seems to be a rabbit hole our society is falling down. I had always referred to it as victim culture. We as a society are unable to see how our external attribution to a situation plays a role in the outcomes in life. Everything bad that happens to us is because somebody else is bad and out to get me. It is much easier to blame someone else, for reasons your assuming, then it is to realize the mistakes that were made.

Since I was younger I’ve known that we have beliefs that are instilled dingo us, knowingly and unknowingly. The part that is always difficult for me is how do I notice them, and how do I change them. One of the Schemata I have realized is the way I perceive money. I have always felt like I never had enough, and it was going to run out. However, after 10 years of working, I have never gone without, been homeless or starved. I recognize the schema now I am focused on changing that database.

There is something similar in the psychology realm called Baader-Meinhoff. This is the phenomenon where you buy something, say a new silver Toyota Camery. All of a sudden it feels like every car you are seeing on the roads is a silver Toyota Camery. This happened to me when I bought my new truck, it made me think I made a good decision because of how many other people had the same truck. I wasn’t looking for the truck but it seemed like it was the only vehicle on the road that ever caught my attention.

I can speak from personal experience on the issue of CMC related anxiety. About 3 years ago I decided to delete my instagram from my phone. In the first few days after I realized I was opening my phone about every 20 minutes to check my instagram, only to remember I had deleted it. This was almost a nervous habit for me. After about 3 months without the app i decided to re download it, and after opening Instagram, I had immediate anxiety. All my friends lives looked perfect, they had done so much, been so many places, good relationships, and I was immediately comparing my life to theirs. I instantly deleted it again from my phone, and have not gotten it back since.

I have never thought of communication as being so intentional. This simple section made me stop and reflect about how I am communicating. What message do i try and get across as I am speaking. There has not been a time I can remember where I stopped and intentionally processed what I was going to say. I have always seen myself as an “off the cuff” person but I’m starting to rethink that mentality.

As someone who is returnng back to school after being in the workforce for 10+ years I see this play out all the time. Although it is a group project and a common goal is shared, there must be someone who can communicate within the group to delegate tasks. If you are not good with communication, active listening, problem solving, you will be passivley participating in the group and seen as dead weight. Being able to direct and communicate effectively can be the difference between the best group project, or a flat out nightmare.

As someone who has massive stage fright, I can attest that seperating public speaking and communication is a necessary. I do exceptionally well in a group of 2-5. I realize that being a good public speaker you have to be able to communicate, but being able to conduct small meetings and get a message across is needed in the workforce. These are two very different skill sets, but at the foundation is communication. So, thank the National Communication Association for seperating the performance aspect of communication.

I find it fascinating that all history before us was done in Manuscript and here we are as a society with this new form of technology. This digital communication style has been interesting to watch unfold, but it seems we always revert back to the Manuscript era for guidance. We are living in an uncharted time as far as communication goes, and we are lucky to be on the forfront of societial changing technology. It will be interesting to see if we stay the course or revert to the old way of communicating.