Extension of Anxiety and Uncertainty Management †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Extension of Anxiety and Uncertainty Management. Answer: Introduction: One of the most important skills that a person can hone is communication. The capability to communicate clearly and effectively in personal and professional environment and outside ones comfort zone may appear challenging enough. However, it allows an accurate representation of the idea that a person wants to convey. There are two aspects of communication that hold true irrespective of the setting the person is in: verbal and nonverbal communication. This reflective essay will help me analyse my communication skills based on evidences I have gathered by using 5 diagnostic tools related to communication that are presented hereafter. The essay will illustrate 2 major communication issues, which will be identified from the diagnostic tool results. Moreover, this essay will also elaborate on a literature review that focuses on essential theories related to communication issues. This reflection process will help me gain practice in communication assessments and will also include an action plan that I intend to utilize in future. 5 different diagnostic tools have been used to help me analyse my communication drawbacks in different environment. The first tool I used was based on Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension (PRICA-24). This tool is based on an instrument that measures apprehensions or uneasiness associated with communication. The high reliability of the tool (0.90) helped me to obtain sub-scores related to dyadic interaction, public speaking, large and small groups (Blume, Baldwin Ryan, 2013). I measured my degree of agreement and disagreement with the 24 statements present in the tool. The second tool I used was Self Perceived Communication Competence questionnaires. It provided me information on how competent I felt in different communication contexts and among a plethora of receivers (McCroskey, 2015). A high SPCC score indicated higher competence as perceived by me. Willingness to listen was the third diagnostic tool. I responded to the 24 statements associated with the tool to analyse whether I was a good listener. Active listening is an essential prerequisite of effective communication (Goh, 2012). The scores helped me evaluate a high or low willingness to listen. The fourth tool used was Talkaholic scale. It measured the degree to which I over communicated in a compulsive and consistent manner. Scores aboe two standard deviations helped in measuring whether I was talkaholic. The last tool used was Non-verbal immediacy scale self report that described my behaviour to express positive feelings towards other person. The Self-Perceived Communication Competence scores of 88.75 for friends showed that I feel most comfortable in a one-to-one interaction with friends. Moderate score of 76.66 for groups and a 63.33 for public demonstrated my uncomfortable feelings while communication in large groups or in public. The 43 score of talkaholic scale showed that I was a compulsive communicator and could not control my talking most of the time. Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension score of 40 verified that I had moderate levels of intercultural communication apprehensions. The score 78 for non-verbal immediacy was low. Willingness to Listen showed a score of 93 indicating a high willingness to listen. I realized that there was a need to improve my non-verbal immediacy and talkaholic nature for effective communication. I always continue to communicate my ideas and opinions even when I know it is not in my best interest. This often leads me to trouble in situations where I should have kept quite. My peers and friends often become impatient and irritant due to this behavior of mine. This often acts as a major communication barrier and leads to misinterpretation of thoughts. My lack of non-verbal immediacy was reinforced by the fact that I always felt hesitant to express closeness, warmth or positive feelings while communicating with another person. I often fail to keep cultural differences in mind and use verbal signals that are often considered inappropriate. I would like to reflect on an incident that occurred a month ago, that helped me realize my shortcomings when it comes to non-verbal immediacy. I wanted to reach out to my friend who was distressed and upset over some family matters. My friend wanted emotional support as he trusted me and perceived me competent enough to respond to her worries with a caring attitude. When my friend started narrating the problems that she faced at home, he became emotional and started to cry. He was expecting some empathy or attentiveness on my part. I was should have given my friend a hug or a pat on the shoulder to provide comfort. I failed to respond accordingly. I leaned forward and tried to show attentiveness. However, I avoided eye contact when my friend cried, turned my face away and refrained from showing empathy through my facial expressions. My friend would have felt better had I held his hand to show my support. Failure to reduce his distress made the situation worse and created a sense of embarrassment. The second event was related to my talkaholic nature. The end of a typical day at my workplace usually involved all colleagues sharing their experiences of the day and what they intended to do on reaching home. Usually my peers say a few words about their daily experience and move on. However, when it comes to my turn, I continue sharing my opinion on my experience at the office, my views on religion, politics, family and friends. This often irritated my colleagues and it decreased productivity at work. The morale began to decline dramatically. This continued for several months till the day when one of my close colleagues called me up to a private meeting and discussed with me the issue. He explained that my compulsive talking was creating frustration among others. He helped me identify that when others stare out of the window, look around or fidget with their phones, I should get the cue that I need to stop talking. I was also advised by the friend to finish up fast while communicat ing or else other employees may complain to the management about my compulsive behavior. I understood that there was a need to check my level of talkativeness to advance my career. Literature review- Studies have established that compulsive talkers are self aware of their habit of talking past a point in all situations. The need to talk and communicate their thoughts become excess in such person and reaches an extreme level. The problems that others face due to compulsive talkative behaviors are most often not recognized by the compulsive talker and they do not find any damaging effects of this behavior. A twofold study was conducted to determine the negative associations that can possibly occur between the communication satisfaction of a student and the compulsive behavior of an instructor. The study also used a framework based on the Expectancy Violations Theory (Sidelinger Bolen, 2016). This was done to test the extent of negative association that was mediated by the credibility of an instructor and its effects on student satisfaction. The study linked low student satisfaction to compulsive communication on the part of instructors. Furthermore, four kinds of apprehensions in communication related to anxiety were identified by a particular study that focused on the audience involved, the context and situation of the event and the trait observed in the person suffering from it (McCroskey, 2015). Evidence from studies suggests that a person often become nervous by the fact that he will be evaluated or scrutinized by others. This leads to stage fright and the person experiences several emotional and physical changes that create a hindrance while giving a presentation (Vsl? et al., 2013). Combinations of psychological, social and cultural factors also contribute to making a person incompetent of speaking before public or groups. Studies have shown strong negative correlations between communication ability and its apprehensions in the context of public speaking (Fall et al., 2013). A particular study focused on assessing the relationship among ethnocentrism, intercultural communication apprehensive, communication satisfaction and uncertainity reduction during interactions that involved various cultures. The Uncertainity Management Theory (AUM) was proposed that predicted negative effects of ethnocentrism and intercultural communication on intercultural encounter satisfaction (Neuliep, 2012). The research utilized uncertainty reduction studies that were conducted earlier and divided participants into intracultural and intercultural dyads. Regression and correlation analysis negatively correlated intercultural communication with communication satisfaction. Intercultural communication competence and apprehensions were measured among Chinese international students in another study. The PRICA tool was used to measure the degree of apprehension among the participants. A significant relationship was obtained between Chinese intercultural communication apprehension and competence (Lin, 2012). The results revealed that age, gender or educational level don not directly influence such apprehension. However, the frequency of communicating in English language often acted as a contributing factor. Similar results were obtained by another study that investigated the variables the affected cultural adjustment of international students. The PRICA tools were used to measure individual apprehensions while interacting with people who belong to different cultures. Education levels, travel experience and language proficiency contributed to cross-cultural adjustment differences and led to apprehensions while interacting (Mustaffa Ilias, 2013). A particular study examined the relationship between learning preferences and communication apprehension in a workplace setting. The results suggested a correlation between concrete experience preference, accommodating learning style and low communication apprehension (Russ, 2012). A study examined the role of students perceptions of clarity and nonverbal immediacy of the teachers and their role on empowering learning in students. Structural equation results revealed that clarity and non verbal immediacy of teachers influenced student perceptions and improved their learning skills (Finn Schrodt, 2012). A similar study was conducted to the effects of nonverbal immediacy behavior on human-robot interaction and found significant learning gains among children who interacted with robots that exhibited more nonverbal behavior (Kennedy et al., 2015). Several studies have identified the effect of verbal communication skills in business performance and have evaluated their expressiveness, precise nature and aggressiveness (Wright et al., 2013). Most of the time, the expectations of a particular organization or industry are not met by the communication skills of its employees. Differences in cultural and educational background play a role in the business context. Nonver bal skills generally include expressing empathy or concern through facial expressions, listening carefully by leaning forward, using all forms of tough to demonstrate involvement, looking directly at the eyes of a distressed person and maintaining close distance. It was also found that an employee needs to identify the demands of the audience and make necessary changes in communication style based on ethnic and cultural preferences to gain benefits. One study conducted by Jia, Cheng Hale, (2017) demonstrated the positive implications of non-verbal communication on preventing conflicts and disagreement in workplace. Such communication skills increase the ability to interact with non-native speakers, thereby abolishing language barriers. People with such communication skills are more self-aware of the intercultural aspects in a workplace and are better able to appreciate differences between people (Cleveland-Innes Ally, 2013). Non-verbal skills involve expressing through nods or smiles. Several studies have shown that good listening forms an active part of business performance and client satisfaction (Malachowski et al., 2013). Active listening enhances the ability of the concerned individual to remember events, cope with others and garner cu stomer trust than the less proficient people (Bodie, 2013). Willingness to listen acts as a motivation and leads to better socio-economic development and increases the likelihood of higher mobility in the workplace. Research finds that less willingness to listen negatively impacts interpersonal relation and the overall wellbeing of an individual (Akdemir, 2016). Incorporation of this skill in business framework can influence a person to present personal views or speech in a skilful manner (Bodie, 2012). I have developed a 6 month action plan to overcome my communication issues. I would be maintaining a personal diary to keep track my improvements in communication skills. It will help me identify the areas where I need to emphasize more and would act as a good tool for future development. Moreover, I intend to attend an online training on verbal and nonverbal communication at TAFE Queensland to learn tones and words that will help me develop a sense of effectiveness and leadership. It will help me gain a deeper understanding of verbal and non-verbal skills that will improve personal and professional interaction. It would provide better outcomes. I will also read books to improve my verbal and non-verbal communication skills (Weger et al., 2014). I wish to enroll at a postgraduate course at the University of Queensland on Language and Intercultural Communication. This course will help me learn the various aspects of communication related to cultural backgrounds and will assist me in l earning non-verbal communication skills and politeness. I also intend to take training on Active Listening offered by Professional Development Training in Sydney, Melbourne. It will help me to develop crucial skills like attentive listening, and showing interest. It will also help me reduce my compulsive talking behavior (Figure 1). Thus, it can be concluded that the essay elaborated on 5 key communication diagnostic tools that helped me gather knowledge on my communication issues. My communication shortcomings directly affect my workplace performance and disturb interpersonal communication. By taking cues from the evidences provided by several studies, I have finally developed an action plan for improvising my communication incapabilities. References Akdemir, A. S. (2016). The Development and Validation of Willingness-to-Listen in L2 (WTL) Scale.PASAA: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand,51, 127-154. Blume, B. D., Baldwin, T. T., Ryan, K. C. (2013). 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