During this unit I've had a number of verbal exchanges and I've used clarity of speech, kept calm and focused and spoke with confidence when presenting. In the opening of a verbal exchange the first few minutes are extremely important as first impressions have the most impact. Using eye contact and having a friendly warm smile during a verbal exchange is essential to highlight a good first impression. Intonation is also key within a speech as it shows the expressions and thoughts which go into the words. Furthermore I've paraphrased certain things throughout many units so other students in the class are able to understand if they are unsure what a complicated word means. Also I've summarised at the end of a presentation just so everyone understood what my main points were and if they had any questions for me they could relate it to my summary.
Body language is another key interpersonal technique as during this unit I've been able to further emphasise a positive attitude through the use of my body. It also enabled me to further express indescribable things through the use of gesture such as outlining the shape of an object. It’s also known that people are more affected by what they see instead of what they hear; it’s proven to be a better method of understanding.
When working within a group on another unit I made sure I used positive language as it makes a huge impact on how I’m perceived as a team member. The positive language I used let my team know what I could do instead of what I couldn't, showing that I’m eager to help in any way possible. Positive language can be helpful and constructive to a fellow students work, bringing the team closer together. However I made sure to not use any negative language when working within a team as it can bring other team members motivation down and ultimately lead them to not want to work with me. When listening to my other team members I made sure to show active engagement through nodding to let them know I’m paying attention to their ideas. When working as a team I also made sure to ask both open and closed questions as the open questions allowed us as a group to enter a discussion easier. But also asking closed questions helped the group get definite, concise information from a response.
When communicating my work and ideas through written work I've made sure not to use any ‘smileys’ or emoticons as it displays a more casual approach to my work and that’s not my intended approach. However when sending casual emails to other students asking a work related question, using an emoticon can be acceptable to show you are not being too serious and adding a fun element to the working environment. Using the correct grammar has been essential throughout all my work as it ensures that I have understood everything I've written. Also throughout all my units I've used set guidelines otherwise known as the project briefs, these have helped me understand how to write a particular piece of work. In all my pieces of work I've made sure to have a good structure as it has allowed my teacher to follow my work easily. For example I've used the grading criteria as my titles for each piece of work so the teacher can easily locate different tasks to mark it quickly and efficiently.
Identifying relevance is another important factor within written work as it enables you to pick out important parts which are related to the area you are studying. I did this in the form of highlighting and underlining certain areas I felt were the most relevant to my work. Before handing my work in to be marked, I always make sure I've proof read beforehand as it reduces the risk of handing in incorrect information or any unnecessary spelling mistakes. When researching different tasks in a unit I always make sure to note take as it allows me to pick out the important relevant information quickly. Most of the time I take notes on Microsoft Word because I can type them out quickly and also erase any information I don’t need easily.
Overall I think I made good use of interpersonal and written communications techniques throughout all my units. It helped me work well in a group and complete work in a quick and efficient manner, giving me enough time to make any improvements once marked.
