University of Maryland, College Park

Pear Diving Assignment 2

Garvé Polymise
Communication for Project Managers: ENCE 424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
October 11, 2019
Introduction
As my time in class progresses, I have become more aware of the way communication is of vital
importance to the professional. Through the variety of in-class exercises and at-home readings
done, I contemplated situations where my communication skills were tested, and I came up short
within the heat of the moment. Especially now, I try to take more time to be introspective,
starting with heart and having a clear goal when engaging in conversation with another
individual. It is interesting that a course that specifically looks at the way we communicate, and
how to do it more effectively is not taught at earlier stages of our education as a core requirement
toward our curriculum.
Conflict Management Styles Assessment
Upon taking the Conflict Management Styles Assessment, if I have understood the test correctly,
my Conflict Management Style is Collaborating, with the mascot being Owl. Understanding this,
my style suggests that value both the relationships that I have made, and the goals that I have set
for myself. I think this is true, I value the relationships that I make with others, there are times
when I’ve reconnected with friends that I haven’t spoken with in years simply to see their
growth, and see our friendship grow even more. While relationships are important to me, my
friendships are equally important to me; there is a level of immense accomplishment to me when
I find myself completing the goals, I have set for myself. I think this test was rather interesting,
but I think the part where you are informed on what your style is was rather vague. I am only
assuming that I am an Owl, because it is the first listed, just like my highest number style is the
first listed.
Concepts from Readings
The readings and class sessions of this week looked more deeply into storytelling. The way to
one’s mind is to tell a story. Not only will it easily allow you to create a connection with the
audience, but it also allows you to get your point(s) across and have it stay with them long after
the conversations and interactions are over. The author of the book Five Stars: The
Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great made the statement that “The brain is hard-
wired for stories.” This implies storytelling is by far the META, Most Effective Tactic Available,
for communication between two or more individuals. With this reasoning alone, I will be using
what I have learned to tell you two stories of my past. The first being one of adversity that I
faced, ending with how I prevailed successfully, and the second being where I was able to
identify and resolve a problem that significantly benefited myself and others.
During the spring semester of the junior year at the University of Maryland, I had to make a
mixed-use, affordable housing complex for my architectural studio class. What made this
building mixed-use was because it had a public space on the ground floor, with more private
spaces such as apartments and residential amenities on the floors above. The professor that I had
during this semester was a new, practicing professional, to the School of Architecture as an
adjunct faculty member. This project began like most other architectural projects, my classmates
and myself we brought together as a class, got debriefed on the project, and had a site visit to see
the area where the project would be built. From there I began the major design thinking and
iteration from ques I observed on site. During this time, students meet with their professors twice
or thrice a week to discuss the progress made on the project. My professor, the new faculty
member Prof. Gole, said to my section that he would not have his own design bias affect our
design methods when he first met with us. As the weeks went by, Prof. Gole made it more and
more apparent that he wanted me to design perspectives of spaces based on how they felt to me
in my mind. He said I needed to be able to imagine myself in the spaces when designing. This
strategy was based on his design bias, which seemed to be effective in saying, but not as
practical for all the students of my section especially for me as I still had not gotten a concept
design approved or developed further yet. My friends Antea, Nika, and David, all within my
section, expressed their frustrations with the professor. Saying things like, “He’s insane if he
thinks we can design like that!” or “I got a crit from Role again and I didn’t even get an idea
looked at or approved, it was a waste of time!” These situations made the entire section reluctant
to seek his input on their designs. The fact that Prof. Role was very verbose, often going off on a
tangent for the majority of the time we had crits with him also placed us in situations of what-if
scenarios of our already conceptual building and not getting any headway on what concrete
changes could be made to the building. to make it more practical or believable. This persisted to
the endgame of the of project timeline which brought me to the dilemma of not having a solid
idea on what my building was supposed to be and having to have a project I was confident in
presenting to a jury. This required me to stop listening to my professor because his input did not
provide me with much feedback worth having.
I sunk my head in agony for the all-nighters that I knew I had ahead of me. Through hours of
constant staring at a computer screen, consistently seeking feedback from my classmates and
upperclassman. I was able to figure out my plans and overall building design, something that, at
this point, I should have had done at least two weeks before the endgame deadline. So, at this
point my studio-mates and I started drinking alcohol and energy drinks to keep us awake but also
lower our frustration levels as we continued to our third night of practically no sleep, slaving
away to get production done in time. Something I can say now was inherently unhealthy and ill-
thought. On the third day of being high off of caffeine, I completed my building in time for the
final review, but wait, there’s more. At this point, I realized I had no money and could not afford
to print for this final. In my panic, I went to the head professor of our class and pleaded with her
to allow me to present digitally. Thinking that since I would have gotten an F for not printing, I
might be able to get away with a digital presentation. To my surprise, my Professor, Prof. Role,
who was a bit worried about my progress, was quite surprised and pleased to see what I had
produced.
The presentation went smoothly, and I was able to receive amazing feedback from the guest jury.
When I got home, and finally got the chance to sleep, I didn't wake for at least a day. That was
by far my most stressful semester.
The second story I am going to tell you talks about a time where I identified a problem in my
past and was able to resolve it, benefitting myself, and others around me. One summer’s day,
back in my youth, my I woke to the frustrated shouting of my grandmother. She was upset
because her goats, which she had been experienced in herding since I was born, were coming up
missing. I was quite puzzled at first because I woke to her yelling in the middle of a conversation
with our neighbor, and her closest friend Ms Primm, informing her of the situation and telling
her to keep a close eye on her animals. My grandmother’s suspicions were high, could it have
been a dog, a neighbor’s or maybe a stray, or was it someone who stole them in the night, or
even worse, was it a demonic spirit that came upon us? I wouldn’t put it past her, loved her as I
may, she was a superstitious religious lady.
As if having second nature of me being awake, she beckoned to me for my assistance in finding
the cause of this situation. “You are young, so you would be able to keep at this search a lot
longer than I would, but be sure to not tell anyone they are suspect, don’t be foolish,” she warned
me as she told me she suspected this could have been the trifles of the new neighbors. Having
been given the full details, five animals have upped and disappeared overnight, my grandmother
and I began our searching. At this time, it was mid-morning and I was determined to help her
find her missing goats. Sadly, I didn’t know how tricky this situation would have been. By
midafternoon we had looked all over our land for any clues of what had happened to the
livestock but to no avail. I could see the disappointment, and defeat in my grandmother's eyes as
she fought back tears over the five animals she had lost. All but hopeless, she gave up on the
search and made her way back home telling me that it made no sense to keep looking for the
goats, “Whatever took dem muss’ already be gone,’ she said with a slight quiver, “Doh worry
Gargar, we still have others to care for, let's go.” Gesturing for me to follower back to the house I
declined her invitation, telling her that I wanted to keep looking. I wasn’t sure if she had simply
given up by this point or didn’t want to bother to force me to come with her, but she simply kept
moving on without turning around. The evening drew, and by this point, almost the entire
neighborhood knew the goat hunt was on with no one having answers to give. I must have
retraced my steps and researched the same nooks and crannies a million times looking for
something that was missed.
Finally, at the point of giving up, with the sun setting behind me, I made my way home, my head
hung low because I had nothing to show, the day of searching was a waste. Even though
everyone was busy, I felt their eyes on me, and their whispers of my running around all day
echoed through my head. As soon as I set foot back onto the bridge before my house, I noticed a
tattered rope that looked like it had been trampled. I picked it up noticing it belonged to one of
the missing goats and frantically scanned the area around for more signs of where the animals
might have gone. The sun setting rapidly, adrenaline pumping through my veins, I glued my eyes
the dirt road trying to scan rock from to mud, to droppings, to rope fibers. It was at that moment
I caught a trail, one that led up the road toward an old pigsty that belonged to a farmer who came
by now and then to check up on it.
Racing up the road, yelling at the top of my lungs, “MAMA, MAMA! I FOUND
SOMETHING!! I FIND DEM!!” Sure, enough did I find the missing goats in the pigsty, tangled
up with some wild goats, and what was more interesting was that the pigsty seemed to have some
more missing items of neighbors around. I turned out that the owner of the land had not been
there a while, and the children of some neighbors, little kleptomaniacs, stashed away their
weekly haul at his place. That day, I solved mysteries while only seeking the answer for one.
Business Civility
The reading this week on storytelling taught me that it is one of the most important skills that we
can learn when trying to be more effective communicators. When stories are used in
presentations, or speeches, we are more likely to listen to the speaker, and even more likely to
connect with them on a deeper level. This is the main reason why I have told two stories about
experiences that I have had with the hope of the audience connecting with me on a deeper level.
Networking
This past week and a half, I have used my networking skills to communicate with my professors,
pairs, and loved ones to help me participate in class, and keep tabs on the current happenings in
everyone’s lives. By doing this, I have been invited to dinner by my professor and a guest
speaker who holds a position of power and influence in a construction firm I am interested in. I
have been able to see what my family and friends have been doing lately for the past week. All
of this has happened before the end the week. I have learned firsthand how speaking up and
participating, or networking, with as many individuals as possible can do for you. One truly
never knows what opportunities it may bring to them.
Jung Test
Upon taking the Jung Test, I received the results of ENFJ this is the same personality type that I
received when I did the 16 personalities test. Another time doing the 16 personalities test I
received the INTJ personality result, which had me confused on which personality I was. I think
this was because of my E and I personality traits we almost even in dominance, with the "E" trait
being about five to ten percent higher than the "I" trait. After looking at these results, I think it is
safe to say I am more of an ENTJ since this resonates with me the most. I still have a bit to learn
about my personality type to truly understand what distinction I am and what makes me tick. I
look forward to this journey to learning more about myself.
Conclusion
This week’s lessons and readings further taught me the power and significance of storytelling.
Now that I know just how important it is, I will be sure to practice my ability to tell a captivating
story to an audience whenever I get the chance to. I know that I like to tell stories, and I would
even consider myself as having skill for narration, but I still have much to learn.
 Works Cited
Gallo, Carmine. Five Stars the Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great. St. Martin’s
Press, 2018. Audiobook.