University of Maryland, College Park

Pear Diving Assignment 1

Garvé Polymise
Communication for Project Managers: ENCE 424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
September 21, 2019
Introduction
Being an Architecture student, the core concepts of my academic career focuses on the
design and technical facets of buildings. During the semester, I experience jury styled
presentations of my work where I explain my design ideas and concepts to a group of practicing
architects and upperclassman. Although my fellow classmates and I do these presentations
anywhere from six to twelve times a semester, we have not been formally taught communication
in a professional sense. The course Communication for Project Managers has enlightened me to
the true importance of excellent communication and public speaking. Having the skills to
communicate effectively is paramount in not only ensuring that the communicator’s words are
accurately received by the receiver, but it has consequential importance for excelling within
one’s own career.
Concepts from Readings
The first particularly interesting concept that I gained from this past week’s reading is the
way to approach your growth regarding communication. The reading, Crucial Conversations:
Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High highlights that on our path to becoming better
communicators, we need to focus on ourselves first. Through the text, it was brought to light that
in conversations we are too busy trying to win or be correct when we find ourselves in situations
where we are confronted for our actions or the words that we may have said. For example, you
may support a climate change campaign that is in favor of sustainable farming practices but then
you buy crops that are out of season. When confronted in this situation, especially when you are
with a group of people, the embarrassment that you may face would cause you to react rather
harshly to the criticism of the person who has confronted you. The author of Crucial
Conversations says that as a responsible, well rounded communicator, you should take a moment
in these situations to internally assess what is being said to you, what that person’s intent is, and
then what is the intent you wish to portray when responding. When done correctly, this can help
prevent a situation from escalating into a disagreement which would potentially leave both
parties with bruised egos and even vilify one of them in the other’s eyes.
A second topic that I found interesting in the readings was found in the book Five Stars:
The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great; this was about Pathos, or emotion. It
was stated that emotion is the most important facet of communication because it allows us to
influence others. Emotion within conversations allows us to feel something greater than when we
are simply listening to the verbatim that comes with a speech. It is that ability to connect on a
deeper level that engrains the interaction within our memory. It is speculated that we will have
our jobs replaced my AI soon, however; the need for human emotion within our interactions and
conversations is more than enough to keep human beings relevant within the working world. The
best presentations and conversations where we seek to persuade a group of people has a story
within it. It is with the story that the audience’s attention is caught, and their likelihood to gain
interests like yours of the topic begins to take root. The author of Five Stars: The
Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great stresses on the need to have stories within
presentations as working professionals from fortune five hundred companies have used it as the
number one way to sell their product. The quote that stuck with me most in class, which I believe
is closely related to the topic discussed in the reading, is by the late Dr. Maya Angelou which
states, “ I have learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but
people will never forget how you made them feel.” This further solidified the understanding that
the emotion brought through your conversations and presentations is most likely what will
cement it in the memory of the audience.
The final topic discussed within the readings within the Five Stars: The Communication
Secrets to Get from Good to Great is that a team can succeed or fail based on the abilities of their
leader. A strong leader can motivate his or her team to perform in the most ideal while best
utilizing their team’s skills and talents in order to succeed. This was touched on at many points in
the readings; companies are looking for individuals who are excellent at storytelling as these
people are best at selling their aspirations to the audience they are speaking to. These people
have the communication skills needed to take a group of people who may or may not know each
other and inspire them to equally pursue a goal with every fiber of their being. These storytellers
are the individuals who can go on to becoming the CEO’s and founders of companies, having
their voices heard through media, and influencing not only their staff but also their customers. A
great example of this are the past and present CEO’s of Apple. When it comes to the keynote
speeches that Apple has each year to unveil their new products, Apple’s CEO’s like the late
Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook, use the art of storytelling to take simple products such as
phones, tablets, and laptops to make them seem like extensions of our personalities; our Swiss
Utility Knives, and maybe even our own personal companions or assistants. They do this by
telling you how the products have enriched and even saved lives, or they give you a fantasy of
how it can improve your world beyond what you had already thought was possible. This skill
that they have is what really sells the product to the customers, by having them always wanting
what is considered the latest and greatest each year.
Business Civility
The chapters of the books I have read so far have taught me that the art of storytelling,
utilizing emotion to make an impact, and persuasion are ideal for communication in large scales
such as lectures, business meetings, and small group conversations. The book The Essentials of
Business Etiquette has taught me the greatest of all skills when it comes to communication and
that is your ability to listen. Regardless of whether you follow the author’s tips to introduce
yourself using your full name, initiate a hand shake that is firm and respectful, or how to
appropriately address and greet others, they have shown that having the ability to listen
effectively will be the breaking point of your conversation. No none wants to have a one-sided
conversation where they feel like they are not being heard, they would simply lose interest in
talking to you because they see you as narcissistic and lacking respect. Taking the time to listen
to someone where you give them your undivided attention by putting everything you’re doing on
hold to hear what they have to say ,when applicable, shows the person that you respect them and
you are interested in whatever it is they have to say. This makes them feel like they are
important, and that their voice will be heard. Along with giving them your undivided attention,
also reciprocating what they have told you helps to ensure the communication has occurred.
George Bernard Shaw said, “The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has
taken place.” This statement informs us that we have a misconception that if we speak to
someone, or someone to us, communication has happened because the words being said were
heard. Unless we are truly listening, these words might as well have been spoken to a wall.
Networking
Through my time within the course so far, my understanding of networking has grown
from a process that required going to events where you had to have business cards to pass around
like raffle tickets, and continuously follow up with everyone with an @business.com email so
that they won’t ever forget you. This view was clearly flawed as I’ve found that networking
happens as simply as conversation between oneself and a fellow classmate or co-worker. It is just
the same as the first day at school or work, you come into an environment that has other new
people like yourself, and experienced individuals of whom have been there anywhere from one
to five plus years to you. If you can shake off the nerves, and interact with individuals, telling
them your name, learning theirs and exchanging interests and a few stories you have found
yourself networking. I’ve begun to learn that networking can happen within any environment,
not just a convention, and that what matters most to have a lasting impact on somebody is the
way you make them feel within the spur of the moment.
DISC Personality Assessment
I have had the chance to take a few personality quizzes within my academic career, about
one per academic semester for a course or out my own curiosity to see if anything in my
personality has changed. I haven’t had the chance to take the DISC Personality test, and the
results were quite insightful. My results came out to be IDSC, with my most dominate
personality trait being that of influence, meaning I am more inclined to persuade someone to see
a view, or understand a goal when having conversations with them. I’m mostly focused on how I
deal with people, and how I handle situations where people are involved. The second most
dominant trait is dominance, which deals with how I assert myself and handle situations. I
perceive this as my ability to stay true to my morals when I face different challenges and stimuli
that I encounter throughout my life. I am surprised that this is my second most dominant trait -
that I am this steadfast in my beliefs. Steadiness came as my third trait, not trailing too far from
dominance. I anticipated that Steadiness would have been my second most dominant trait due to
how often I’ve had moments where I have had to recollect myself, maintain my composure to
allow my most patient self to interact with others, or control my reaction to situations I have
found myself in. Compliance, being the last of all my traits is something that I am also a bit
surprised at, but when I give it some thought I find myself understanding a bit clearly. Overall, I
think my traits are divided rather interestingly, Influence takes up almost half of my personality,
while the rest of the traits seem to only have one or two percentage difference between them.
Conclusion
Communication for Project Managers thus far has been provided me with enlightenment
and has allowed me to see the many misconceptions that I personally have had when it came to
networking, communicating, and potentially leading as a project manager. I look forward to
seeing the ways this course can teach me to be a better communicator, listener, leader and
influencer within this diverse and continuously growing world. Hopefully I will leave with the
knowledge to handle most any communication, networking, and social situation that I may come
across in my final academic semester as an undergraduate student and my future career.
 Works Cited
Patterson, Kerry. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Audiobook
Gallo, Carmine. Five Stars the Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great. St. Martin’s
Press, 2018. Audiobook.
Pachter, Barbara, and Denise Cowie. The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat,
and Tweet Your Way to Success.
McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. E-Book.