University of Maryland, College Park

First Pearl Diving Assignment

Thomas Maloney

Communication for Project Managers: ENCE426

Dr. Shauna Webster-Trotman

19 February 2022
Introduction
Engineers are often stereotyped as very intelligent people with lots of book smarts and
less street smarts who are extremely introverted, awkward, and incapable of effective
communication. This stereotype is simply not true. In today’s advancing technological society,
engineers are global leaders, spearheading innovative projects that will continue to change the
world for generations. All engineering products require effective communication to be successful
which all starts with the project manager. In Communication for Project Managers, students are
learning the communication skills to oversee the projects of the future that will shape the next
age of humanity. This essay will cover the concepts from readings and lectures that I found most
captivating, how I have increased my network since the beginning of this course, a self
evaluation of some key attributes that effective communicators excel at, an analysis of my DISC
Personality Test results, an analysis of my Conflict Management Styles Assessment results, and
an analysis of my Jung Personality Test Results.

Concepts from Readings and Class

The first concept that we have read about and discussed in class that I found particularly
interesting is non-verbal communication. A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking discusses how
communication is an exchange of “thoughts and ideas put into meaningful expressions,
expressed verbally and nonverbally” (O’Hair et al. 7). Non-verbal communication is just as
important as verbal communication because how a listener perceives a speaker dictates how they
will interpret the message. Dr. Shauna Webster-Trotman says that the words that a speaker says
only accounts for a mere seven percent of an audience’s impression of them with body language
and tone of delivery accounting for the other ninety-three percent. This is an important topic to
me because my dad and I butt heads a lot, almost always because of poor communication. our
personality types are very different and sometimes we have a hard time understanding each other.
This is made worse by my natural body language because I have a hard time appearing
enthusiastic or passionate most of the time. When I come across as apathetic to my dad it makes
him even more upset because he cares a lot and feels like I do not care at all. I have been
applying this lesson in non-verbal communication by considering who I am speaking to and how
I want them to perceive me. By keeping this notion front of mind, I am more aware of how I am
presenting myself, so that I can communicate what I am trying to say more effectively.
Another topic that I thought was an important lesson from the readings is the “Fool’s
Choice” from Crucial Conversations. The Fool’s Choice is the “[belief] that we have to choose
between telling the truth and keeping a friend (Patterson 64). An example of the Fool’s Choice is
when a friend tells you that they did or are going to do something that is really bad. Do you tell
on the friend and lose the precious relationship, or do you let them go through with it and
potentially put themself or other people in danger? The Fool’s Choice really fascinates me
because when I have been in impossible, lose-lose situations in the past it feels like the world is
closing in on me; I feel helpless and hopeless. Learning how to navigate that situation is a special
talent to have. Skilled communicators refuse to make the Fool’s Choice by being honest and
“find[ing] a way to get all the relevant information (from themselves and others) out into the
open” without being antagonistic (Patterson 66). I have yet to come across the Fool’s Choice
since the start of this term, but I can apply this lesson in my daily conversations by doing my best
to be respectful and honest towards the person that I am having a conversation with. By
practicing skills in dialogue in normal conversation, I am preparing myself to be able to deftly
avoid making the Fool’s Choice when I do encounter the situation.
A third pertinent topic from the readings comes from Five Stars the Communication
Secrets to Get from Good to Great. The Communication Skills Gap refers to professionals that
may be technical geniuses in their fields but have insufficient communication skills to rise
through the ranks at their company. The gap “between the value professionals thought they were
bringing to [an] organization and the skills senior leaders expected” comes down to the shifting
professional landscape that now requires CEOs, engineers, professionals, and managers to talk
about their brands and its products (Gallo 35). As we catapult into the internet age, these people
are thrust further into the public eye where they can make or break their company’s success. This
topic is very relevant to me because I am a future engineer and project manager. The passage
reinforced how important good communication skills are going to be for me to have for my
career. I can apply this lesson by honing my communication skills now, in school, so that when I
join the professional world I am prepared for this exposure and I can bridge the Communication
Skills Gap.

Networking
One of the first tasks in Communication for Project Managers was to expand my network
by exchanging contact information with three other students in the class. Since that day of the
first class I have increased my networking abilities and grown my network, by trying to explore
my interests and ‘put myself out there’ more. I have grown my network of people within my
major of Fire Protection Engineering by joining the team of students competing in this year’s
Alumni Cup, and interdepartmental competition for the A. James Clark School of Engineering.
Finally getting to know my classmates better has greatly increased my arguably most important
network, and I have made a couple new friends that will be a part of my life for many years to
come.
I recently attended a career fair which was a large networking event with over forty
companies present where I was able to put my networking abilities to the test. I came into the
career fair with a list of around ten companies that I had the goal of talking to. I steeled my
nerves and talked to all ten, each one a little bit easier than the last. When I had crossed the last
company name off of my list there were still a couple of hours left in the career fair, and thirty
more companies looking to meet young engineers. And so I walked back out into the room and
continued to go table to table for another hour. Now I have a couple interviews for summer
internships lined up and hopefully more to come. My professional network is beginning to take
shape.
Key Attributes of an Effective Communicator
Confidence (5/10) – Increasing my level of confidence is important for me to improve my
presentation skills. I will start sleeping earlier, completing assignments early, and staying
open-minded to gain greater confidence. Sleeping earlier will take care of my mind and body and
give me more energy and make me feel better all-around. Completing assignments ahead of time
will help with my self image of my work ethic and give me confidence in my ability to be
productive and manage time. Working on staying open minded will let me explore opportunities
and experiences that I would otherwise have ignored giving me confidence in trying new things
and abilities I have that I do not often get to use.

Assertive (5/10) – Increasing my ability to be assertive is important for me to improve my

communication skills. Too often I am afraid to assert myself, and let myself get overlooked when
people would have been willing to listen. I will start to share my opinions more often, participate
in conversations more, and not wait to be asked a question to work on improving my assertion.
The resources that I can use to help me in this endeavor include people who know me well that I
talk to on a daily basis. Practicing being assertive with them will let me ease into forming new
communicative habits that I can become comfortable with no matter who I am talking to.

Body Language (7/10) – Improving my body language is important for me to improve my

presentation and communication skills. My resting face is one of apathy and disinterest. I will
start looking at myself in the mirror when I get up, paying greater attention to the person I am
communicating with’s body language, and thinking about how I would like to present myself at
the given moment to improve my body language. By looking at myself first thing in the morning,
I will have an image of what I look like in my head and can imagine my face as how I would
want someone to look if I were talking to them. Paying attention to other people’s body
language, I can imitate what I see is effective body language. If I think about how I want to
present myself I can more easily change how I am presenting myself.

Pace (7/10) – Increasing my speaking pace is important for me to improve my presentation and
communication skills. Pace and cadence of speech can capture a listener’s attention, or it can
make a speaker impossible to understand. I will start practicing speaking slower and faster to see
what feels most comfortable for me, and what pace most effectively conveys the words that I am
saying. I will also think about how quickly other people speak and if any pace stands out to me
as being distracting of what the speaker is actually saying.

Concision (7/10) – Increasing the concision of my words is important for me to improve my

presentation and communication skills. Fumbling over words can muddy a message, and using
lots of filler words such as: “like” and “um” interrupt a presentation and make a speaker look
unprepared. I will start being deliberate with my word choice, taking a breath before I speak, and
thinking of responses before I say them to improve my concision. Strong word choice can
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a message. Taking a breath and thinking before
speaking mentally prepares you to speak clearly and avoid filler words to stall while you think.

DISC Personality Test

The results of my DISC Personality Test are as follows: forty-three percent steadiness,
forty percent compliance, twelve percent dominance, and five percent influence. “[I am]
tenacious and determined to follow a course of action - to achieve objectives. [I am] a clear
thinker. [I] have an inner need to be objective and analytical. [I] like to pursue a definite course
of action. [I] respond to logic rather than emotion. [I am] likely to be particularly good at
handling challenging technical assignments” (123Test).
I agree with my results. I consider myself to be a very thoughtful person. I tend to not
have strong opinions on most topics because I contemplate many perspectives and try to
understand the pros and cons of each angle. Pursuing a definite course of action helps me to
think less and act more efficiently. I believe that this over contemplation stems from my capacity
for empathy. I agree with the result that I respond to logic over emotion, but the test fails to see
that I am often overwhelmed by emotional response, so I reach for logical conclusions that I can
more consistently rely on.
The significantly lower percentage of dominance and influence are striking but not
unexpected. I have inner needs, not as many outer needs. Pursuing a definite course of action
means not paving the way for others. That is not to say that I am incapable of being a leader; my
preferred leadership style is to lead from the trenches, not from above. I am a man of the people
and am not yet comfortable ordering others and telling them what to do. The low dominance and
influence reflects this and as I work on this part of myself I hope to see the results from this test
even out in the future.
Self awareness of my personality type can help me become a more effective
communicator and project manager because if I understand my strengths, weaknesses, and
tendencies, then I know what I need to emphasize and focus on when I am communicating. For
example, if I know that I do not have a strong opinion on a topic that I am passionate about, I
know I will need to focus on conveying my passion because being unopinionated easily comes
across as being apathetic.

Conflict Management Styles Assessment

The results of my Conflict Management Styles Assessment are as follows - collaborating:
ten, competing: seven, avoiding: nine, accommodating: nine, and compromising: 9. My preferred
conflict management style is collaborating, although avoiding, accommodating, and
compromising are all only one point lower than my score for collaborating. Competing is a clear
weakness for me, being my lowest score by two points.
Collaboration helps effective communication as an impartial third party. It can help
disagreeing sides gain perspective of the other side and have a better understanding of the
disagreement and how it may be resolved. I have been consulted and mediated arguments
between my friends many times in the past. I am good at calming them down when they are
worked up and unwilling to listen to reason. I am a line between both sides as they talk through
their thoughts and feelings with me so that they will be ready to talk about them with the person
with whom they are arguing.
Collaboration hinders effective communication when a conflict is very personal to the
collaborative person. The strength of a collaborator’s conflict management, being impartial, is
nullified and the collaborator, still able to see both sides of the conflict, can refuse to
acknowledge the other side and actively work against finding a solution that meets everyone’s
needs. I am guilty of this myself. It is easy to become spiteful and stubborn, especially when it
feels like you are being personally attacked. I have put a lot of time self reflecting and learning
how I can be more patient and not immediately shut out everything else when I am in a fight or
disagreement that feels personal. In the end it always comes back to empathy, and if I am unable
to empathize with the other side, sympathy to draw me back from the dark side.
I can apply the “Start with Heart” section from the readings in Crucial Conservations to
further enhance my ability to address and resolve conflict. Skilled communicators stay focused
on the right motives in crucial conversations “despite constant invitations to slip away from their
goals” (Patterson 84). By starting with heart one strengthens their conviction and avoids making
poor decisions and losing control of their emotions. This is essential to conflict resolution
because without this focus it is easy for the goal to change from finding a solution to winning the
argument, or worse to discouraging or hurting the opponent.

Jung Personality Test

Throughout the last several years, I have taken the Myers-Briggs (or Jung) Personality
Test a few times. The Jung Personality Test result is a combination of four letters, each letter a
selection of two possible outcomes for a total of sixteen distinct personality types. I am an INFP:
introvert, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. Or rather I used to be an INFP; this is the first time I
have taken the test and received a different result. I am now an INFJ. I mostly agree with the
results of the test; overall it is an accurate summary of my personality, but some of the details are
not quite right.
Introvert versus extrovert is the most recognizable and easily understood section of the
Jung Personality Test. I “tend to be reflective, reserved and private” and I “draw [my] energy
from [my] own thoughts and the time [I] spend alone” (123Test). I spend the majority of my time
alone or with a small number of people whom I see frequently. I like to keep to myself and am
easily overwhelmed in large groups of people. Certainly, I strongly agree with my result that I
am an introvert.
The second letter of the test results is N or S, sensing or intuition. Sensors “[pay]
attention to physical reality, what [they] see, hear, touch, taste, and smell…, see[ing] the practical
use of things” while intuitives “[pay] the most attention to impressions or the meaning and
patterns of the information…, interested in new things and what might be possible” (Sensing or
Intuition). This is a result that I have always been unsure of even though I have never tested as an
S. I feel like I focus on what is stimulating my senses as well as impressions and patterns. The
biggest reason I would think that I am an S is because I prefer to learn and work by doing things
hands-on, gaining practical experience, but I do strongly believe that I am an N. It might be that I
have always tested as an intuitive that is reinforcing this belief, but I also believe it to be an
accurate result because I use the part of me that is a sensor to gather information that I then make
intuitions from - sensing feeds into my intuiting, not the other way around.
My third result is the opposite of my results from the DISC Personality Test. DISC said
that I “respond to logic rather than emotion”, but Jung says that I am a Feeler more than a
Thinker. I said previously that I agree with this result from the DISC Personality Test; I also
agree with my result as an F from the Jung Personality Test. As I stated before I try to see the
world from many perspectives which includes logic and emotion. A reason for the differing
results from each test could be that DISC has a narrower focus while Jung has a big picture
outlook. I believe in making logical choices, but I also believe that hurting a person’s feelings for
the sake of logic is wrong in most realistic scenarios. In other words, unless the fate of the
universe were in my hands, I prioritize the feelings of others over doing what is the logical
option (if they are not in agreement).
As far as I know, I have been a perceiver, not a judger, up until today. Part of me still
thinks that I am a P and that this test result was a fluke. The Myers-Briggs Foundation says that
“Sometimes people feel they have both… One person may feel very orderly/structured (J) on the
inside, yet their outer life looks spontaneous and adaptable (P). Another person may feel very
curious and open-ended (P) in their inner world, yet their outer life looks more structured or
decided (J).” I am not even sure if this is how I feel; I think that I am parts of the judging
personality mixed with parts of the perceiving personality both internally and externally. If I
were to take the test ten more times I might get P five times and J five times. I do not necessarily
agree or disagree with my result; if it can flip flop then I am what my most recent result says I
am.
After close examination, I agree with my results for the Jung Personality Test. I am a
textbook introvert. I am close to the line between sensing and intuition, and thinking and feeling,
but I see a clear enough reason in myself that I would be definitively an intuitive and a feeler. I
walk the line between being a judger and a perceiver, and the result that I get is the direction that
I am leaning towards at that point in my life, so for now, I am the rarest personality type, an
INFJ.

Conclusion
I have already learned so much not just about how to be an effective communicator, but
also about who I am as a communicator right now; what are my strengths and weaknesses? How
can I continue to grow as a communicator to be more effective and efficient at conveying a
message? I will continue to find interesting concepts in the readings going forwards. I will
continue to grow my network and my networking skills. I will continue to exercise the key
attributes of an effective communicator until I master them. I look forward to retaking the DISC
Personality Test, the Conflict Management Styles Assessment, and the Jung Personality Test to
see how I have changed and grown throughout the course of the semester and into the future.
 Works Cited

“Disc Personality Test: Take This Free Disc Profile Assessment at 123test.Com.” 123test,

https://www.123test.com/disc-personality-test.

“Disc Personality Test: Take This Free Jung Personality Test at 123test.Com.” 123test,

https://www.123test.com/jung-personality-test.

Gallo, Carmine. Five Stars the Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great. St. Martin’s

Press, 2018. Print.

“Judging or Perceiving.” The Myers & Briggs Foundation - Judging or Perceiving,

https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/judging-or-perceivin

g.htm.

O’Hair, Dan, and Hannah Rubenstein and Rob Stewart. A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking.

Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019. Print.

Patterson, Kerry, et al. Crucial Conversations. McGraw-Hill Contemporary, 2002.

“Sensing or Intuition.” The Myers & Briggs Foundation - Sensing or Intuition,

https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/sensing-or-intuition.h

tm.

Webster-Trotman, Shauna. “ENCE424: Communication for Project Managers-Week 3.” 7

February 2022, A. James Clark Hall, College Park, MD. Lecture.