University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 1

Allison Fear

Communication for Project Managers: ENCE424

Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman

February 19, 2022

Introduction

After 4 weeks of this class, I have learned a lot about how to communicate better, my
personality types, and default communication styles. Through the readings and lectures, I have
learned how to create the pool of shared meaning, the importance of creating outlines, and
improving my body language. I have also grown my network and have been reaching out to them
more through LinkedIn. Finally, I have learned a lot about my communication styles and
personality type. Overall, these improvements and new knowledge will improve my personal life
and career.

Concepts from Reading

Three concepts that we have been discussing in class that I have already applied to real-
life are creating a pool of shared meaning, utilizing different types of outlines for presentations,
and improving my body language. As a graduating senior there are a lot of crucial conversations
happening in my personal life. This semester I also have to give a lot of presentations to co-
workers in a research lab and fellow students at my other position. The readings provide a lot of
good insight into how to communicate with others. It is very easy to pick out a good
communicator but very hard to be one yourself. Overall, what I have learned in this class is
helpful in my life. Even though the semester is only a quarter of the way through, there have
already been many important lessons from the books and lectures.

Pool of Shared Meanings

The crucial conversations book has been easy to connect to real-life situations I have
experienced. There are a lot of ways I can improve personal crucial conversations with
roommates, significant others, friends, and family. Career-wise, I have always thought the
approach to crucial conversations in the workplace is "business is business". Therefore, I thought
it is common for business meetings to get heated and often left with unresolved issues. I also was
under the impression that empathy and understanding are typically not found in the workplace.
In my mind, this leads to toxic workplace conversations that are heated and unresolved. This idea
has changed after reading Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking When The Stakes are High
and Five Stars: The Communication Secrets To Get From Good To Great this mentality has
changed. According to page 26 of Five Stars: The Communication Secrets To Get from Good To
Great by Carmine Gallo, “Libratus [an AI computer] is a tough opponent, but it has a severe
limitation. In the absence of empathy, it cannot understand how people feel. It can beat a
champion poker player, but it will never be a five-star leader or build a five-star brand." This
quote shows how having empathy in the workplace is one of the most important qualities of a
leader. Empathy and understanding are even more important in the age of computer intelligence.
It is one of the main things a computer lacks and can never gain. Overall, these books have
changed the way I view crucial conversations and empathy in the workplace.

The main way crucial conversations have been helpful is when talking to my parents.
Over winter break, we got into several heated conversations about my life post-graduation. I
have always been family-oriented and had a close relationship with my parents. I do not want
this to change after graduation. The jobs I am considering all happen to be about an hour from
my childhood home. I did the one-hour commute this summer. It was possible but was very
tiring after a full workday. I am open to living at home for a few months to save up some money.
However, I hope to move closer to my job and have the freedom of living on my own as soon as
possible. My parents would get upset when I mentioned only living there for 3 months after
graduation. I did not understand why. I am 22, very independent, and have been living away at
school for 4 years. Although the conversation happened many times, there was never a concrete
outcome or resolution. Both parties would leave the conversation upset and confused. After
reading Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, I realized that there
was no pool of shared meaning. This is important because “the pool of shared meaning is the
birthplace of synergy”( Grenny, 25). My parents were not conveying that they are sad and
anxious that I am growing up and moving out soon. They are concerned that our relationship will
weaken and are not ready for the upcoming change. Since I was not aware this was a
contributing factor, I did not reassure them that I would still maintain contact and see them all
the time. I was not sensitive to this issue. They also did not understand where I was coming
from. I am afraid of losing the independence I have gained throughout college. Both parties
quickly jumped to a defensive stance without understanding where the other party was coming
from. This was a result of no pool of shared meaning. The next time I talked to them about the
issue, we talked about the root causes, not the other effects. Overall, this was a more successful
conversation.

Outlining

The second concept I have gained from the class is the importance of outlining and the
different types of outlines. I used to have a lot of speech anxiety and would prepare by
completely fully writing out and memorizing the speech. I would over-prepare which would
result in a robotic speech. Then if I would get nervous when presenting, I would forget the whole
thing. By trying to memorize the speech I was thinking about what I was saying. I was just
repeating what I had practiced. If a portion was forgotten I could not recover. I then tried to cut
down the amount of preparation and outlining that I did. This would often lead to me feeling
unprepared. It has always been difficult to find the right amount of preparation. After reading
chapter 13 of A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking, I now understand and implement the different
types of outlines. By creating a working outline of the speech, I can clearly lay out all the ideas I
want to discuss. Then the speaking outline has enough detail to prompt my memory but not too
much that I am reading from the paper. This helps to prevent the robotic presentation.

Body Language

The final technique I have learned and am applying is changing my body language when
presenting. I am generally comfortable when talking in front of a group. However, I do not
always have a confident and entertaining appearance when presenting. I have attempted to use
the confidence stance in my presentations. When I first tried it in class, I felt very awkward and
unnatural. After using it more in other presentations It has become more natural and comfortable.
I am the Vice President of Finance of Student Entertainment Events (SEE) on campus. I had to
give a large budget presentation and it typically is very boring to watch. I tried to make the
presentation as interesting as possible and tailor it to my audience. I also used the confidence
pose throughout the presentation. Some of my closest friends were in the audience. After the
presentation, I asked for feedback on my body language and overall presentation. They said I
appeared more confident than prior presentations and could work on my eye contact with the
audience. Not making eye contact comes from my past experiences with speech anxiety. Overall,
I think my body language has improved but there are more areas I could work on.

Building my Network

I have been building a network throughout college. I have had several internships and
positions in my desired career fair. I want to work in the pharmaceutical industry and a lot of the
jobs that I am qualified for were posted in January. Throughout all of January, I was applying to
jobs without using my connections. I was not hearing back from the companies I was applying
to. I also thought that using my network was unfair and I would not have earned the position.
After reading Networking for College Students and Graduates, I realized that I have built that
network and It is okay to have others help me find a job. Networking for College Students and
Graduates shared the following quote on page 28, “according to research conducted by Cornell
University Career Services, 85 percent of newly created jobs in America are never posted
anywhere and 75 percent of the jobs for replacement positions are never posted anywhere”. As a
senior student in the job search process, this is very concerning. I decided that I wanted to build
my network to be considered for more of these jobs. I started connecting with professionals on
LinkedIn that were recruiters or in departments I want to work for. I would message them and
have a good conversation about their journey. It typically led to a phone conversation and an
invitation to apply for a job. Overall, since utilizing and growing my network I have had a lot
more responses. Even if I do not receive an Invite to apply for a job, I have now connected to
another person and learned more about the career field. By using my network and LinkedIn, I
have changed my job search approach.

Improving my communication skills

I selected strong eye contact, body language, speaking efficiently, being captivating, and
self-pacing as attributes to improve my communication skills. I struggle to make eye contact
when presenting to a large group and when talking to an individual. Therefore, I rated this
attribute a 4. I will improve this skill by focusing on conversations with close friends on
maintaining eye contact. I will also ask them to remind me and keep me accountable. When I
have to give a presentation, I will plan on where to look throughout the speech. The second
attribute I want to improve is my body language which I rated a 5. I typically am very stiff and
not very relaxed. I will improve this by practicing how I want to look while presenting. I will
also video myself while practicing or during speeches to see how my body language is. Finally, I
will listen to feedback from friends and peers. The next attribute I want to improve is being more
captivating. I rated this attribute a 5. Although I am passionate about what I talk about, I
generally do not convey that to my audience. I hope to improve this by changing my body
language to be more interesting and engaging. I will also improve my speech writing skills by
using the tips and concepts in a pocket guide to public speaking. Finally, I will improve my tone
by videotaping my presentations. The fourth attribute I want to improve is my self-pacing which
I rated a 4. When giving a presentation I typically speed up as the presentation goes on. This can
affect the clarity and overall quality of the presentation. I am going to improve this by planning
pauses in the presentation, timing my presentation when practicing, and watching a clock when
presenting. The final attribute I want to improve is my speaking efficiency. I rated this a 4. I
often can start to ramble, and the presentation is no longer concise and clear to follow. The main
way to improve this is by being prepared for the presentation. If all my thoughts are in order I
ramble less. I will also use a speaking outline to keep on track. Finally, improving my speech
writing to make it clear, concise, and organized. Overall, by focusing on improving a few
attributes my communications skills can greatly improve.

Improving these skills is important to improve my credibility as a speaker and

professional. I look young and am a female entering a male-dominated career field. Even though
I am qualified to have a job in this career field, I am often overlooked and dismissed. A lot of
times this is due to others diminishing my credibility. I do not have a lot of control to change
other people's biases. However, I have a lot of control Over my communications skills. By
improving these skills I can improve how others perceive me and my credibility.

Communication styles and Personality

Understanding my communication styles and personality is important to improve as a

communicator. My personality type is difficult to change. However, understanding the pros/cons
of it can show where I can use my strengths and where I can improve. Understanding my conflict
management style will help to know how I naturally navigate crucial conversations and how I
should change. Overall, awareness is important to change.

DISC Assessment

I have completed the DISC assessment several times on different websites and my overall results
have been the same. With this assessment I got 49% D, 19% I, 19% C, and 13% S (Appendix A).
I have always gotten a result of a strong D and generally I next. The D represents Dominance
and includes qualities like direct, results-oriented, firm, strong-willed, and forceful (Rawlings).
This does not surprise me as I tend to be very direct with expectations and interactions. It also
makes sense that the lowest is S. This represents steadiness and general attributes include
patience, accommodating, and sensitivity (Rawlings). I am very impatient and not very sensitive.
Therefore, this was not surprising. It is important for me to remember that I am a very direct and
dominant person. Therefore, I need to be able to be softer when communicating with other
people. I especially must be softer when emailing people with whom I do not have a personal
relationship. Sometimes people will think that I am made or upset even when I am not. I can also
use it to my advantage and step up when a more direct approach is needed. I can create an
environment with clear expectations and strong deadlines.

When working with a new team I often let them know that I am a very direct
communicator and not to be alarmed. This is even more important when I am put in high-stress
and high-pressure situations. In these situations, I do not have the ability to focus on being softer
therefore, I am more direct with others. The biggest example of this is when working events for
SEE. On event days I am running around in many different directions with a long list of tasks. It
is not always easy to stop and focus on being less direct with others when giving them
instructions. Rather than a kind delegation of tasks from a fellow student, it can come off as me
barking orders. Overall, being self-aware about my personality type can make me more informed
on how to communicate with others.

Conflict Management

Before taking the conflict management assessment, I had never considered how I handled
conflict. My most common used strategies are collaborating and competing (Appendix B). My
next common strategies are compromising and accommodating (Appendix B). My least used
conflict management strategy is avoiding (Appendix B). After some reflection, these results are
not surprising to me. Depending on the situation I know I handle conflict very differently. If in
the workplace, It is very important to me to collaborate and consider everyone’s sides and
opinions. Although I tend to view conflicts as a win/loss situation, In work settings I try to
handle it a more diplomatic way. When dealing with siblings, significant others, family, and
other people close to me, I am more competitive. I select an opinion and often see the conflict as
a win or lose. Regardless of the situation, I dislike having conflict unresolved. This means I will
not avoid handling it. The conflict management strategy that I want to improve is compromising
and being less competitive. These two goals are very connected. By increasing my
compromising I will have to be less competitive. Overall, The results are not a surprise.

My collaboration conflict management Is generally helpful in the work setting. Through

this method of conflict management, everyone feels like their voice is heard and considered
when making the decision. An example of this is navigating SEE returning to campus after
COVID. There were a lot of strong opinions on what SEE should and should not do after
COVID. Some members of the board wanted to stay virtual. This was the safest option.
However, It was the least beneficial for the campus community. Other members of the board
wanted to return fully in person. To host fully in-person events, the whole board support was
needed. Although the final decision came down to me and the president, It was important to me
to understand how each member of the board felt about the issue. The final solution was
returning fully in person. The students who were warier of COVID were able to create the
protocols of the event. Overall, everyone was accepting of the solution, and bonds within the
board improved.

The competing conflict management strategy is more harmful to my relationship. For

example, my little brother and I both have exhibited a competition conflict management style
when handling conflicts with each other. We both become very stubborn and see it as a win-lose
situation. This can result in very long arguments. There is never a shared pool of understanding
and rarely a resolution is found. This typically hurts the relationship and causes strains after
several arguments. After taking the conflict management assessment and understanding the pros
and cons of this style I want to try and improve. Harming relationships due to poor conflict
management is not something I want to continue. Since my brother is considerably younger than
me, he has likely learned this strategy from me. Not only do I want to change but I also want to
help him change. By improving this type of conflict management strategy, I could improve the
relationship and create an open line of communication. This should result in more conflict
resolution.
 After reading different books, I also realize I have a controlling tendency in arguments.
Crucial Conversations: Tools For Talking When Stakes Are High explains controlling on page
60 as "coercing others to your way of thinking. It is done by either forcing your views on others
or dominating the conversation. Methods include cutting others off, overstating your facts,
speaking in absolutes, changing subjects, or using directive questions to control conversations". I
have done a lot of these methods and I am not proud of it. I have been working on how I handle
my disagreements to steer away from controlling methods. The main way I am working on it is
by thinking about the other person's point of view and giving them space to talk. In past
disagreements, this has helped diffuse the situation.

Jung assessment

My results from the Jung personality type is INTJ (Appendix C). The I stands for an
introvert. I agree with this result. I typically get very tired and drained from social situations. I
often need time by myself to recharge. Other people often see me as an extrovert because I can
be louder, outgoing, and enjoy social situations. However, I see myself as an introvert. I also
agree with being an intuitive person. I am not very creative and enjoy focusing on more concrete
concepts. I also typically focus on the future. I have to work hard to remind myself to think about
and enjoy the present. I identify strongly with the thinker personality type. It is difficult for me to
make decisions that do not have a correct answer. When I have to make a large decision, I use a
lot of pro/con lists, logical processes, and analyses. I generally do not think with my heart. I also
agree with the judger personality type. I enjoy clear and set plans. My whole life is mapped out
in my google calendar. When I travel on vacations, I create a full itinerary of events and
activities. A lot of these personality traits have led me to a career in engineering. Overall, the
Jung personality assessment matches my personality.

I agree with my results from the DISC and Jung assessments. My results show different
areas of my personality but relate together. The DISC assessment describes the way I am in
group settings. The Jung assessment describes my more internal personality. The results agree
though because they both describe a non-emotion-driven personality. The DISC assessment
explained the dominant personality type as results-oriented. This matches with the Jung
assessment results described me as more focused on the future and logical. I think this connects
with my results-driven personality. The two assessments also align with conscientiousness (C)
and a judger. The conscientiousness personality includes analytical and systematic. This aligns
with the decisive, planned, and orderly characteristics of the judger personality type. Even
though the DISC and Jung assessments are showing different sides of my personality, they agree
with each other.

Conclusion

Overall, there are several areas of communication that I have improved on. These include
building my network, body language, and creating a pool of shared meaning. There are still
several areas that I need to improve including eye contact, conflict management (competition),
and clarity. Through the DISC and Jung assessment, I learned a lot about my personality type. I
prefer to set organized plans. I am results-oriented and not patient. With this new knowledge, I
will continue to improve my communication.
 Work Cited

Faulkner, Michael, and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.

Pearson Learning Solutions, 2017. Print.

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

Press, 2018. Print.

Grenny, Joseph. Crucial Conversations. McGraw Hill, 2012.

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

Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019. Print.

Rawlings, Tom. “Disc.” Homegrown Leadership, 3 Dec. 2018,

https://homegrownleadership.com/index.php/2016/08/08/disc/.
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C