University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 2

Madison Sunshine

Communication for Project Managers: ENCE424

Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman

March 30, 2024

 Introduction

Over the past month, I have been exposed to many new concepts and techniques
that I can implement in almost every environment that requires effective communication. Some
of these topics include: the structure and effectiveness to storytelling, recognizing different
personality types and determining the best method to address and interact with each type, and
preparing for a job interview by understanding the types of questions that might be prompted for
me to respond to. Within this essay, I will incorporate ethos, pathos, and logos into scenarios
regarding crucial conversations, apply the Seven Elements from Five Stars the Communication
Secrets to Get from Good to Great to a personal story, and reflect on my results from a
personality assessment.

Communication with Team

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to send an email to check in and see how our team is progressing with the site
model that was assigned to us at the beginning of the week. On Monday we all sat down and
discussed the distribution of work and responsibilities, our individual availability for this
commitment, and how we can support each other to finish this model in a timely manner. The
deadline for this project is next Monday. This email is being sent to all of you today, Thursday,
and I am concerned that we are falling behind and will not have the model completed by the
deadline. I think that we all need to reassess how we, as a team, are going to move forward to get
this project done.

Currently, I know that we have the base of the model complete, and it looks amazing.
Thank you to those who worked on constructing this part of the model! That being said, this is
the only component of the model that is completed. The digital reference model files and the
remaining site context that includes buildings, trees, and people are still not completed. Based on
the timeline that we agreed upon as a team, the digital reference files should have been
completed by now.

I understand that we are all aware of our individual responsibilities within the scope of
this project. However, that does not mean that you are only limited to the tasks that you are
assigned. As the team leader, I want to emphasize that we are behind schedule and that I am able
to see, through the shared documents, certain individuals who are not as active as other members
of this team. We should all be striving to work together with an equal level of effort and focus.
Although I am the Team Leader I have been in your position on prior projects, so I understand
what it feels like to juggle multiple responsibilities throughout the week in addition to classes
and a job. We are all in this together, if you know that your plate is getting too full, please let me
or another member of this team know so that the work can still be done.

I am confident that once we all readjust to focus on this project’s deadline, we will be
able to produce a stunning site model. In order for that to happen, we all need to take this project
seriously. Additionally, we all need to be able to communicate more effectively and efficiently
with each other to ensure that all tasks are completed during the remaining timeline for this
project. I will commit to these expectations with you.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns about the remaining portion
of this project.

Thank you for your time,

Madison Sunshine

Course Concepts and Planned Applications

Looking back on the past few weeks, there are many concepts that have resonated with
me. During Week 6 and Week 7, the concept of storytelling had the largest personal impact.
Before this topic was addressed in class, I never truly realized how impactful storytelling can be,
especially within professional environments. The group work for the course sessions during
those two weeks focused on how to organize a personal story that can be translated into a story
that can be told during an interview or when you are expanding your network.

These stories used the following Spine Structure:

Once upon a time…
Every day…
But, one day…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until, finally…
And, ever since then…

Even though this technique is not the exact same as the ones mentioned in Five Stars the
Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great like the Seven Elements (Gallo 160) and the
Three-Act Structure (Gallo 165), I feel like it adds an extra layer to the development of
storytelling.

The reason why this concept stands out for me is because it is a concept I was not
familiar with before participating in this course. I personally love being engulfed in a story either
within a good book or a TED Talk. It never registered that the reason why I was able to be
captured by the words on a page or the words spoken to me was from how effective the
storytelling is. My goal is to be able to take the foundational storytelling structures I have learned
in this course and be able to apply them to future interviews and networking opportunities. By
integrating storytelling into my responses and conversations I will be able to strengthen the
impression that others have of me after short interaction.

Scenario: A Person of High Standing Disrespects You

After working on my portion of the team’s weekly presentation, I felt confident in the
work that I produced. During the meeting I watched as my colleagues each took their turn
presenting to our supervisor the progress for our project. In addition, we were focused on the
budget updates. It was finally my turn to present in front of my supervisor and team. During my
presentation, I noticed that my supervisor did not look as impressed as I hoped that she would.
Once I conclude my part of the presentation my supervisor speaks up.

“Up until this moment the slide deck was cohesive, and all of the information transitioned
well. It was clear that those team members did an efficient job of communicating and
collaborating to get their work done. What is not clear to me, is how an idiot like you was unable
to manage to put in the same effort as your colleagues.”

I froze, not able to comprehend the response that came from my supervisor’s mouth. I felt
everyone’s eyes shift back and forth between the supervisor and me. To my knowledge I thought
that I had previously expressed to my supervisor that my involvement with this week’s
presentation was going to be less than previous weeks due to my mom needing a medical
procedure. I know that what I say next is critical to the direction of the conversation as well as
will impact the current mood of the meeting.

“I apologize for not updating the content and formatting of my slides. I fell out of the
loop this week for focusing on personal family medical reasons and I will make sure to stay on
top of my responsibilities moving forward.”

For the remaining duration of the team meeting my focus was completely thrown off. I
was not sure what directly caused that interaction to happen the way that it did, but I knew that I
needed to address this with my supervisor.

Leaving the meeting I knew that I handled the situation as best as I possibly could in
order to minimize the potential negative effects the conversation may have caused. By the time I
got back to my desk, I knew that I needed to put a lot of thought into an email to send to my
supervisor addressing the interaction that we just had. I thought about what I wanted to get out of
sending this email, what I did not want to happen, and how I could hopefully reach a common
understanding and solution with my supervisor. After a good amount of time had passed, I was
able to craft an email that I felt would help my situation rather than hurt my situation. That email
is:

Caitlin,

I want to apologize to you again for the disconnect between my segment of

the presentation and my colleagues. At the beginning of the week my mom had an
emergency medical procedure, and I was her medical proxy. Immediately
following my return to the office, I filed all of the appropriate paperwork with the
HR department to get my hours squared away and to justify my leave of absence.

Today was not the first time you have sat in on a team meeting. I am able
to recognize that my performance today was not up to par with my prior work,
and I understand that comparatively I did not hold my work this week to the same
standard, primarily due to my limited availability to attend to work.
 Knowing this, I feel that the words you used to describe my effort and commitment
to the team were harsh and abrasive. I feel disrespected and unappreciated for all
of the countless hours of hard work that I put in to support my team throughout
the project.

I would like to continue to discuss this issue with you in person in order to prevent
any misinterpretations and to address any issues that you may have with me
regarding this past week. I truly enjoy working with my team and I do not want to
be in a situation where my position on this team is jeopardized.

Thank you for your time,

Madison Sunshine

Many decisions made in this crucial conversation follow techniques covered in Crucial
Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron
McMillan, and Al Switzler. After hearing my supervisor call me an idiot in front of my team, it
shifted the meeting into a crucial conversation. I knew that I had to be careful with how I would
proceed and respond. By apologizing to my supervisor upfront I would be giving my best effort
to “keep the peace” in that moment. The intention behind “keeping the peace” is not to
immediately fix a mistake, discredit others, or heartlessly make others suffer. Instead, it is the
choice to choose personal safety within a situation and not immediately address the issue at hand
(Patterson 31-32).

Furthermore, there were a few techniques that went into the composition of the email.
First, before the email was even drafted I “started with heart”. By using the “start with heart”
technique I refocused my energy to be able to start a high-risk conversation with the right
motives (Patterson 30). Next, I “found my bearings” to help guide me in the right direction in
crafting the email. “Finding my bearings” allows me to realign my focus to the original purpose
of the conversation and avoid letting my emotions drive the discussion (Patterson 35). The last
technique that went into the email was searching for a “mutual purpose” between my supervisor
and me. Thinking forward with a “mutual purpose” allows me to have more clarity and focus
while addressing the issue at hand. I am able to consider what I want out of the conversation
along with what my supervisor might want to get out of it as well (Patterson 68-70).

Personal Story: Overcoming Adversity

During the Spring Semester of my sophomore year in college, I had my first architecture
studio course, ARCH400. This course is known for being a “weed out” class, it sets some
students up for success to continue on to future studio courses or it burns students out and they
decide to not continue to take studio courses. This studio class had two major projects, the first
project being the midterm and the second being the final. The midterm required me to design a
harbor plaza with the only restriction being the number of walls, columns, beams, and trees I
could incorporate into the design. This “kit of parts” pushed me to think critically about my
design and how I could utilize what I was given to make a beautiful plaza for people to enjoy.
 In the weeks leading up to the midterm, I studied previously designed plazas for
inspiration, reworked and continuously edited my design, and collaborated with my peers to get
as much feedback as possible. I knew that this first major project would set the tone for the rest
of my studio experience, and I wanted to hit the ground running. Eventually, I needed to finalize
my design and start to transition into production mode for all of the required deliverables for this
midterm. I needed to make a model and produce a large volume of plans, sections, elevations,
and perspectives to aid in my presentation. It was expected, on the day of the midterm, that I
would be presenting my harbor plaza design not only in front of my peers and my professor, but
also in front of three guests from outside architecture companies which is an architecture panel
that we call “critiques”.

The days leading up to the midterm, I was working nonstop in order to get my work done
and to a quality that I would be proud of. I spent countless hours exporting and rendering
different views of my design. I even stayed up all night to work on my model. I remember being
surrounded by my peers in a sea of various model making materials and we were all stressed out
of our minds that we would not make the deadline. Finally, I got to a point where my digital
renderings and all of my supporting drawings were completed along with a final version of my
model. By the time I finished all of my work I only had a few hours to freshen up and change
into formal presentation clothes before it was time for me to present.

After getting myself ready, I was able to walk back to the architecture studio space and
set up for my presentation. I pinned up all of the supporting digital work that I printed and
displayed my model in front of my presentation board. I made sure to set up my work in a place
where I would not be the first of my peers to present and I would also not be the last person to
present. This way I would be able to get myself in the mindset for how my presentation should
flow.

I took a seat and was ready to watch the first person present their design. A key detail
regarding my studio section is that there were only 11 girls and two boys. As the first person
presented, I thought that her design was amazing, and it was clear that she put a lot of hard work
into it. Once she finished, the panel of critiques had the opportunity to provide feedback. I
noticed that one man out of the three was harsher than the other two critiques but at the time I did
not think much about it since it was only the first presentation.

Eventually it was my turn to present. I took a deep breath, stood up, and walked over to
where my project was displayed. During my presentation I felt confident about my design and
the reasons why I chose to incorporate specific design elements. Once I finished my presentation,
it was time to hear feedback from the panel. The first two people provided me with extremely
well worded constructive criticism, which I genuinely appreciated. The third person, the same
man who gave the harsh feedback at the beginning, told me that he was not convinced and that
he will not be convinced if I try to argue my design further. I was devastated. There was nothing
positive he had to say about my design and no words of encouragement to learn from. In that
moment I remember being so exhausted from staying up all night the night before that I only had
enough energy to say a polite thank you and sit back down in my seat.
 I continued listening to the rest of my peers present their work, but I was unable to give
all of my attention since my mood shifted after hearing the negative statements. As I was
listening, I noticed that after both of the boys presented their work, the man who was harsh to me
and all of the other girls in our section, praised the boys’ work and complimented them on how
thought out their designs were. It was in that moment that I realized that the root cause behind
his harsh feedback had more to it than just my design.

Ever since that presentation, I have told myself that the only true opinion about my work
that matters is my own. I walk into all of my presentations with my head held high and feeling
confident and proud of my design and the work I was able to produce. If a critique ever has
something negative to say about my design, I take it with a grain of salt. Everyone is going to
have their own opinions about how my design could be better, but only I will truly know when
my design is at its best.

Big Five Personality Assessment

After completing the Big Five Personality Assessment I was able to see how much of
each personality factor was assessed to be me. There was a large difference between my most
and least prevalent traits. The dominant factor, Agreeableness, was scored at 73% and the least
dominant factor, Extraversion, was scored at 33%. Although I was unable to access the complete
analysis of my results, I was able to see the first couple sentences of the generated description for
my personality type. That description is as follows:

“You have a highly creative and imaginative way of thinking and you often see
connections that others do not. You are uninterested in the dull facts of a situation,
preferring instead to interpret its meaning and implications. You have unusual
ideas and sometimes perceive things that other people are not aware of. You are
easily absorbed by fantasy and enjoy envisioning alternate realities as well as
possibilities for the future.”
With this being the fourth personality assessment, I have taken this semester, I was more
prepared to see a result that would reflect how I perceive myself. In order to determine if I agree
with my results, I needed to learn what it means to have high Agreeableness and low
Extroversion. What I discovered is that people who are high in Agreeableness experience a great
deal of empathy and tend to get pleasure out of serving and taking care of others. People with
low Extroversion are introverts who conserve their energy and do not work as hard to earn social
rewards. Additionally, they have less dopamine activity, and so are less likely to put themselves
in a position to chase down rewards. Upon reading how the Big Five Personality Assessment
perceives people with high Agreeableness and low Extroversion, I agree and disagree with my
results. I do agree with the description for my Agreeableness factor. I experience a large quantity
of empathy and I enjoy being able to help others when I can. As for my low Extroversion, I feel
like the description does not fully reflect who I am. I recognize that this description is a broad
description that includes Introverts, and I admit that I am an introvert. However, I know that I
work really hard within my studies to stand out as an individual among my peers. I may not
enjoy being in the spotlight, but I do enjoy the praise and positive feedback when I exceed in my
work.
 A notable insight into my results is that both the Conscientiousness and Neuroticism traits
were scored equally at 56%. Looking into the Conscientiousness trait I realized that I do fall in
the middle of the spectrum for that factor. Conscientiousness describes a person's level of goal
orientation and persistence. The reason why I fall in the middle of the extremes for this trait is
because I am not the most organized person when it comes to long-term achievement, and I am
also not the most impulsive or easily sidetracked. When looking at the Neuroticism trait I found
myself falling in the middle of the spectrum for that factor as well. Neuroticism describes a
person's tendency to respond to stressors with negative emotions, including fear, sadness,
anxiety, guilt, and shame. In a given situation I do not always handle it with strong negative
emotions, and I also do not always just brush it off and move forward. For me it highly depends
on the situation and that impacts how I move forward.

I would say that my results for the Big Five Personality Assessment are very similar to
my results from the DISC and JUNG Personality Assessments. There was no major discrepancy
between any of the results and they all tended to reflect me as an individual fairly accurately. I
feel like the benefit of taking so many Personality Assessments is that they all focus on slightly
different aspects of factors that compile someone’s personality. Each Assessment has their own
interpretation of the range of Extroversion and Introversion. As for the other factors, even if they
are similar at first, the insights and descriptions that each Assessment generates are completely
different. With those differences it allows a deeper understanding of the many aspects that a
personality is comprised of.

Conclusion

Looking back to the beginning of the semester, I realized how much I have learned about
improving my communication skills. There has been a lot of information covered in the past nine
weeks regarding concepts and techniques that I can start to integrate into my conversations.
Being able to apply those concepts and techniques into various scenarios and formats really
helped me to practice that application and gain a better understanding of how helpful they can
be. Looking toward the remaining weeks of the semester I plan to continue to integrate what I
have learned from this course into my conversations, networking, and overall communication
practices in order to succeed outside of the classroom.
 Works Cited

Gallo, Carmine. Five Stars the Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great. St. Martin’s
Press, 2018.

Patterson, Kerry, et al. Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. 2nd ed.,
McGraw Hill Professional, 2011.
Big Five Personality Assessment Results