Personal Communication Model - Essay Example

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION PRISCILLA DAWSON 28-FEB-2009 INTRODUCTION This paper discusses the personal communications and covers the aspects of temperamental models as discussed by the Kiersey method with specific reference to my temperamental style. Further, the aspects of communication and how it relates to other individuals, models of communication and issues of conflict are discussed. This paper follows the essay format and is structured around the topics listed above. DISCUSSION OF MY TEMPERAMENT In this section, we discuss the Kiersey temperamental model with specific reference to my temperament. The Kiersey model is a personality test designed to help people understand themselves. The test has four rings, eight roles and four temperament models. The sorter rings are like rings of the tree and the roles delineate the kind of professions that each personality type might be engaged in. This paper is about my temperamental type that is NT Rational. The rational temperament type seeks knowledge and relies on objective measurement of data and factual analysis. The overriding concern of this temperament is to look for the practical as opposed to the ideal. Thus, the question that is posed by my type of personality has more to with what is rather than what ought to be. We tend to be interested in the pursuit of goals and objectives that are verifiable and can be measured rather than those that are intangible. However, as rational as the NT type can be in their behavior, according to Kiersey, we communicate using higher reasoning and abstract formulations to convey our ideas, thoughts and concepts. Thus, we are conceptual thinkers and objective practitioners. This fusion of conceptual clarity and objective analysis is the predominant characteristic of the NT type. The Model also lays out that these types of personalities are pragmatic in attaining their goals and do not set unreasonable targets for themselves. The most common professions predicted by the model are that of Engineer, Architect, Inventors and any profession that involves a marriage of concepts and data to succeed professionally. IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION Communication is the art of conveying what one thinks and interpreting what the other person has to say as closely as that person would have meant. Thus, it is a two Way Street that has the elements of making the other person understand and understanding the other person. Effective communication relies on a rapport between two individuals or between sets of two groups and lies in a spoken as well as unspoken bond between them. Communication as it relates to other individuals rests on the basis of making the other person understand what one wants to state. Communication has also been defined as the art of exchange of thoughts, feelings and ideas towards a common goal or direction. In other words, it is the exchange of information from one person to another with a clear goal in mind. Thus, what one seeks to convey and what one conveys has to have a resonance with a clear idea of what one intended to convey. There are different ways to communicate and these include verbal communication, non-verbal communication and visual communication among others. Verbal communication is the straightforward exchange of information with emphasis on data and objective means of transmission. Thus, what one says can be independently verified and measured. On the other hand, non-verbal communication is the means of making the other person “understand” by means of body language, gestures etc. Visual communication is the exchange of information by pictures, graphics and is solely dependant on the ability of the person to “see for themselves”. The other major form of communication in the modern era is that of the written form. This form of communication is the documentary, letter, memos and more recently, email. This form of communication relies on completely identifiable means and is used in cases where proof of means of communication is necessary. Thus, what one writes can be quoted and exists as a record. In many cases, this is the form of communication that is preferred in business or formal exchanges of communication. Among the different types of communication that we have listed out, the way in which the other individual comprehends is different. In verbal, the inflection of the voice, tone is as important as what is being said. In non-verbal communication, it is the way in which one presents himself or herself that is important. What form of communication is preferred is context dependant and information specific. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and the increasing importance of imagery in our lives is a manifestation of this saying. COMMUNICATION MODELS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION Communication models revolve around the content, sender, form of medium and the receiver. Effective communication incorporates all these elements and is dependant on all of them coming together for the stated goal of conveying a specific piece of information. Thus, the content or what is to be conveyed is the first element, the process of conveying by the sender, the medium and how it is received by the other individual make up the other elements of the communication process. The content or what is to be said, written or made understood is as important as the form in which it is conveyed. Thus, the information can be transmitted electronically, over the phone or conveyed by means of a picture. The sender has to determine what and how it is to be conveyed. The process of encoding takes place within the sender and the receiver has to correspondingly decode the information. Now, we look at some of the ways in which conflict arises, how to resolve conflict and dealing with either a sender or receiver transmitting negative energy. All these forms of conflict resolution and avoidance depend on the way in which both parties handle the process of communication and the state of mind or the emotional state in which they approach the exchange. First, the surest way to avoid conflict would be to expressly state the purpose of the conversation or communication exchange and leave no room for ambiguity. Surprises, if any, have to be kept to a minimum. Of course, this is an ideal scenario and in reality, communication often involves angry exchanges and off the cuff remarks that provoke conflict. The way in which the receiver of the message interprets the communication is another source of conflict. Hence, the need to set bottom line expectations before the communication is made. Avoiding conflict also depends on how well “tough messages” are delivered. The personalities of the sender and receiver come into play here. Unless one is referring to objective and verifiable facts, there is bound to be scope for the “grey areas” of communication that are dependant on interpretation and inference. This is the place where individual biases and prejudices come into play and hence to avoid conflict, the communication has to refer to data as far as possible. If the aim is to resolve conflict, the goal should be to state the areas of disagreement and try to resolve them point by point. Again, in practice, attempts at conflict resolution end up in provoking further conflict and thus, one should approach the issue with caution and a state of mind that is amenable to reconciliation. The steps to resolve conflict would involve communicating each side’s points of view and trying to come to a mutually acceptable goal. As we defined communication as the art of conveying information on mutually accepted terms, conflict resolution depends on effective exchange of information between the two parties. The tricky issue is when one party comes to the process with negative emotions and thus approaches the table with a purpose of confrontation rather than agreement. The best way to tackle negative energy from either side would be to let them release the pent up emotions and start the process after they have “come to their senses”. CONCLUSION Business communication has to be approached with due diligence as most of the time, such communication is legally binding and subject to the process of law. Thus, the elements of communication, the forms of communication and our temperaments along with the type of our personalities play an important role. What needs to be understood is that in these days of short attention spans and bullet point communications, depth should not be sacrificed and as far as possible, the information that is communicated should have the human element as well. Sources Kiersey Temperamental Model. Kiersey Website. Retrieved 28 Feb 2009 from: http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=overview Read More