Part 1.3: Communicating Goals

Figure 2. Conversation with Anren on Instagram about the plot of Beartown.

Becoming a better communicator…

In the past few weeks, my progress in fulfilling my communication goals has consisted of both successes and failures. There are certain goals which I believe I smashed out the park, whereas there are others that need significant improvement.

Term 2 Updates in Blue!

When it comes to presentation skills and body language (Goal 1), I’ve made efforts to present my 500 word paper to my Sister and Dad every two weeks. Unfortunately, for the first speech I forgot to start the recording, but I did get feedback from my Sister on what to improve on. In the suggestions she sent me, it was mentioned that I had poor eye contact but good body gestures (refer to Figure 1). This indicates that I have partially met my goal and since it is only my first speech, I will ensure that I take the feedback and improve the next time. I have not tracked this goal with anything particular, however I have scheduled when I am doing the speeches and notified my family regarding the dates beforehand. I would say that I am on track to meeting my goal making this “S” level progress.

Term 2 Update for Goal 1: Since my initial reflection, I’ve made significant progress in improving presentation skills and body language. I consistently presented my 500-word papers to my family every two weeks, and received great feedback every time. This feedback allowed to refine my ability to deliver these speeches and throughout this process, I found out that I struggle with maintaining eye-contact regardless if I have a script with me or not. This realization made me continue to practice and by the last speech (research paper #3), I found out that my eye contact had significantly improved. For the statistics (I looked at my script twice in 4 minutes). Additionally, I didn’t forget to record my attempts at these speeches this time and the video footage allowed me to self-reflect on any issues I had while performing. Furthermore, my sister has continued to provide valuable feedback and even shared one of my presentations with her previous university professor to which he gave me feedback on! This feedback can be seen in Figure 3. I believe that I have met the expectations for this goal and have improved since the midterm.

For peer discussion (Goal 2), I’ve found that my progress has been the best out of all the goals I made for the first term. I’ve managed to discuss topics such as Beartown and The Picture of Dorian Gray with peers regularly on social media apps such as Instagram. Having these discussions is making a crucial improvement in my understanding of these medias. On top of reinforcing key ideas that I annotated, I have been practicing my ability to communicate ideas. In the past few weeks, I have talked to friends about topics discussed in class everyday and tracked this through social media messages that keep data such as date (refer to Figure 2). I would say that I am knocking this goal out of the park and plan to make minor adjustments such as adding an in-person aspect in order to practice skills like body language. This is a goal I know for sure is at the “E” level of progression since I have followed through on all the details noted in the goal.

Term 2 Update for Goal 2: After the midterm portfolio, I continued to dedicate time to surpassing this goal. I altered the goal itself slightly to focus more on improving my analytical skills in a conversing format. For many weeks straight until the winter break, me and Anren conversed on Beartown using an analytical paragraph format through Instagram while maintaining a conversation as seen in Figure 4. However unlike the conversations in the first half of the semester, the conversations this time were more thoughtful and had direct analysis of content from the book. This allowed me to improve on both my reading, writing skills while simultaneously learning how to effectively communicate these ideas in a conversation. Reflecting on my performance of this goal, I think that I am exceeding expectations and even going beyond that.

In terms of class participation (Goal 3), I’ve managed to answer at least one question majority of the days. A big issue I face is that staying focused in class has been rather challenging. In particular when the discussions drift off topic, but I try my best to participate whenever I have a thought that I want to express. Unfortunately, for this goal I did not track specifically what I contributed to in the discussion, but I did track which days I participated in the learning tracker under the communication tab. Progressing throughout the semester, I want to be able to answer even more and make it a daily occurrence. Therefore, I believe that I need to change this goal to make it at least 2 participations per day. Moreover, whenever I participate in a discussion, I feel like I’m understanding the material better and engaging more in the content. In consideration of all of these factors, I believe I am making steady progress to achieving this goal, but there is definitely area for improvement. Thus, I think a “S” level progress is reasonable.

Term 2 Update for Goal 3: After Term 1, I’ve made progress in class participation by answering at least two question most days. I updated my goal to contribute at least twice per class, which has encouraged me to engage more, especially during Beartown discussions. I often find myself deeply analyzing what my peers are talking about and thinking of ways I could jump in and voice my own opinion on the topic. This increased participation is reflected in my learning tracker under the communication tab. Although staying focused during off-topic moments still remains challenging, I’ve significantly improved and feel more connected to the material. I believe this progress aligns with an “G” level, though there’s still room for improvement.

For now, I think all three of these goals feel relevant to me, but I do believe that some of them need minor tweaks in order to make them useful for me. Nevertheless, having these goals has helped me stay on track of my learning as they act as a reminder of what I need to improve on. Knowing I have specific areas to work on keeps me motivated during class. However, I’ve realized that just having goals isn’t enough, and that they need to be tracked more actively in order to not steer off the correct pathway.

In conclusion, I believe that I have made significant improvements on these communication goals since the midterm, and albeit there is definitely room for improvement, especially with Goal 3, I feel confident that my skill has improved.

Ultimately, my progress is my communication goals isn’t perfect, but there is progress.