This week I tracked the amount of mass media I was exposed to. As someone who is always at my computer, I knew it wasn’t going to look good. I was kind of suprised that my day wasn’t 90% exposure to mass media, which makes me think I must have forgot something, or miscalculated (hey, i’m no math major). What the experience really made me realize was that a) I need a break b) I need to learn to separate my school, work & leisure time from each other. Even as I’m writing this blog, I have my facebook open in another tab, ichat up, and am working on homework! These everyday distractions really seem to add up in the end. Also, having a smartphone has really influenced my exposure, which now starts the second I wake up from the alarm on my phone. After turning off my alarm my phone relays voicemail, emails, facebook updates and so on, all of which I missed the few hours I was asleep. I totally enjoyed turning my phone off, even though it was only for a few hours, it really gave me more time to focus on, which is exactly what I needed (as week 10 is approaching, and I, like always, have too much on my plate). At times it get’s annoying that all my work is done on the computer now, and while it’s easier than doing it by hand, I still enjoy sketching, and writing on paper as opposed to on the computer. This makes me really look forward to my trip to Israel this summer where my phone will be off and no one can contact me for 10 days!!!!!! I’m glad I won’t have access to the internet because I’ll be so focused and intrigued by my surroundings, and wouldn’t want all of these distractions. I have a feeling my bad eye site is directly related to staring at the computer screen for endless hours everyday; my eyes could definitely use a rest.
Public Speaking
As Mark Twain said, “There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars.”
Aka-it’s normal to be nervous.
“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”-Jerry Seinfeld.
Thank goodness I’m not shy. This week I will have presented two public speaking “routines”. The first was for my career skills class in which all 80 graphic design juniors were to present a one minute speech. This could either be a rant/soliloqy about the school of design, or your own eulogy. I chose to talk about my education at RIT. As a transfer student, it’s something I often talk about, and it’s easy and comfortable for me to speak about it. My own eulogy, on the other hand, seemed like a much more difficult and intense endeavor. It’s not that I’m not up for a challenge, it’s that the whole point was to get comfortable with public speaking, and education seemed fit for the crowd. One person sang, one person rapped, and one person pretended to take drink orders from the audience, all which clearly demonstrated their public speaking skills. I was one of the first to go, and wasn’t too nervous. I had written down what I wanted to say, but didn’t end up even looking at my sheet. As a topic I’m familiar about, I didn’t need to, because I knew what I wanted to say, and it seemed to flow. Sure, I felt my knee’s shaking as the lights shined on me as I stood in front of 80 people I didn’t know too well, but I live to tell about it. The speeches were really memorable, and I think my experience at RIT has helped me to be able to be comfortable with this. In the winter I helped to plan the Stand Up Stand Out: Trendy Tuesday. I was the MC for the fashion show, and planned the whole event, so I think that was really helpful. My sorority has 60 girls, and I think speaking to each and everyone of them has helped me to be comfortable in new situations. This week I will be presenting in front of my communications class for 5 minutes about yoga. I expect that I’ll need to look at my notes for some things, like definitions, and my outline because I planned out the order, but I realize that the best speeches are the ones where people don’t need to do that. When you know the subject, your speech seems to flow so easily.
Are you afraid of public speaking? If so, how come? What are you going to do to get over your fear?
Communication Networks and Resumes
First of all, let me just say that I love networking. ”the tapestry of relationships-the complex web of affiliations amont individuals and organizations as they are woven through the collaborative threads of communication”. Nothing’s more exciting than meeting someone, who knows someone, who knows someone! The chapter I was reading talked about communication networks, and interviews, and ways to prepare for them. As a junior, I had my fair share of interviews this quarter, and found this information easily relatable. As a graphic design major, I’m always working on a personal identity for myself, branding myself. This is the hardest job a graphic designer has, working for myself as a client. As I prepared my resume, I kept in mind that I felt it should only be one page. While I had a lot of information I wanted to include, I’ve found myself revising it and taking more and more out, as I have more to put in. Things that are important to me from high school, are not going to be important to my future employers at my first interview. The book says, “Unless you have more than seven years of work experience, most experts agree that resume should not be longer than one page.” I totally agree. At first I wanted to include everything, because each event meant so much to me, but after going through portfolio reviews, and talking with professionals, it’s clear what they’re looking for. The book referred to a resume as an appetizer, and at the interview you can give them a look at the entrée. This not only made me laugh, but really makes sense. I don’t feel I need to write down all my experiences, but I can sum them up, and when they come up during our conversation, I’ll have the opportunity to elaborate on them. Interviews can be scary, but with the materials I’ve learned this year, I feel prepared and ready for them.
Workplace Communication
Last week, a friend of mine asked for a raise. After receiving no immediate response, my friend (let’s call him Joe), waited patiently for a week. The email stated that Mr. Boss would call sometime in the following week. As a webdesigner for this company, Joe works from home, and the company is based out of state. The week passed, and Joe still had no response, so he called his boss, taking matters into his own hands. After repeatedly trying to reach his boss via phone, Joe finally got an email saying they would be in touch tomorrow. The following day’s conversation about the raise was brief, the boss told Joe that he would get him details sometime in the next week about a project he would be assigned, and need to complete in order to be eligible for the raise. Joe thanked the Boss, and is now patiently waiting once again to get his newest assignment. Joe has been working for this company for twenty months now, and does not receive benefits. For a first job out of college, he is making good money, but not enough. The problem here is that the assignment Joe will be receiving is for a task that is not in his job description. I feel the boss is being unreasonable asking Joe to complete something that he is not trained in, and will have no assistance since he is not at the office, & the boss is not readily available to answer his questions. The book says “Be assertive. You can tell the interviewer that the question is not related to the attributes specified in the job description or that the question, as phrased, asked for more information that you do not have to provide. A less aggressive option is to politely decline to answer the question as phrased.” While Joe isn’t being interviewed, this seems to apply to his situation. On one hand, the job is flexible, and secure for now, but he is being asked to do something outside his job description, and getting no respect from his boss. What do you think Joe should do?
This got me thinking. While I’ve spent so much time this quarter researching a list of companies a mile long, some companies responded in a very unprofessional way. I sent multiple emails, and made multiple phone calls asking companies to look at my “book”, or if they had a summer internship program. While few companies responded with great interest, others never responded. I had a phone interview with one hopeful/amazing company, I was soooo excited! The phone interview went really well, and they asked me to drive 500 miles for a second interview. I called the next day, and left a voicemail, and sent an email to thank them for their time, but I wasn’t sure it was practical for me to drive down for an interview, because I couldn’t afford housing if the internship was not paid. I got no response, I wrote again about a week later, just to make sure my message had been received, and then I called at least 3 more times, and talked to someone, who was to relay the message. No word from them still (a few months later). I no longer want to work for that company, because I was led on, and felt like I went on a wild goose chase to reach them, when they couldn’t even contact me to tell me “no”? Fortunately, my dream company contacted me a few months after I’d applied, and asked me to take a “test” based on my skills, I then had a phone interview, and landed the position! I am now Burlington (VT) bound this summer, and cannot wait!
Groups Vs. Teams
Last week my group presented on our topic: Groups vs. Teams. It was a really interesting topic. The first day we formed the group, we just talked about what our ideas were on the topic. Without research to back us up, there was a really fine line between the two. I guess I always associated a team as being directly related to sports, and a group being more like a club. After researching the topic, I found out that there’s a lot of differences between groups and teams by definition, but there is plenty of room for overlapping.
A main factor when differentiating between the two is the leadership role. In a group, leadership if often one person deep. In a team, leadership tasks are shared but they recognize that one member may be the expert in one area. Other factors include responsibility, conflict resolution, decision making, accountability, personal development, planning, etc. After some consideration, we decided we were a “group” for the most part, because we worked on an individual basis, each playing a role and taking care of a specific task.
I’m really glad our group chose this topic. As a member of a sorority on campus, it helped me to see the sorority in a different light. Because the sorority is based around philanthropic activities, I always associated us as a group, trying to make a difference. I kept this in mind as we researched this project, and it became clear to me that we are a team. As a team, each sister brings something different to the table, weather it may be a lot or a little. While we have a president, we are all leaders, we are all responsible, and we all make a difference in the house. In high school I was always part of a team, and when I wasn’t part of one when I transferred to RIT, I really missed that aspect, and that feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself. This is the reason I considered joining a sorority, and I now realize how this really fulfilled that need.
Nonverbal II
The other day in class we did an experiment with nonverbal communication during someone’s group presentation. We were to find someone in the classroom, and have a conversation with them about our major, our hobbies and various other things. I had a great partner, and we had a really fun conversation. I noticed that when there was a lull in the conversation I would look to the board and see what other topics were advised to talk about. I’m also aware of my nervous habit, which is playing with my hair. My partner said that I made myself comfortable, by putting my feet up on the chair, and relaxing. This just backed up the other statement he made, that I wasn’t shy. My body language clearly expressed that I was outgoing, and enthusiastic.
In my art history class, nonverbal communication through sculpture helps us to learn a lot about the time period, the genre it’s from, and many other key factors. I’ve noticed since I started this class, I notice it so much more with my own cues, and others.
Relationships Video
We watched a video in class concerning many issues in relationships. These included adoption, aspergers disease, and how communication is effected or challenged because of this. The part about the two gymnasts was really interesting. I find when working in a group it is easy to run into problems like the ones they faced. The two of them each had great qualities, for example one of them was very good at handling the business side of things. They decided to switch roles, and it ended up being a great success. When I have done group projects in my art program there are many conflicting ideas. People have strong ideas, and find it hard to let other people take charge. By letting each other try out different roles, they found a good balance, and great success.
The story about the african american couple was also interesting. According to the movie, married couples with children are more likely to stay together, but their relationship satisfaction is lower than married couples without children. While this makes sense, it’s sad to think this way.
I also enjoyed watching the part about the young man with aspergers disease. There was a kid in my graduating class who also suffered from this disease. It was insightful to learn more about how his brain & social skills work.
I’m glad we got to watch this video, and I feel like I learned a lot of skills that can be used in multiple social situations.
Nonverbal
“Nonverbal communication is the process of using messages that are not words to generate meaning.”
While I’m a huge fan of nonverbal communication, there are so many times where nonverbal communication goes wrong! (ie: facebook, texting, aim, email, twitter.) I can’t even begin to count how many times miscommunication has occurred due to nonverbal cues/communication. Nonverbal communication via technology is dangerous, but in conjunction with verbal communication can be incredible. I wonder many texts are sent each day reading ” are you okay ” because someone hasn’t responded immediately to your text, or because they gave a one word answer. Do we ever stop to think that maybe someone isn’t staring at their phone, or maybe they’re multitasking, or not able to give you their 100% attention at the moment. Or what about the “ALL CAPS”=yelling. As a graphic design major who seriously studies typography, I find it hysterical. Sure it makes sense via the rules of hierarchy, that something more important is bigger or bolder, but YELLING VIA AIM!!!! It cracks me up. I think conversations involving a raised voice, are much more effective in person, that way you can say exactly what you mean, and use nonverbal cues to compliment, or emphasize your point.
The book also says “Nonverbal communication works in conjunctoin with the words that we utter in six ways: to repeat, to emphasize, to complement, to contradict, to substitute, and to regulate.” While reading, I thought about how often times I contradict myself with my nonverbal communication. For example: when I say “I’m fine” but my nonverbal communication clearly shows that I’m not. I’ll be sure to keep my eye on that, as I think it will benefit myself, and the people around me.
Perception
While communication surrounds us, I feel the experience at RIT is enhanced by the interaction of the students with the NTID program, making RIT very unique. Even though I’m from Rochester, I was never exposed to the large deaf community here. I’ve found my interactions with the deaf community here to be enlightening. I think the way the deaf community is perceived in Rochester is very different than it may be in other places. This is true on both ends of the communication. Hearing students are willing to learn, and understanding of their peers differences, while the deaf students are extraordinarily patient and easy going. I took ASL this winter because I thought it would further benefit my education and my experience at RIT. As a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, my deaf or hard of hearing sisters are very supportive, and it’s easy for me to find ways to communicate with them. The experience you get at RIT is definitely different from the experience you’d get at another school, which is one of the examples we talked about, when on the topic of locale differences. We also talked about how language or “lingo” is different depending on where you’re from. This can definitely lead to miscommunication. Age can also play a huge factor in miscommunication. With the fast pace of technology, it’s interesting that people born in different decades come from such different worlds.
Hello!
My name is Ilana Zatkowsky, I’m a third year graphic design student at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). This blog is for my Human Communications class. I’m minoring in communications, and will be updating this blog weekly about the class and what I’m learning. I’m excited to learn about the art of communication, which surrounds us, just like design does. I feel learning about the fields of communication will further and compliment my exploration of design.
Our first day of class we played ice breakers, taboo, and even watched the beginning of “He’s Just Not That Into You” which was a wonderful way to start the quarter.
