Modules 17 & 18

Module 17
This module focused on how to be a good listener. To be a good listener one of the most important things you can do is to not make assumptions. Also, it’s important to listen to feelings in addition to listening for facts. Being a active listener means that you can paraphrase the content, mirror the speakers feelings, state your own feelings, ask for information or clarification, and offer to help solve the problem. It’s important to show people that you’re listening. You can do this by making eye contact with the person who is speaking, lean forward, and make acknowledgment responses. Something that I found very interesting was even if you disagree with someone it’s important that you know you can still use these techniques.

Module 18
This module was about working and writing in teams. There are three types of messages that this section talked about and they were Informational, Procedural, and Interpersonal. This module focused on what roles there are to play in groups. Also leadership in groups is very important. Someone who takes on this role needs to be able to make fair decisions. Something that I found interesting in this section was how to handle conflict. To try to avoid conflict everyone should set and agree on a few ground rules in the very beginning to avoid confusion later on down the road.
It’s also very important to confront problems head on when they come up instead of letting someone’s anger build up until they explode. Responding to criticism was something else that I found interesting in this section because it’s impossible for everyone to agree on everything, but there are ways to be respectful when disagreeing.