An examination of the texts provided in exercise 7 shows that the first half of the statement in each sentence comes off as either confrontational, degrading, or presents various negative connotations about the performance or intellectual ability of the one that is being spoken to (Dixon and O’Hara, 18). The second half of the text on the other hand is generally more positive, supportive and projects a stance that, while not generally approving of what has been shown, is supportive towards providing positive reinforcement and differing means of improvement.
The first statement coincides with the guidelines of being specific rather than generalized as evidenced by the latter half of the statement which gives specific examples of lateness. The speaker gives a precise date indicating when the student had been late during the week as compared to the first half of the statement which exclaimed a fact yet gave no evidence to back it up.
The second statement relates to the guidelines of being problem-oriented not people-oriented as seen by how the problem is addressed at the beginning and end of the statement. The speaker at the beginning of the statement states that there is a problem yet offers no method of resolution, this is indicative of degrading an individual rather than offering positive feedback. The second half of the statement is more appealing since it focuses on the problem at hand and attempts to correct it through whatever means available
The third statement relates to the guidelines of being descriptive, not evaluative as seen in the use of varying points of view in the latter half of the statement. At the beginning of the statement, the speaker indicates that how the situation was handled was terrible yet gave no indication as to why they thought it was terrible. The latter half of the statement is far more appealing to listeners since it describes how the speaker thought the situation was handled improperly.
The fourth statement relates to the guideline of owning rather than disowning as seen by the speaker taking responsibility for his/her views. This is shown by the speaker assuming responsibility for thinking that the idea being presented would be terrible instead of relegating the problem to the thoughts of the team.
The fifth statement relates to the guidelines of validating not invalidating as seen through the generally positive approach towards the views of the person being spoken to. At the beginning of the phrase, it is seen that the speaker generally dismisses the view of the other person in the conversation as being irrelevant yet the latter half of the statement shows how they value the other person’s views. The latter view is more indicative of a positive and acceptable style of communication as compared to the first part of the statement since it is more supportive than negative.
The sixth statement relates to the guidelines of being supportive rather than purely critical as seen in how the speaker addresses issues to solve the problem. At the beginning of the statement, it can be seen that the speaker is critical of the problems being created yet offers no means of support to the person being spoken to. The latter half of the statement shows how to be supportive when addressing a problem and is the correct way of accomplishing this particular type of conversation.
The last statement relates to the guidelines of dealing with decisions and actions rather than assumed intentions or certain interpretations as seen in the way in which the speaker shows what the exact problem is. The speaker in this instance immediately assumes the worse at the beginning of the statement which is an incorrect way of addressing an issue. A better way can be seen in the latter half of the states where the speaker addresses how the mistake was made rather than immediately assuming the worst of the person being spoken to.
Reference
Dixon, Tara & O’Hara, Martin. Communication skills: making practice based learning at work. (N.I.): 18 – 19. Web.