Definitely listening is a skill, that requires lots of practice. As Nurses we are taught to fix problems not to facilitae conversations. We need to shift from fixing problems to being facilitaters.

Although Criticism either Positive or Negative can be uncomfortable, it is however how we are evaluated in our performance reviews.  If done in a Professional Manner, it can be very therapeutic in the change process that needs to take place in order to do better and/or presenting the accolades for a job well done.  Either way, it is a challenge for me to be put in a spot light for others to judge or envy successes. 

I will try not to think of feedback as a negative activity but as a learning experience.

I must admit I have been guilty of thinking of what I am going to say and thinking of solutions while I should be listening. I have no wisdom to share on this right now - definitely an area for me to improve in.

I found that using a variety of communication methods is best to use in conveying information to students and faculty members. This is a good way to get as many individuals that one can because every one communicates in different style and manner.

The communication tutorial was very effective, where it provides helpfull information in a concise way that is easy to understand. These are valuable communication skills to act upon and  practiced everyday in our workspace.

The short course on presentations was a nice refresher.

How to be a better listener

I have found, and this course has backed this up, that if you present information in a manner that people can relate to peronally then they will be able to retain it better. If you can get them to think of a situation that they experience and associate your topic of conversation/lesson then you have just created a mental link enabling them to have better retention of the information you are providing to them.

I hadn't previously been exposed to the notion that, when giving feedback, one should avoid advice-giving. Advice-giving seems to be an inherent part of teaching, but it is true that the ideas are passed along more fluidly without the formality of "advice."

Communication is very key especially when working at a smaller institution where departments work very closely with one another. I believe it is very vital to effective workflow and hope that some individual coworkers will be able to use these applicable listening tools into the working space since it's much needed with the amount of work we have daily.

This is such an important thing to remember.  All of the points in this tutorial are right on the money to create a really great presentation.  Most of it are things I have learned many times, but it is always good to remind yourself of the key points!

I liked this tutorial because it was a good reminder to use several different learning tools in communicating.  I find in teaching in the cosmetology industry that we have students with many different learning styles and if we don't try and target these different learning styles some of the students have a harder time learning the concepts.  I like the reminder of using the "read it", "explain it", and "do it" along with visual aids to target the entire group of learners.

Engage all

GREAT REFRESHER COURSE!!! Great opportunity to review what I had learned last century!!!  Now that we don't communicate orally as much as we used to it was good to review what writing is, simple.  Thank you!!

We had two students who had a misunderstanding. After speaking with both of them seperately, myself and another administrator facilitated ameeting and allowed the two to speak. They each took a moment to share their perceptions and feelings and were able to understand each other. They both completed the program successfully and as friends.

Everybody comes from different places emotionally and views and interpreatations of situations will vary.  It is really important to maintain objectivity when dealing with conflicts between employees.

I just completed the Coaching course and found it quite applicable to classroom situations as well as when managing employees.  I want the best from my students all the time -- coaching can help me get there.

Do your work, do it with a smile on your face, And like what you do. My action plan would be to do what I preach.

Use multiple methods of communication to ensure a wide understanding of the message.  Either written followed by an conversation or an oral presentation with a written follow-up.