Communication Styles

It was very interesting reviewing the evaluations of the way that I evaluated myself and the way I was evaluated by my family and co-workers.  I assumed that it would be different for family and co-workers and I hoped that I was somewhere in the middle of those groups.  Ironically, all of them were the same.  The thing that surprised me the most is the fact that I am moderately aggressive in my communication.  I would have never labeled myself aggressive.  However, the description was more able verbally standing up for your beliefs and that does not surprise me.

Two things I learned this week include a better understanding of self-disclosure and becoming familiar with self-denigration.  With self-disclosure you are revealing yourself to others by sharing information about yourself.  To count as self-disclosure in a relationship, the disclosure must be important; telling someone you like snacking on raw vegetables is not self-disclosure, but explaining to them the deeply held reasons why you became a vegetarian is (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  The most negative assessment you can make about communication experience is self-denigration.  Self-denigration is criticizing or attacking yourself (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  In my professional life I feel that keeping self-disclosure in check is important so that you are maintaining a level of professionalism in your work relationships.  However; just recently in Oklahoma we experienced significant tornadoes and one of my co-workers lost her home and in those types of situations self-disclosure becomes critical in the relationship.  I was unfamiliar with self-denigration and I do not think I have ever experienced this type of behavior in either my personal or professional life.