Friday, July 12, 2013

BLOG ASSIGNMENT

THE OFFICE ON TBS:
I had never watched this show before but that it was interesting. When I watched the show without sound, it seemed as though there were two men that were looking at a computer and another comes into the office and seems to confront them about it. I thought of course that they were watching porn and the boss came in and caught them. Looking at their faces I assumed the conversation got into someone getting in trouble about this. This led to them sitting in the office again talking to someone on the phone, which I assumed was the big boss.

The story was about an insurance salesman that was part of the Mafia and was sending messages to the guy about buying insurance. The person that received the email, actually called the guy at the coercion of his coworkers to let him know he was not intimated and that he did not want to buy insurance. After this, coworkers informed him that he was talking to the Mafia. He actually told the guy that he would cause him bodily harm if he didn't stop emailing, not realizing he was talking to someone that was part of the Mafia.

It is very easy to assume or misinterpret people's actions without hearing what they are saying. Looking at the body language and trying to read lips, does not work when you cannot actually hear what is being said.

In communication, we must not assume anything, we have to take the time to listen and ask questions instead of waiting on our chance to talk or being defensive about what is being said.  We have to be active listeners.

5 comments:

  1. Seletha

    I agree that making assumptions about what people are communicating can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

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  2. Assumptions obviously can be dangerous. They can hinder relationships and cause us to have reactions that are unfounded. We must be so careful, especially in our work with children and families to really listen and not assume before we have all of the information. You are so right that we need to take the time to ask questions and learn as much as possible.

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  3. Seletha,
    I thought this was going to be a piece of cake but I was very wrong and made all kinds of assumptions. This is really a great experiment to do with colleagues because it is something that is so common, whether it is assumptions about a family or coworker.

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  4. I too, sometimes am a victim of assumption. It is very difficult, as you stated to understand body language sometimes without being able to listen to what is being said. Communication is key, and without active listening, leaves room for assumptions. Thanks for your post.

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  5. Seletha,

    We all fall victim to assumptions, making sure we are conscious communicators will alleviate the need to assume. Assumptions turns into misunderstanding and can lead to more as I witness on the show I watched for this assignment. We all need to do our part in communicating.

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