Unit 9 Assignment

Interpersonal Relations

I conducted my interview at the Public Affair Offices (2-292B) located in the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. The appointment time was set up in advance for Friday September 17th, 2010 at 2pm.

My interview included Clarence Davis (Public Affairs Officer) and Julia Yubeta (Public Affairs Assistant).

Mr. Davis wanted his assistant to participate in the interview in order to give her a better idea as to how the office strives to assist students reaching for higher education.

Interview by Connie

Kimeu

Interpersonal Communications

Answer:

“Yes, as we are a federal agency our main goal is to keep the public informed about the projects we are working on as well to promote the facility to our military service members. Our goals include overall health and wellness, and a secondary yet just as important goal is to show the public that we are being good stewards of their money. That we are supplying well needed programs with the funding provided to us through tax collection, government grants, and military backed funds.”

This question directly relates to interpersonal communication through their dealings with the public.

By being a federal agency they communicate the needs and desires of the community through their programs and participate in an open-communication style with the public and their superiors.

Because they are dealing with various types of military personal they also have to keep in mind cultural diversities as the Army is made from many cultures, each with their own traditions and means of communicating effectively.

Do you work with people on a regular basis?

Relation to Topics:

Related Content and Ideas from Interpersonal Communication: Everyday

Encounters

Some information from the text that coincides with Mr. Davis’s answers to question number one include:

Page 19: A Communication Continuum: They advocate through many types of people and in a way they are the voice of the community.Page 21: Features of Interpersonal Communication: They are based on a systemic system whereby they reach many people through many programs designed to specifically cater to the needs of the community in various ways.

Answer: “Yes, it is extremely important for us to be able

to communicate effectively with cultural tendencies in mind. An important part of our work is to advocate that this facility has an open-door policy and all cultures are observed with the utmost respect. I have been in public affairs for over 10 years and at this point keeping cultural differences in mind comes naturally to me. At one point in time it required thought from my part on how to respond to certain requests regarding an issue regarding the diversity of cultures. I think the most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with other cultures is that you really have to listen and not just hear what the other person is trying to say and keep in mind what is considered an acceptable response in their culture.”

He made some very excellent points about cultural diversity and the importance of learning from other cultures.

By monitoring the communication between cultures you can effectively and with respect respond to the diversities with confidence.

He also made a reference that we all have a generalized idea on how a culture is perceived that can often be wrong from the actual expectations of the culture in question.

Stereotypes play a large role in how other cultures are accepted and treated and he had mentioned several situations when he was beginning his career in public affairs that had an impact on how he communicates between cultures.

The negative impacts of stereotypes color our ideals about other societies and cultures in general.

Is it important for you to know how to work well with diverse people? Why?

Relation to topics:

Related Content and Ideas from Interpersonal Communication: Everyday

Encounters

Some information from the text that coincides with Mr. Davis’s answers to question number two include:

Page 15: Participating Effectively in a Diverse Society: They deal with many types of cultures in their work with the public. The Army is made up of many people from many cultures and they keep those cultures in mind during communication.Page 34: Monitoring Your Communication: Because they are the voice of the people they take great care in monitoring their communication with others to effectively convey messages through the community.Page 49: Generalized Other: They are directly influencing the ideas that the community has about military service as well as military facilities.Page 71: Stereotypes: They work on a day-to-day basis to avoid stereotypes and break them down to show a more open line of communication between the facility, the public, and other cultures within the area.

Answer:

“I believe the most important interpersonal skill is to listen. Hearing is on thing and listening is another entirely. When you hear you aren’t paying attention to the context that the message is being delivered in and therefore you are “drowning” out what the sender is trying to say.”

In order to hear and understand what the sender is trying to say the receiver needs to be open about the communication process.

If the receiver isn’t “invested” in the communication then the sender’s need to be heard is being unmet.

What is the most important interpersonal skill someone needs to be successful in this field? Why?

Relation to Topics:

Related Content and Ideas from Interpersonal Communication: Everyday

Encounters

Some information from the text that coincides with Mr. Davis’s answers to question number three

include:

Page 17: Models of Interpersonal Communication: If the sender is not being heard then the model becomes linear. If it is two-way communication where both the sender and receiver are being heard then it is an interactive model.Page 32: Adapting Communication Appropriately: In order to cater to the publics needs they need to be able to communicate their information in a variety of ways which includes being able to listen to what the public has to say.

Answer: “Listening first and foremost is one of

the most important skills that everyone should have. I think that patience and appreciation are also important. You have to have patience to really listen to what someone has to say and you have to appreciate their culture, communication styles, and personality in order to truly gain insight into what they are saying. If you show that you appreciate them as a human being then they too will show you their appreciation because you took the time to really hear them. I think the quote “meeting of the minds” really influences how I deal with people because you need to have a common ground with which to work on. Once a common ground is found then communication can flow around it to build rapport or a relationship.”

Again listening and not just hearing is mentioned.

He briefly addresses conflict in an abstract way regarding communication.

He also mentions that by changing your demeanor the other person in the communication circle will be affected and their behavior will mimic the behavior of the other person.

His example was if you are yelling, then the other person will yell, then the communication circle is lost because each person involved wants to be heard above the other.

What are the three most important interpersonal skills you use on a daily basis?

Relation to topics:

Related Content and Ideas from Interpersonal Communication: Everyday

Encounters

Some information from the text that coincides with Mr. Davis’s answers to question number four include:

Page 115: Respect What Others Say about Their Feelings and Thoughts: In order to listen and not just hear we have to allow the other person to express how they feel in a productive manner without cutting them down and thereby creating a barrier for effective communication.Page: 147-150: The Listening Process: This area approaches listening and how to really hear a message without getting lost in the noise around it.Page 164: Be Mindful: Being wholly present in the conversation will save time, confusion, and hurt feelings by the other party involved.Page 164: Listen Actively: Mr. Davis mentions completely listening to the message before responding and allowing enough time for the message to be processed by the receiver in order to respond in an effective manner.

Answer:

“Yes, we look at how they communicate with us throughout the interview. How they respond to our questions is important because it can tell us who is emotionally developed and mentally developed which then gives us a great clue as to how the interviewee communicates with others. We also pay attention to their choice of words and if they respond to us with intelligent and logical answers then we know that this person is aware of themselves and how their communication styles influence others.”

How we communicate as people can tell others what we are like and how we relate to them communication wise.

Being mindful of how we communicate can open and close doors of opportunity for us.

When you look at possible candidates for a position are interpersonal skills part of the criteria for the position?

Relation to topics:

In Conclusion

A Learning Experience

In this last question Mr. Davis addresses many modes of communication that apply directly to the context of the textbook from being mindful to stereotypes. The interview reinforced everything I have learned about interpersonal communication this semester. Being mindful of others, dual-perspective, actively listening, and many other concepts from this semester were either addressed directly by Mr. Davis or had a soft undertone in the answers to the questions. I enjoyed completing this interview because it really captivated me as to how important interpersonal communication skills really are.

Wood, J. (2010). Interpersonal Communication Everyday Encounters. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center5005 N Piedras

El Paso, Tx 79920-5001

 

References

Clarence Davis III• Public Affairs Officer• Phone: 915-569-1006• Fax: 915-569-2729• Clarence.davis@amedd.army.mil

Julia Yubeta• Public Affairs Assistant• Phone:915-569-1006• Fax: 915-569-2729• Clarence.davis@amedd.army.mil