Communicating
What is it?
Communicating effectively involves receiving as well as giving information. You are a good listener and reader, and understand and consider what you hear and read, showing interest in the subject. You can speak and write in a way that is appropriate to your audience. You can tell stories that persuade, motivate and inspire as well as bringing what you have to say to life.
Reflection point
Whether you are speaking, listening, writing or using body-language there are many different ways to communicate with people. It could be that you are face-to-face, writing to them or engaging with them on social media. Think about the different ways that you communicate.
Other communication meta skills
Receiving Information – Understanding and mentally processing verbal or written Communication
Listening – The ability to actively understand information provided by the speaker, and display interest in the topic discussed
Giving information – Giving written or verbal communication in a way that can be best understood by those receiving the communication
Storytelling – The ability to tell stories that persuade, motivate and/or inspire as well as bringing the sharing of knowledge to life through examples and illustrations
Feeling
What is it?
You can see things from other people’s point of view, and this helps you understand their feelings and motivations. You have a sense of responsibility and concern for wider society.
Reflection point
In order to be able to show empathy to others, it’s important to think about how they might be feeling. What would help you to think about or understand what other people are feeling?
Other Feeling meta skills
Empathy – The ability to take the perspective of others in order to understand their feelings and motivations
Social conscience – A sense of responsibility and concern for wider society
Collaborating
What is it?
Being able to collaborate with other people means building and maintaining relationships with them so you can work together to achieve shared goals. You are aware of and understand other people’s reactions and can work effectively in different cultural contexts.
What does it look like?
The following video is taken from a tv comedy. It shows friends working together with an aim in mind.
Reflection points
Imagine that you are about to start a project with a team (perhaps at school or college). What sorts of skills would you be looking for in your team mates to make sure that you can collaborate effectively? Could you write a short ‘job description’ listing the qualities that you would expect from them?
Other collaborating meta skills
Relationship building – The ability to identify and initiate connections and to develop and maintain them in a way that is of mutual benefit to both one’s self and others
Teamworking and collaboration – Working with others toward shared goals. Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals
Social perceptiveness – Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do
Global and cross cultural competence – The ability to operate in different cultural settings
Leading
What is it?
Being able to lead people means you can inspire others, and create a sense of direction and purpose. You can influence others towards agreement on a course of action, motivating and encouraging them to achieve agreed goals. You are able to coach others, developing and improving their skills and performance. You have the spark that can ignite change.
Reflection point
Think about someone who is, in your opinion, a great leader. It could be someone close to home like a member of your family or a leader in your school / college. It could be someone famous like a politician or a leader of an organisation. What is it about them that you admire? Why?
Create a ‘portrait’ of them — it doesn’t have to be a drawing but could be a profile including: their greatest strength, their greatest weakness, their biggest success and their biggest failure. What have you learnt from them?
Other Leading meta skills
Inspiring others – The ability to energise and create a sense of direction, purpose, excitement and momentum
Influencing – Working to gain the agreement of others to a particular course of action
Motivating others – Encouraging others to achieve goals, accomplish tasks, and complete objectives
Developing others – The ability to coach and constructively review the work of others to improve and advance their skills, knowledge and performance level
Change catalyst – Having the ability to ignite change
Social intelligence reflection
Reflection point
Think about a time when you have or should have shown any (or all) of the Social intelligence skills: Communicating, Feeling, Collaborating, Leading
Using your reflective journal (written or recorded), record your thoughts about that event or situation by answering these questions:
What?
Describe what happened
So what?
Discuss why you – and other people involved – acted the way you did, and what you can learn from this
Now what?
Identify what you could do in the future in a similar situation
These points are also what you will use to write your Reflective Accounts during your studies.
