Relational Journal Entry: Listening Due no later than Friday, November 10 at 11:

Relational Journal Entry: Listening
Due no later than Friday, November 10 at 11:59pm
This is your chance to improve the relationship you have chosen to analyze. You have 2 months to dedicate to this endeavor.
UNIT EIGHT
Please choose a concept from this week’s readings on listening that interests you in relation to your chosen relationship. In grading your response, I am looking for a thoughtful choice of a concept that has potential to affect your relationship. I will be looking for the concept to be correctly explained and clearly linked to your example.
Looking for concept ideas? In this unit, I think your best bet is going to be going with any one of the listening responses and possibly choosing two of them (for example, discussing one that wasn’t very effective in a situation and discussing one that you think might have been more effective). Other concept ideas include: barriers to effective listening, listening styles (this, too, could be one in which you discuss why one style was not very effective and what might have been a more effective style to use). You could also discuss the stages of the listening process (possibly where communication broke down). It will greatly benefit you to read ALL of the tabs first before choosing your concept. That way, you will have a more “global vision” of the unit and be able to possibly integrate multiple concepts (for example, exploring at which stage in the listening process broke down, what barriers to listening, and/or ineffective listening styles and/or responses might have caused this breakdown, and what you might do better next time.
Please include the following (you can expand beyond each if you’d like):
INTRODUCTION: Provide an introduction to your journal entry. After you introduce what this chapter is about and how it relates to communication in general, provide a context for your chosen concept within the content of the chapter. Why is this concept the one you chose to apply to this particular relationship?
CONCEPT: Explain what the concept(s) mean(s). This explanation must not simply quote the book’s explanation; it must clearly demonstrate that you understand the concept.
EXAMPLE: Provide an example of when you have experienced this concept(s) in your relationship. This should focus on YOUR behavior and use (or lack of use) of the concept(s), not the other person’s. Make sure you clearly link the example to the concept(s). Don’t make me try to figure out how this example relates to the concept(s).
GOAL: Provide a specific goal for how you will improve your future communication within your relationship based on your knowledge of this concept(s). Focus on changes or improvements you can make in YOUR behavior rather than trying to change their behavior or make them understand your perspective. Be sure your goal is specific (WHAT will you DO), measurable (HOW will you know you achieved it) and timely (WHEN, under what circumstances, will you do it). For example, “I will be a better listener” is quite vague and is not measurable or timely. It would be more effectively written as “At least once this week when Jean talks about a complicated issue, or I want to be sure that I understood her point, I will use one of the strategies of paraphrasing .” Please note: Your goal should be connected to the concept you chose to focus on in this journal (something related to language), not to listening. The sample goal above is simply to show you the difference between an poorly written goal and a more effectively written goal.