Communication

In my last blog, I talked about dealing with conflict in a group. I gave a method that groups might want to use try to solve the conflict in a reasonable manner. Since I have so many groups this semester, I’ve decided to talk about them again. But this time I am going to talk about conversations and communication within our groups. Conversation is something that happens in everyday life whether it’s just casual, school, or work related there is no way around it.  Without conversation, my groups couldn’t function and complete projects like we need to. I must admit that a couple of my groups have an easier time with conversation than the others do.

Personally, for me it depends on what type of group I am working with that will determine the types of conversations we have. In one of my groups we are very comfortable with each other and just have casual conversations every time we meet.  A couple of the others, it’s strictly school work and nothing else. Both of these methods work fine with me, because we still end up with the same result in the end a finished project.  Group 1 is the more casual group that can do both casual and school related conversations at the same time and still achieve our goals. Group 2’s conversations usually always have to do with the project we are working on and nothing else.  This is okay with me, but I just make it a little harder for me to get comfortable with the people at first. I think casual conversations let you get a feel of what the people are like and their thought process.

Without communicating in general, you cannot expect other people to know what you are thinking.  You can literally feel the tension in school when you get together with your groups for the very first time. Everything is new and for the most part people don’t really know each other too well. Usually the first person to start a conversation is the leader of the group and feels the most comfortable. That did not used to be me, but now I feel as though I have become more comfortable with just putting myself out there and taking the lead. 

With this said, insurance agencies need to have good communication with their customers.  This helps minimize mistakes, conflict, and other problems that could occur. Something that Nixon Insurance does that I really like, is that the agents log their activity with each individual customer in the customer’s profile. This way for example if Chad is out of the office Dave can look in John Doe’s activities and see what conversations have being going on.  It might not give Dave every piece of information he needs to know but at least he has a starting ground and can help the best way he can. It’s important for the customer to tell their agent when they pay off a car loan, get a new car, or have a new roof put on their house so the agent is up to date on everything. Communication between co-workers is important as well. People who don’t communicate well don’t work well together.  It’s important to remember that you have an opinion and a voice for a reason. Use it when it is necessary because only you can control it.

I have to remember this as well when at school. The people in my groups don’t know what I am thinking or wanting to do unless I communicate with them. There is nothing more frustrating in groups than when someone won't communicate at all. Communication is one of the keys to having a successful and fulfilling life.