University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 4

Mario Henriquez
Communications for Project Managers: ENCE 424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
November 15, 2019
Introduction
This semester has been eye-opening. I have learned so many new concepts and
viewpoints to how communication is accomplished. Through the quotes read to begin each class,
I have opened my perspective to everyday actions and how I conduct myself around others. The
readings done each and every week helped me become an effective professional. And our in-
class activities have made the lessons learned each day interactive and fun to learn about. All of
this culminates into what I have gotten since the first day stepping into communications for
project managers, which is growth.
Quote from Class
Of the many quotes and parables we’ve discussed throughout this semester, none stands
more relevant and applicable to me as a quote by the late Maya Angelou. Her quote as it reads is,
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people
will never forget how you made them feel.” The reason I resonate to heavily to this is because of
my stance on the importance of first impressions. Throughout this class, we’ve mentioned how
things that may be unnoticeable such as a handshake or non-verbal cues such as body language
says a lot about you. They give off an impression that may perceived to be either negative or
positive, and this is important in persuading an audience to buy into your message. I believe all
this to be true, however, it is best summarized by Angelou’s quote.
The first impression is pivotal in any form of interaction. It forms the basis of
communication between two parties and creates influence between the two. I find that to be true
to myself in my daily interactions. When I speak with someone new, whether it be a professor or
a random stranger, the way I feel after leaving a conversation has a lasting effect on my attitude
towards that person. It often determines if there will even be another time where we
communicate. Throughout my experiences in college, my impressionability on others has been
foundational in the way I formulate conversations and in the way I communicate. At networking
events and career fairs, I find myself holding conversations with the recruiters focused on the
recruiter themselves. I’ve learned that asking these questions leaves a lasting impression on the
recruiters because they are often bombarded with “I” statements, “I am an Engineer…I have 2
internships…I would be a great fit for your company,” all statements that make the person in
front of them, the recruiter, invaluable. By having the recruiter tell me about themselves and the
company it accomplishes two things; first, that I want to hear what their lives are like because I
am genuinely interested, and, that they are a human being and not a robot. This plays into
Angelou’s quote because of the way the recruiters feel when talking to me. They feel as though
they are valued as people and it reflects in the opportunities I’ve had as a result of those events.
I’ve made friendships and mentors out of those interactions that I still cherish to this day.
They may not remember exactly what we discussed or maybe even where we had our
initial conversation, but they have made it apparent that they see my value both as a friend and as
a potential employee in their company. I find this important as an effective project manager
because of the importance of the relationships you build with your coworkers. Having that open
line of communication with coworkers is pivotal in the success as a team. The product you
deliver is the result of effective coordination amongst multiple people. And people that have a
positive impression of each other will be more willing to collaborate and help one another. That
begins with how you first made them feel.
Concepts from the Readings
The readings so far this semester have given me a lot of insight into both the professional
world as well as how I view my interactions with others. Communication is a much deeper and
complex action than it may seem at first glance and through the readings this became evident. In
A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking, the discuss anxiety. This is something that stood out to me
because of my struggles as a person. Anxiety is something I live with and deal with on a daily
basis with school, personal things, and life in general. So public speaking is something that
brings me anxiety, as it does to many. The lesson taught in the reading was to understand my
anxiety. At first, I did not understand what the lesson meant. I thought to myself, “I am anxious,
so what?” I believed that was understanding anxiety, acknowledging the fact. But, I learned that
anxiety is much more complex and tackling it meant really understanding it. My triggers to
anxiety are as relevant as understanding my strengths and weaknesses. It went further than
acknowledging it, but managing it and being one with anxiety. Instead of panicking, identifying.
Figuring out where and why it comes from in order to truly be able to overcome it. It stands out
to me over other lessons because of the relevance it has to me. I’ve had to speak in front of many
crowds due to my involvement in my community. I’ve spoken in front of as many as hundreds to
as little as three, but that same feeling of anxiety overcomes me. Now that I’ve understood where
my anxiety comes from, lack of confidence and locking eyes with audience members, I can
avoid the scenarios that make me anxious. I understand that I have to prepare well in-advance
and multiple times to feel confident about the material I am presenting. I understand that I need
to be careful when panning through the room and not look at someone, but through someone. All
lessons learned from this reading.
In Crucial Conversations, a common theme was the audience and analyzing your
audience. But in this reading the discussion was focused on steering my message. When
analyzing, you are able to acknowledge what the audience would respond to positively. By
acknowledging this, you can then steer your message to be received in the manner in which you
intend it to. You find the common ground between you and the audience and are able to connect
with them. A common phrase used throughout the semester has been empathy. Empathy is again
at play here, when communicating with the audience. This point has made me become more
cognizant or who I am speaking with and how I am speaking to them. In group discussions and
one-on-one conversations, granting the audience my full attention before even beginning to
speak to my points. This allows me to materialize what the people listening to me value.
Therefore, my messages are more direct and influential to its audience.
In-Class Debate
For the in-class debate my team was con Big Dig. I served as a presenter as well as a
researcher for my team. My unofficial roles incorporated a little bit of everyone else’s roles as
well naturally. My team was not victorious, almost unanimously. For this fact I think more could
have been improved on my team that applies both leadership wise and presentation wise. I
believe our communication within the group could have been better. As a team, we took the
divide and conquer approach to the debate. We identified key points we wanted to use to support
our viewpoint and then broke into subcommittees to research. I see this a flaw because while in
committees we did not interact, or bounce ideas off each other. This created issues because when
we reconvened, we found that our points did not mesh well together after further research. Our
points felt weak when presented together because they did not add value to the argument.
Instead, some points seemed to discredit others. Had we had communication throughout the
research phase we would have identified these flaws and been able to address them. We
discovered them while practicing the final presentation after it was too late to change and
rediscover research for the new points.
Secondly, the initial brainstorming process could have been more effective. As
mentioned previously, we identified key points initially that were obvious to us from the video
we watched, then broke up into subcommittees. We could have dived deeper and searched the
internet for more concrete examples to use as our main topics. As a result, the argument was
flawed and not cohesive. Since our foundation was built from this initial brainstorming process
and we lacked communication, our result was a weak generalized argument. Finally, the way we
attacked the argument could have been improved. Our presentation was thrown together last
minute because our time management was not our top priority. We did not practice our
presentation until we had about three minutes left until it was time to present. This in turn did not
allow us to consider outlying factors to our argument such as counterarguments from the
opposing side or potential questions we could have been asked by the panelists. As a speaker this
was problematic because I was forced to improvise while presenting. Having more preparation
would have gone a long way in organizing my thoughts and our case. We found ourselves
addressing the modes of persuasion a few seconds prior to presenting. Although we did
incorporate them into our side of the argument, we could have done a better job at addressing
this earlier, while in our brainstorming phase.
Overall, I was pleased with what we did in the time we had. My team could have
performed better, but I attribute our defeat to the impressions the panelist held prior to hearing
our argument. I feel as though my team addressed the requirements of the debate in its entirety
while the other side often lacked certain elements. I took away my ability to create solutions and
improvise almost instantaneously. I know ways we could improve; therefore, I came away with a
newfound confidence that given another opportunity we would win.
Conclusion
Maya Angelou left the world with a wonderful quote. This quote has been impactful in
many people’s lives and there day to day interactions, myself included. Understanding how you
make others feel is as important as what it is you are saying itself. This has made me more
contentious as a speaker but also as a person. Just as these daily quotes has made me more
contentious, the weekly readings have had the same effect. Understanding my anxiety and its
triggers are as important as managing them. That is, in fact, the first step in managing anxiety.
Creating empathy gives a speaker an advantage in their ability to guide a conversation. It gives
them control over their message and ability to steer it in favor of the audience. Our in-class
activities such as the debate is also an area where steering the audience would have been
beneficial. That in addition to other things such as communication within ourselves and proper
preparation would have helped my team be more successful. However, all things considered, the
lessons this semester were innumerable. Through this class, I feel as a communicator and a
project manager, a fresh sense of confidence and growth.
 Works Cited
Faulkner, Michael, and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.
Pearson Learning Solutions, 2017. Print.
Gallo, Carmine. Five Stars the Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great. St. Martin’s
Press, 2018. Print.
O’Hair, Dan, and Hannah Rubenstein and Rob Stewart. A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking.
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019. Print.
Pachter, Barbara, and Denise Cowie. The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat,
and Tweet Your Way to Success. McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. Print
Patterson, Kerry, Greeny, Joseph, McMillian, Ron, and Al Switzler. Crucial Conversations:
Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, 2011. Print