Communication Journal Entries

C. Journal Entries Discussion

Most of my journal entries were about communicating with family members, friends, and group members for school projects. Throughout my journals, using my phone to text was the main means of communication. This makes sense since nowadays is mostly focused on smartphones. A thing I noticed, when I communicated with my family members, is the older generation prefer to call instead of text. As a response to your question on my September 2nd journal, both methods of communication were effective. Texting is more effective for the younger generation, while calling is more effective for the older generation. My parents don’t know how to text, so calling was more effective for them. I discovered some of the benefits and
disadvantages of each method. As you mentioned in my September 28th journal, texting is smarter when shopping for multiple items (making a list). A phone call is better when I need a quick response. If I wanted to check if we had any eggs left, it would’ve been quicker to call than text. My sister could go check the refrigerator during the call and let me know right away. If we texted, I would have to wait for her to take her time typing the message. Also, what if I didn’t hear my text notification? I wouldn’t have seen the text from my sister. I would’ve picked up the phone call from my Mom instead.

In my September 9th journal, I wrote about forming a group for Marketing 100S. My group was formed based on our love for animals, so we decided to volunteer at the Valley Animal Center. As what you lectured in class, forming the group is the most important step in order to develop a successful team. One of the person was constantly participating in class (answering the professor’s questions), so I knew he would do well during the presentation portion of the project. The other two seemed responsible. Throughout our group project, I ran into some issues. Our first meeting with the non-profit organization was at 10 AM, but my class ended at 9:50 AM. I let my group know I was going to be late, as mentioned in my September 18th journal. When I arrive there, I asked my group what I missed. My group told me they watched an orientation video. Fortunately, I was able to make up that lost time. My supervisor, from the Valley Animal Center, allowed me to re-watch the orientation video. Another problem I had with my group was group texting. I originally had a non-smartphone and was not able to group text my group effectively. They told me that my messages appeared separately instead of appearing in the group chat. I decided then to upgrade my phone (I originally planned to anyways). After getting a smartphone, I was able to group chat properly and saw the benefits of it. Each member could see the messages and it was faster to respond.

In my November 2nd journal, I did not finish my thought. I wrote about contacting my supervisor from the Valley Animal Center to start volunteering at the Dog Adoption Center. In order to do that, I would need to buy a volunteer shirt and set up an appointment. I emailed Jackie (the name of my supervisor) I would be stopping by to buy the shirt. I felt it was important to let her know I was going to drop by so she would expect me. After buying my shirt, I stopped by the Dog Adoption Center to set up my appointment. I bought my planner notebook in order to see if there will be any time conflicts. After setting up the appointment, I repeated the date and time to double-check. I developed this skill to double-check from learning about telephone skills in high school. I learned I should double-check dates and time before ending a call. I applied this skill to everything when dates and time are involved.

From taking Marketing 100S, I learned that it is important to have a group that consist of a variety of skills. We each had our own strengths and weaknesses. My strengths included excellent organization and planning skills. A weakness I have is being a perfectionist. By being a perfectionist, I wanted everything to be perfect. As a result, I stressed over little unnecessary things. By observing my group members, I learned to relax and calm down. Overall, this is actually my first group activity that I enjoyed and turned out great. I hope that future group projects are as successful as this one.

D. Communication Skills Progress

On the first day of school, my perception was I would not get to know anyone in the class.
I was wrong. If it wasn’t for you, who asked us to introduce ourselves to the person next to us, I wouldn’t made a friend. I am a shy person, which makes it difficult for me to talk to a new person. At first, it was hard for me to just say “Hi”. Eventually, I become comfortable and was able to have a normal conversation. Knowing my personality type, this was a huge improvement for me. I used the communication skills I learned from this relationship to apply to other classmates. Whenever I talk to a person now, I listen and observe how I talk. I analyze myself and try to make myself talk more by asking more personal questions. I would like to know my classmates more on a personal level and began networking. For example, in my other class, I originally don’t ask my classmate what she was doing for the weekend. Now when I see her, I asked her that
question.

E. Relevance/Application of Course Materials to Communication Skills

The one thing I learned the most was probably from the resume assignment.
I actually haven’t updated my resume since high school. After revising my resume for this class, I noticed how much 4 years can impact resume building. During high school, Microsoft Excel was considered a unique skill. Nowadays, who doesn’t know how to use it? Another reason why I have not updated my resume is because I had no job experience since high school. I heard stories of how hard it is to balance school and work at the same time. Because of that, I wanted to just focus on my education. Now, I learned that I need to start gaining experience. As I mentioned to you during our last resume help meeting, I plan to start working in the Marketing field to gain experience. My friend mentioned to me that she has a job at Fresno State’s University Courtyard, which consist of a Marketing team. I, once again, saw how important networking is. Before, due to my shy personality, I didn’t want to network. I now see the benefits of networking. As mentioned in class, I also believe networking will be the main way to get a job in the
future.

F. Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed taking this class. You made it fun with your funny jokes and memes. You helped me succeed by providing constructive feedbacks. After reading your feedbacks, I try to improve on them. Reading my First Day of Class Introduction letter, I agreed with you that I needed to work on my conciseness. I noticed that I repeat a lot of unnecessary information. Whenever I write now, I am aware and delete them. I try to not use the word “that” too often and check for redundancy. In addition, I learned the importance of proofreading. I now triple check my emails and text messages. Lastly, I also enjoyed the office visits. I visited you two times this semester. Before, I would be intimidated to visit a professor, but after your experience, I feel comfortable enough now to go to a professor if I had a question.