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https://www.cornerstone-ct.com/2021/05/11/10-ways-positive-communicator/

This link provides and shows examples of how to be more positive and how to incorporate it into daily life. Reading this helped me become more mindful of how I speak.

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Betty Lochner | Communication Skills Coach

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One of the most powerful ways to improve relationships is to simply be a more positive communicator. Positive communication is contagious and brings out the best in yourself and in those around you.

You never know when one kind act, or one word of encouragement, can change a life forever. - Zig Ziglar

When you become a positive communicator, people are more likely to listen to you, the conversation goes better, and the results can be transforming.

The following list of ways to become a more positive communicator puts the concept to work. As you read the list, think about which areas you are doing well in, and where you need to make some changes:

10 Ways to Become a More Positive Communicator

1. Think before you speak or act.

Don't just react. Pause and take a minute to think about how you want to respond in an accountable way.

2. Keep an open mind.

Don't jump to conclusions. Every story has two sides to it and somewhere in the middle, you'll find the truth.

3. Discuss rather than argue.

Use your active listening skills and shovel any piles that need shoveling. Deal with the issues you need to deal with and be tender on the person and tough on the issue!

4. Cultivate a soothing voice.

Remember, the tone of your voice means more than what you say. Watch your body language. Keep your body open and relaxed.

5. Never lose an opportunity to praise or say a kind word.

Say something nice to someone. Look for what is good and say something about it.

6. Exceed expectations.

Always go the extra mile and do more than is expected of you. Better yet, do it with a smile.

7. Learn to be objective about personal criticism.

Don't spend time worrying about things you have no control over. Be true to yourself.

8. Respect the feelings of others.

Treat others the way you believe they would like to be treated.

9. Refuse to discuss the shortcomings of others.

Discourage gossip. Gossip does not do anyone any good. We all know that, so why do we do it? Try making a good and positive comment for every gossipy one you hear.

10. Let your virtues speak for themselves.

Dust off those communication skills you know, but you don't always use, to work toward better communication and understanding.

Use these tips to think about how you will communicate in a more positive way. When you encourage positive communication within yourself, people will follow your lead and you will encourage others to do the same!

In short, conversations go a lot better - and you'll be happier with the results - when things are approached in a positive way right from the start.

We have a duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word. - William Barclay

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Stay Connected

Please join my free, private FB group to learn more and connect with women supporting women here: Confident Communication for Women

If you have any questions, feel free to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with me. I'm more than happy to chat with you about your own communication struggles and victories.

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Betty Lochner is a human resources consultant, business coach, and expert in workplace communications. She is the author of two books on communication, and a newly published journal, Intentional Gratitude.

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10 Ways to be a More Positive Communicator

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One of the most powerful ways to improve relationships is to simply be a more positive communicator. Positive communication is contagious and brings out the best in yourself and in those around you. You never know when one kind act, or one word of encouragement, can change a life forever.

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One of my long term goals is to learn to know when it is important to exude a different leadership style. This is a situational scenario and will develop overtime with more experience. Each group I partake in will vary and will need a different leadership style and it is best to do what is best for the group and know when a switch needs to be done.
Another long term goal I have is to volunteer at three new places. This lets my encourage the heart leadership style grow even further. By volunteering, I will be able to go outside my comfort zone and be able to build on my communication and interpersonal skills.
In my everyday life as an OT, my long-term goal is to join the OT association for whatever state I am practicing in. This will help me be involved but also advocate for current issues. It is important to be aware of what is going on but also be able to express the issues that I see as an OT.

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Some of my short term goals is changing my outlook on how I view tasks and assignments. One of my areas that I can grow on is my positivity. I believe this could be influenced by changing how I view things by changing how I talk. Instead of saying "We have to do this," I will replace it with "We have the opportunity to do this." The simple change of words can exude more positivity and get myself further.
Another short term goal includes making sure to not assign anyone in my group things I would not do. It is important to lead by example, and it is unfair to assign others tasks if I would not partake in them myself. It allows for others to trust you more as a leader and is something that I can easily incorporate into my daily life especially during group projects at school.

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Student Leadership Practices Inventory Strengths and Weaknesses

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Student Leadership Practices Inventory Strengths and Weaknesses

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After examining my SLPI results, it was more clear what my strengths and weaknesses are as a leader. Some of my strengths include being able to communicate, following through on promises, praising others, setting personal examples, actively listening to other individual's ideas and opinions, and being able to express my appreciation for others. Some of my weaknesses that need to be worked on include positivity, looking ahead more to the future and communicating more about the outcomes of the future, need to stop focusing on the past as much, and needing to be able to find the purpose and meaning of tasks and communicating that to others as well.

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Enable others to act = 23
Challenge the process = 23
Model the way = 23
Inspire a shared vision = 17
Encourage the heart =26

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https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0700/p29.html

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Reading my answers was a difficult process for me as I was surprised by the results. It was surprising to see that I had strong automatic preferences for abled people over disabled people, thin people compared to fat people, and European American compared to Asian American. It made me slightly upset as I felt that I was inclusive and cared for everyone. It made me wonder if I do things implicitly that I do not know about.

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Based on all three of my tests, I would like to improve on my implicit bias and the automatic preferences I have. I would like to improve my automatic preferences for abled people compared to disabled people, automatic preference for thin people compared to fat people, and my automatic preference for European Americans compared to Asian Americans. To work on these implicit bias', I will do some introspection by exploring and identifying my specific implicit bias'. Also, I will practice mindfulness to reduce stress and to increase my mindfulness by either doing yoga or focused breathing. Furthermore, I will be doing perspective-taking where I place myself in the persons shoes who is being stereotyped or oppressed. This can involve either looking through media such as books or videos, and/or directly interacting with people from that group.

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https://www.spiritboxnation.com/news/2020/6/10/8-tips-how-to-increase-your-knowledge-on-diversity-and-inclusivity

https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culture-and-diversity/main

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https://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/ocsci/wp-content/uploads/sites/559/2020/03/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Occupational-Therapy-Where-We-Are-Where-We-Must-Go.pdf

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https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better?language=en

https://www.ted.com/talks/celeste_headlee_10_ways_to_have_a_better_conversation?language=en

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Specifically, after taking the self-assessment of modes, I want to be able to be more than just an advocate. I want to work on all of these modes beyond just the one I scored the highest in. I feel as if a good occupational therapist would be all of these modes instead of just one specific one. I want to be able to incorporate all of these modes into my daily life. To do this, I want to be able to employ these modes through getting more experience and doing activities out of my comfort zone.

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This assessment gave me the realization that I am not as educated on other cultures as I thought. To become more educated, I will be reading more into other cultures. I will be reading more books and articles and making sure to take the time out of my day to thoroughly understand other people's cultures. In addition, I want to be more aware of the cultural and racial hardships that people undergo. I will be watching the new documentaries and movies released in regards to this that have been added to streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu. I will attend as many diversity and inclusion trainings that are offered to me. Furthermore, I will have those difficult conversations.

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After the communication survey, one of my biggest goals is to improve on my communication and listening skills. This goal is important to me because it will help me be better at my therapeutic skills which is crucial to have as an occupational therapist. To accomplish this goal, I will be more mindful of me talking over people and will refrain from it more. I will be utilizing the tools and skills we learn in this class to accomplish this goal.

I will better these skills by watching some of the TED Talk videos I posted in my resources link. These resources provide great examples of how to better listen and have more in-depth conversations. I will implement the skills to my day to day life.

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This assessment produced the results I thought. Initially, I believed I was going to score the highest in the extroversion category. I have always considered myself to be an extroverted person so this did not surprise me. If anything, the assessment confirmed what I already knew.

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On this assessment, I was not expecting to score the highest in the advocacy section. Before taking this assessment, I was expecting to score the highest in empathizing or encouraging. I feel as if this assessment was difficult because it was hard to decide on which choice of action to do. I felt as I would have done a combination of those choices of actions. I had a hard time pinpointing what I would have exactly done.

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On this assessment, I scored the highest in the blue score. This score did not surprise me as I felt as I most relate to this color's meaning. I resonate the most with putting value on close relationships, desiring quality time with loved ones, sharing emotions, needing harmony, and being adaptable. I did not feel as if I resonated with the other colors as much.

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Racial and Cultural Awareness and Action Survey 

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Racial and Cultural Awareness and Action Survey 

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My score was extremely low which surprised me. I thought I was educated on diverse populations which by looking at my score, did not reveal. The score illustrated that I lacked knowledge in culture.

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Racial and Cultural Awareness and Action Survey

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Racial and Cultural Awareness and Action Survey

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Score: 317/500

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Score: 193/250

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Moderate automatic association of Euro Am with American and Asian Am with Foreign = 24%

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Strong automatic preference for thin people compared to fat people = 31%

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Implicit Association Test (Disabled-Abled IAT)

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Implicit Association Test (Disabled-Abled IAT)

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Strong automatic preference for abled people compared to disabled people = 37%

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Total Orange Score: 10
Total Green Score: 8
Total Blue Score: 20
Total Gold Score: 12

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Advocating: 6/20 = 30%
Collaborating: 1/20 = 5%
Empathizing: 3/20 = 15%
Encouraging: 5/20 = 25%
Instructing: 2/20 = 10%
Problem-Solving: 3/20 = 15%

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Openness = 56%
Conscientiousness =  67%
Extroversion = 90%
Agreeableness = 56%
Neuroticism = 58%