iExamen 2 - Meghan Daley

Implications of Communication

Meghan Daley
iExamen 2

When receiving this assignment, saying what is only kind, useful, or true throughout the course of a full day, I would like to think I would not have to change how I communicate to complete this assignment, but that thought would be very ignorant.  Whether we want to admit it or not, at times, we do not have our best intentions, and the best intentions of others in mind when we communicate. However, I was happily surprised to find that this assignment was not as challenging as I had expected. This assignment served as a wakeup call to me and forced me to think before I spoke, something my dad always encouraged me to do when I was younger. This reflective examination forced me to stay optimistic throughout the day and demonstrated the positive effect you have on others when you communicate kindly, usefully, and truthfully.

            Going into this assignment I thought this day was going to be very difficult. Honestly, I was not looking forward to it. I choose to complete this assignment on Saturday October 14, a day where I was back home for fall break. I did not want to have to think about filtering myself for one of the three days I was home. Having to constantly think before I speak was not what I had in mind for one of my few days of fall break. However this assignment turned out to be not so bad after all, and I actually ended up enjoying it! I predicted the real challenge to be communicating kindly, usefully, and truthfully all at the same time, which I found to be true.

            Starting off the day, I tried to roll out of my bed on the “right” side, with a smile on my face. Going downstairs and talking to my family I was very reserved and cautious of what came out of my mouth, knowing everything I said needed to be kind, useful, and true. I started to become more talkative like my normal self as the day progressed, but made sure to fully process all my thoughts and their implications before they came out of my mouth. However, towards the end of the day, having practiced this self-observation, I was naturally able to filter out what was not kind, useful, or true. Without thinking I was able to have only positive things come out of my mouth. I found this had a profound effect on those around me. I did not tell my family about this assignment, however, they actually noticed a difference in my communication and overall attitude throughout the day. They commented on how nice and upbeat I was, so I then explained to them what I was doing and they loved the idea of this assignment. When I was communicating kindly, usefully, and truthfully the people I was communicating to were all very pleasant to be around and I had positive, deep, and insightful conversations.

            My communication was a little different than usual throughout the course of the day, as pointed out by my family. I was more reserved, and my conversations had more value to them. After reflecting, I have concluded this is because I am generally a brutally honest person and never hide the truth. Honesty is one of my pet peeves so communicating truthfully was not difficult. Observing my conversations to be more reserved suggests I normally say whatever comes out of my mouth, kind or not, which I would conclude is accurate. I do not go out of my way to be mean, but if someone is acting rudely, I do not hesitate to stand up for what is right, and sometimes this leads to me having an attitude as well. The main thing I gained from this day was the implications of my words. Before this day of communication and self-observation I only thought about the implications of my words after they were said, when it was too late. However, through this assignment I was forced, and eventually learned to indirectly think of the implications of my words before they came out of my mouth. It is clear to me that my filter was strengthened through this assignment.

            I had a terrific day when I completed this assignment. Having to communicate honestly, usefully, and kindly forced me to keep a positive mood throughout the course of the day. I ended up really enjoying this assignment and it taught me to think before I speak, and showed me the power of deep insightful conversations. I stayed positive from the time I woke up, until the time I went to bed. I ultimately gained self-awareness of the underlying meaning of what I say and this assignment demonstrated to me that importance of thinking before I speak; an old saying whose value is greatly underrated.