COMM314 Final Reflection

Upon completing this course, I gained a better in-depth understanding of nonverbal communication skills which I now put into practice in my daily professional demeanor. Social cues and even the smallest of gestures can be analyzed by others within microseconds thus making it very vital on how we perceive and exert ourselves. I’d have to admit, staying professional at all times does take work, however, I find myself catching my flaws more as I gained further knowledge on nonverbal communications through the weekly modules. I would say that each module was very effective in making me understand each topics clearly. I learned something new every week and enjoyed the fun facts and scenarios in the course.

On the topic of my ePortfolio, I admire the clean and organized layout of my design. Viewers are more likely to browse through websites for longer durations depending on how user friendly the design appears to be and how easily they can navigate through the menu options. I did run into various obstacles though mainly in the beginning stages. I Also found it necessary to spend some time on creating and editing each content for the website. To create contents, I used various adobe software such as photoshop and illustrator. Staring at a blank page not knowing how to combine the contents together was rather frustrating as well, but it definitely got easier as I continued to make edits in small increments. My website is not perfect by any means and I feel it could use some more touch ups to make each page flow coherently. It is definitely a work in progress, and I plan to make updates going forward. For future students I would highly recommend planning first versus diving straight to creating the website through platforms such as Wix. Drawing thumbnail sketches of each page and taking notes as you go will also be beneficial.

As far as the modules, I again found myself fascinated and vastly interested as I read through facts and information on nonverbal communications as a whole. The module which covered our willingness to interact with others depending on certain aspects such as attractiveness and body types was of most interest to me because it shed light on how shallow and unfair we as a society can be to others. Knowing these disparities though helps us to navigate and find different ways to successfully obtain our goals such as higher positions in the workplace. In addition, the effects of our environments on our interactions with one another was captivating as well. Richmond, McCroskey, & Hickson (2012) brings up the topic on warmth and the notion that warm spaces tend to allow us to feel more comfortable and more willing to linger within that space. Evidently this would be a great tactic for businesses such as restaurants who want their customers feeling warm and comfortable enabling them to spend more on their foods and desserts.

Finally, the popular analysis assignment was a great way to wrap up everything I learned throughout this course. Sourcing out appropriate articles pertaining to nonverbal communication and finding corresponding peer reviewed journals was probably the most challenging aspect. Once I was squared away with the articles and fully understood them, writing out my comparison and contrast essay was pretty straightforward. During the process of writing the paper I learned to connect key topics better while doing my best to not stray away from my position.

In conclusion the skills and knowledge I learned from this course will be of great value for my professional field in the digital art world as well as the business world which I’m already a part of. Networking is always an important aspect of any career, therefore our nonverbal communication skills can be a determining factor for our clients, business partners, etc. Environments and space layouts are also important for me in expressing my artistic aptitude. As a result, I will implement everything I’ve learned thus far in expressing my professional space as well as other nonverbal communications with others effectively.