University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 1

Mike Delacruz
Communication for Project Managers: ENCE424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
September 26, 2020
Introduction
Being in the Architecture major has really shown me that if you’re presenting your idea
to your professors/classmates you need to be able to communicate well the idea behind your
design and your motives. This will most definitely go through into the future as well.
Communication isn’t only for our ideas it’s also so that we can communicate well with our
partners. For example, when working in a collaborative project you must be able to effectively
communicate with everyone that is a part of the team in order for things to flow smoothly and to
be able to create something everyone can be happy with. Up to this point, the course has been
able to enhance my communication skills through the readings as well as the personality
assessment which have been very insightful and helpful. The DISC personality assessment is a
great tool that has shown me a part of myself I was not expecting. The books that have helped
me the most so far has been A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking and Crucial Conversations:
Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High.
Concepts from Readings
As of right now, there have been a few concepts from the readings that have stood out to
me and have enhanced my way of thinking. Firstly, I learned how to work with and manage
anxiety. A section in the third chapter of A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking caught my eye. On
page 14, in the section “Lack of Positive Experience”, the author wrote: “It’s a bit of a vicious
circle.” (O'Hair 14). This line alone caught my eye; especially due to its context. The author was
talking about the anxiety that people get when they are starting to do public speeches. They
mention that with a lack of positive experience, the anxiety becomes a vicious cycle. I never
thought of it this way, however, after reading this I paused and reflected for a moment. I looked
back onto moments where I became anxious while introducing myself to people at the career fair
last year, in spring 2020. I realized that due to a negative experience I had gone through some
time before that event, I was creating an unhealthy cycle of anxiety in my head. I was associating
new social experiences with the outcome of that old incident. Since I read that, the new insight
has helped me a lot and although I don’t think I’ll be networking in person in any time soon, I
will definitely practice methods to avoid this type of anxiety. Overall, this chapter helped me
work through my anxiety because on page 16 it also said, "Regardless of when anxiety about a
speech strikes, the important thing to remember is that you can manage the anxiety and not let it
manage you."(O'Hair 16). As I was reading, it seemed like this message jumped out at me. The
reason I say it jumped out to me is because it reminded me of when I was having a difficult time
managing my anxiety before a big presentation where I felt that I had not made enough
progress/work done compared to my peers. At this point, that’s when the anxiety managed me.
Due to this I stuttered and added a lot of vocal fillers. Overall, my idea didn’t get across due to
my lack of composure and mental unpreparedness. Once I remembered this, it clicked in my
head that in many situations where I felt filled with anxiety, I gave into the anxiety rather than
managing it. In the sections after this quote the reading gave me the tools to succeed and manage
my anxiety. Which in the end, has and will continue to enhance the way I think and how I will
prepare and calm those anxious thoughts and feelings for moments when I’ve got to present
The next concept comes from Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are
High. The concept that I connected with from chapter 3 was that in order to create a functional
dialogue, you need to first create a healthy environment for the dialogue. One of the first
sentences to catch my eye was, "Our problem is not that our behavior degenerates. It’s that our
motives do." (Faulkner 36). At first, I read over it and didn’t understand its meaning. It was only
when I read the next few paragraphs where it clicked. I realized that creating the foundations for
a healthy dialogue is crucial to getting your point across in a crucial conversation; otherwise it
can turn into a disaster. To do this, you need to make sure that you are aware of your motives and
you keep them in mind so that the conversation doesn’t devolve into an argument about winning.
By keeping motives in check and not having the conversation devolve, you will be creating a
healthy environment for dialogue with others. This is something that I wish I had known sooner.
The reason I say I wish I had known sooner is because of a situation that happened fairly recently
that started in a healthy way but devolved into a conversation focused on winning. That situation
could have been resolved sooner if I had known to keep my motives in check and how to keep
the conversation going in a positive manner
Another quote from the chapter was, "When faced with pressure and strong opinions, we
often stop worrying about the goal of adding to the pool of meaning and start looking for ways to
win, punish, or keep the peace." (Faulkner 39). This is something that I was familiar with. I am
usually the one who goes for “keeping the peace” rather than adding to “the pool of meaning and
possibly make waves along the way"(Faulkner 40), as the author says. After reading this part, I
realized my faults and am aware of how staying quiet to keep the peace can negatively affect a
conversation. Knowing this, I will have to work on improving this trait in order to be able to
process crucial conversations. I haven’t had the opportunity to apply this yet, but I will most
definitely not stay quiet in order to “keep the peace.” When the time comes, speaking up and not
“keeping the peace” will inevitably create a healthier discussion.
Business Etiquette
The use of proper communication with others is a useful tool in any situation, business
etiquette on the other hand is very important to making a good impression on those you may
work with. For this reason, in the coming week and rest of the semester I will be practicing the
concept of business etiquette by always appearing on time to my zoom classes, as well as having
the appropriate attire with a background that is suitable for zoom meetings. Since I am not
working or interacting with many people in the business setting because of the pandemic, there
isn’t much I can do to properly do business etiquette.
Networking
Networking is a powerful tool that benefits everyone who utilizes it properly. Before I
started reading Networking for College Students and Graduates, I didn’t fully grasp how I could
start to network properly. As of right now, I haven’t been able to practice my networking skills
like I would like to but what I have done is create a sort of scripted ice breaker. The ice breaker
that I thought of is to ask the person what their goal is in attending the event or what brought
them to the event. In this case, I am assuming that the person I’m speaking to and I are currently
in a networking event or something related. This is one way I’ve increased my networking
abilities, but I am still working on talking points that could be used to help introduce myself to
others and learn more about them. Since reading the book, I’ve started to create a list of ‘get to
know you’ questions as well since that was another point mentioned in the book Networking for
College Students and Graduates.
DISC Personality Assessment

Once I completed the DISC personality assessment, I looked at the results and I agree
with some of what was said. One thing that really stood out for me was the part where it said
"You like to become 'the expert' in your chosen field." This is definitely something that I didn't
think was something that I do, but after taking a moment to think about it, this is kind of true and
I had never noticed. At the end of the day, this is something that I’m glad I learned. Learning this
has helped me become more self-aware about how I am and how my personality type may be.
Being self-aware of one’s own personality is beneficial to everyone is because it can help point
out areas you are weak in terms of communication and what can be done better. I believe being a
good communicator would mean having well-balanced dominance, influence, steadiness, or
conscientiousness, the four areas that the DISC personality assessment analyzes. In my case, I
became more aware of an area I was weak in. I lacked influence, I only had 7%. This means that
for me to become a better communicator I would have to work on that area of my personality.
Knowing that I lack influence I know I should work on the way I work with people, the way I
communicate and relate to others. The more I am able to refine my communication skills, the
better I will be at handling the responsibilities of a leader and this will lead me become a good
project manager.

Conclusion
As of right now, I have learned techniques that have enhanced my communication skills
as well as helped me understand how to tackle issues. I have also come to learn more about how
my personality may be. With the skills I’ve learned so far from the readings as well as from the
assessments, I full-heartedly believe I’ve improved my communication skills. From presenting to
my peers to meeting others who are networking, I now understand what I should do and how I
can improve in the future.
 Works Cited

Faulkner, Michael, and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.

Pearson Learning Solutions, 2017. Print.

O'Hair, Dan, Hannah Rubenstein, and Robert A. Stewart. "Managing Speech Anxiety." A Pocket
Guide to Public Speaking. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2019. 14-19. Print.

Patterson, Kerry, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. "Start with Heart: How to
Stay Focused on What You Really Want." Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When
Stakes Are High. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.