Eldred 1

Personal Change project proposal

Goal
In conversations with people, I will start to clarify my speech to hopefully mitigate
misunderstandings in my conversations with people.

Rationale
When I start a conversations I have a tendency to get ahead of myself and what I want to
say causing it so I end up causing misunderstandings that could have been avoided. I want to fix
this so when I am speaking I can be more clear and concise while also really grasping what has
been said.

Strategies
1. I will stop being a self-absorbed listener (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2017, p. 123)
and focus on what the other person is saying without trying to formulate my own
response right away.
2. I will focus on being aware of a possible missed meaning (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond,
2017, p.157) to help me hopefully avoid that and recognize if there is a missed meaning.
3. I will focus on being specific (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2017, p.159) in the language
I use but also when describing certain events or certain steps.
4. I will Empathize rather than remain detached (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2017,
p.169)

Implementation
I will be implementing this starting on the day after submitting it. I plan on reinforcing
this behavior by focusing on this behavior during technical conversations but also during
interactions that need to be clear and concise, such as helping family or making plans. I will refer
back to my strategies three times a week to keep them fresh in my mind and help build a better
path for my mind to follow in conversations.

Works Cited
Beebe, Steven A.,  Beebe, Susan J., & Redmond, Mark V. (2017). Interpersonal
Communication: Relating to Others. (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.