Narrative Report

Maddison Ward

July 23, 2022

SPCH-1311.930 Online

 Communication can play such a large role in your life and knowing how to communicate

effectively can change the trajectory of relationships and opportunities that come and go

throughout the years. Communication is overlooked, but it’s a part of your job, connections you

make, how people view you, and even a part of your home life in your family unit. It’s important

to know how to communicate properly to bring about the outcomes you want from every

situation. I interviewed my mom who is a high school teacher and has been married for almost

30 years to see how communication has molded her journey whether it be good or bad and how

she’s learned to improve her communication skills over time.

Sitting down with my mom, we were able to have a shared experience in a lot of stories

and it made it easy for me to see the situations more clearly in how communication altered each

situation discussed. “Communication is really important in getting a job and advancing in your

position,” my mom, Erin Ward, started with. As a department head at the high school level in

English, she talked about how effective communication allowed her to get her job in the first

place. She knew how to talk herself up enough to get someone who didn’t know her to give her a

chance. She then discussed the communication required to gain the respect of her peers and the

students that she teaches. She had to communicate her skills and her opinions in a positive way

to get people to listen to the insight she knew she could bring to the conversations she was

having. Communication is what landed her the job she has, helped her teach her students

properly, and what got her the respect of her colleagues to get her into her department head

position.

Another point my mom made was that communication has played a huge role in her

personal life at home especially. My mom and dad have been together for almost 30 years and

 have had to communicate to keep their relationship growing and thriving. My mom also said that

communication has greatly impacted her parenthood journey. She has three kids and I am the

oldest. She said communication has been different with every child. She gave me advice on

communication with my own daughter and said that everyone is different and requires different

types of communication to effectively get through. My mom has had a different relationship with

each of her children and that’s because of how she communicates with us. It was interesting to

learn that it was all intentional and that she was matching our preferred style of communication

that we connect with. Communication can also play a role in your extended family whether

you’re close with them or not, you communicate with them accordingly. My mom stressed the

difference in how she communicates with her own mother versus how she would communicate

with a cousin she hasn't seen in years.

In the conversation with my mom, I learned a lot about how communication can affect

your daily life and your professional life. I learned how my relationship with even my own

fiancé or my daughter can be impacted by how I choose to communicate with them. I can see

myself taking the communication insight my mom gave me to apply in my own life. I think that

my relationships within my own household could even improve with better communication. I

also think that my communication with extended relatives could benefit from a reevaluation of

how I effectively speak to them. I’m still in school so I don’t have a professional life yet, but I

hope to carry this conversation with me when I do get to that point so that I can get a good job

and work up in my career while gaining the respect of my bosses and peers. Communication can

guide me through graduation and into a good position. Overall, my conversation with my mom

brought me to a place to look deeper into how I communicate in different places in my life and

how I can adjust how I speak and present myself to get the outcomes I desire from my

relationships and work environments.