Competent Communication
I chose Beto O'Rourke as my example of a competent, effective communicator. He spoke at a rally recently and answered, quite beautifully, a very tough question regarding NFL players taking a knee during our national anthem and whether or not he thought it to be disrespectful.
Here is the link of his response to the question:
I found his response to be effective because he respected the person who asked the question by thanking his family of veterans for their service and also thanked all people for their service both military and civilian (civil rights leaders and fighters) who have fought for freedom. His response was full of references to include a book and historical times in our nation's history to make his point. What stuck out to me was his passion and his respect for others. He took what could be considered a controversial subject and a conflict of opinion and handled it amazingly. I could tell that he had given the subject a lot of thought before the question was raised which helped him answer the question. I realize we cannot always be this prepared but as it is his job to stay up on current events, so is it our job to do so. I feel it is important for all of us to stay current and relevant, especially when it comes to respecting others and being an effective communicator.
Listening to his response, I thought of at least two principles of ethical communication from the National Communication Association (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2015, p. 14).
The first is "we strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages" (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2015, p. 14). The audience member who asked the question also added how frustrating it was to see the NFL players taking a knee. With that in mind, Beto made sure to acknowledge this frustration, thank his family and others for their sacrifices for our freedoms, then explained his position on the matter respectfully knowing that not all of the audience members would agree with his response. He was able to answer the question with a persuasive argument with valuable references for his reasoning.
The second is "we promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual communicators" (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2015, p.14). I feel Beto was able to create a climate of caring and mutual understanding by respecting the person who asked the question by first thanking him for asking, then thanking his veteran family members, and by thanking others. He also acknowledged that it is "people like him (politicians)" who have lost the trust of the people (Beto, 2018). I feel this helped him relay his message since it showed a mutual understanding and it helped him connect to the audience.
Trish
References
O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J. (2015). Real communication (3rd ed.). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Saleh, N. (2018). 'I can think of nothing more American': Beto O'Rourke responds to question on NFL protests-video. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/aug/22/beto-orourke-nfl-protests-texas-video
Trish,
ReplyDeleteThank you for including a video of the competent communicator you chose to talk about. The video helped me to understand why you chose this man, and allowed me to see how he is a competent communicator. Throughout the video you could tell he showed respect for those he was talking about and tried to connect with his audience. Thank you for sharing! Very interesting topic!
Brianna
Thank you Brianna! I also enjoyed your blog this week! I decided to go with a person some people might not know about. It was really hard to choose!
DeleteTrish
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTrish,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, that was a powerful message O'Rourke related in a respectful manner. Addressing all sides of the question, and sharing his perspective on a topic that seems uncomfortable to discuss. By having healthy discussions of macro-aggressions that affects the population at hand in everyday. I believe people in certain position, have a responsibility to communicate certain issues, that affect everyday people. Beto O'Rourke did a spectacular job at it.
Thank you Paola! His passion and willingness to address this difficult subject is the main reason I chose Beto O'Rourke. I feel he is an amazing young man who has to potential to do great things. He certainly aware of the powerful position he may hold as a politician and as an advocate.
DeleteTrish
Trish, thank you for sharing! I also saw that clip a few days ago and thought to myself, "Here is a competent individual who, although everyone in the room may not agree with his reasoning, is able to get his point across in a respectful manner - especially pertaining to such a difficult topic." He was passionate about his response and even in his body language, he was respectful and relatable. You also mentioned that you could tell he had given much thought to the topic and this, to me, is so critical in communication. We should all aspire to become knowledgeable about the things we believe in and speak with passion and respect!
ReplyDeleteAlvia,
DeleteThank you! I think it is natural to be more passionate about things we are most knowledgeable or we naturally seek out knowledge about things we are passionate about. Seeking knowledge should be a life-long adventure!
Trish
Patricia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for a very interesting blog post. It is always interesting to learn of other people who encourage us as students in the field, and especially when learning about communication. I watched the video and found your person to be very interesting. It was moving, powerful and full of insights. I hope to keep learning from Beto O'Rourke as he has inspired you.
Thank you for sharing.
Julianne,
DeleteThank you for your kind words! When I was thinking of all the great communicators of all time, I decided I wanted to go with someone who was relatively new and refreshing to watch. I can't wait to see what Beto O'Rourke accomplishes in the near future.
Trish