Describing similarities and differences in your experiences. Your responses must be at least two paragraphs in length and offer your opinions about other students' ideas. Discuss what you agree with and why, what you disagree with and why and any other related topics.

 

POST:

I have seen many TED talks, but this one certainly makes my list of interesting ones that are enjoyable to watch. I think the ideas expressed by Julian were on point and worth reflecting on for our own lives. I think the whole talk was important food for thought, but I think especially listing the "seven deadly sins of speaking" was important. I think this is especially important because as he's listing them, either yourself or someone else comes to mind for each one as he's listing them; if you are honest with yourself, you probably identify which ones you are guilty of. I sure did! I think my biggest pet peeve when it comes to verbal communication in the workplace is gossiping or inappropriate conversation that is loud enough for others to hear. In my industry, these two are VERY common- especially gossip.

I have had a speech impediment since I was very young and worked with a speech therapist to learn how to improve it and manage it. Sometimes I can get really into conversation with clients and start talking fast, which makes my speech impediment more noticeable and then I notice a shift in the clients when this happens. I have learned not to take their reactions personally; however, it is still embarrassing. I think using Julian's technique of being more mindful of controlling my speaking pace would improve this situation. I especially like the idea of not just slowing down but also creating space in-between sentences sometimes.