#Beth Buelow

[thoughtkick]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[resqectable]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[surqrised]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[stay-close]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[quotemadness]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[nightlyquotes]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[perfectfeelings]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[quotefeeling]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[perfeqt]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[thepersonalwords]

“I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.” - Beth Buelow

[communicationassociation]

The How Can I Say This… Podcast comes highly recommended as a communication tool. The presenter Beth Buelow covers many topics related to developing communication skills over the course of the series and can condense complex issues into digestible short form podcasts that will leave the listener with a deeper understanding and actionable recommendations for improving their interpersonal language skills regardless of their level of experience in the subject.

This episode Humility, Ego, Civil Conversations focuses on the interplay of being a strong communicator who advocates for their ideas and can fight for their point of view while still maintaining the humility required for collaborative communication and effective conflict resolution. People will communicate their ideas most effectively when they are passionate and knowledgeable about a topic, but with knowledge and passion come feelings of righteousness or objectivity, and when there is a dissenting voice with the same feelings conflict can feel inevitable. This episode reminds the listener that the feeling of being right and consequently, someone else being wrong, is a vanity that stifles communication, collaboration, and productivity. The antidote to this problem being humility, the ability to fight earnestly for our point of view, and simultaneously submit humbly to the idea that we may not have all the answers and a more complete understanding of our group effort can be found through collaboration.

As a student this short podcast will be especially valuable. The first lesson is an easy one, to hold your ideas and values with conviction. Ensuring that your voice is heard and expressed in a way that is compelling and convincing and to fight for its validity with appropriate passion and poise is critical to being a solid communicator and work partner.

The second lesson is more difficult, as student it can be tempting to fall into a mindset of objectivity, individualism, and righteousness. Knowing we should have strong beliefs and fight for our ideas it is easy to see how students can uniquely argue for this short-sighted mindset, why collaborate when their own grades are on the line? Why consider another student’s idea when everyone knows they received a poor grade in a shared class last semester? There is some language or cultural barrier so it’s too much work interacting with them. No one else is taking this as seriously as me so why seek their input. Others are taking this too seriously and should be ignored, they are out of touch. Most students will have thoughts like this when working with others and to say that these arguments are necessarily wrong is missing the point, as a student you may be right in your assessments, some obstacles are too big to overcome, and a selfish strategy may be your only option. However, taking humility and your own opportunity for improvement seriously is to first consider the possibility that your snap judgements may be misguided. To improve yourself, your vision for a project, or learn something new the first step is to recognise that you don’t have all the answers going in and taking the opportunity to learn and work with others is vital for our own growth and the quality of our work.

[thoughtkick]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[resqectable]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[surqrised]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[perfectquote]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow

[quotemadness]

I’m not anti-social; I’m pro-solitude.

Beth Buelow