Nobody is Perfect

If you think you are perfect, I am sorry to put a rain cloud over your head but surprise! Nobody can be perfect in any aspect of their life. That is the point of life. Make mistakes then learn and grow from them. I am a communication major and many people tell me this major suits me very well. I am a total people person and communicate well. But I, too, have my faults. Within my closest relationships I feel I tend to be too blunt, force my opinions on others, and somewhat don't let them think for themselves. If I think a close friend of mine is doing something completely stupid, I will let them know. It is fine to let them know, but I won't really take the time to gather my thoughts and tell them in an effective way, I just blurt it out. This can definitely be harsh for some people. In my comm self and society class last semester we too had to identify a problem within our communication and this is exactly what I wrote about. I feel I improved just within the semester but I continue to try and improve it even more. What I find interesting is that I do not do this to strangers or people I don't know that well because I understand that we are not on that level and I need to respect them. I think one factor may be that I care a lot about the people closest to me so I am just looking out for their best interest, but I could probably do it in a more effective way. Also, I think I feel I can be that way with them because we are on that level of honesty, trust, and I almost feel that I can be that way with them. One technique my classmates helped me come up with was to pretend that who I am speaking to is a stranger so that I don't come off too blunt or forceful. We also did a listening exercise in my interpersonal class that helped me start asking more questions before coming to a conclusion myself. If someone comes to me for advice I use this technique to help them come to a conclusion on their own before telling them my opinion. I have already started making progress since last semester and I hope to continue to do so through the rest of my communication courses.