Assignment task: Consider a time when someone else revealed an insight into how they perceive you. Perhaps they directly told you how they felt, or maybe they unwittingly made an offhand comment that stuck with you for days. Were you surprised by their perception of you? Is there a way you have used or could apply this information? One tool you could use is the Johari window, which can help you analyze how your self-perception compares with how others perceive you. You can then use this analysis to enhance your emotional intelligence through greater self-awareness and relationship management.
Examine how your own self-perceptions compare to the perceptions of others and, further, how those self-perceptions impact your communication with others.
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Complete the activity outlined in The Johari Window: Building Self-Awareness and Trust (Mind Tools, n.d.) by selecting 10 words from the 55 provided that you believe best describe you.
- Ask at least one other person who knows you well to select 10 words that they feel best describe you.
- Construct the Johari Window and fill in the four quadrants as outlined in the resource.
Provide an analysis of the role of personal characteristics in interpersonal communication. In your analysis, do the following:
- List the words you chose as your best self-descriptors and the words that at least one other person chose to describe you.
- Compare the chosen words to form the four quadrants of your Johari Window.
- Analyze your reaction to the results, including any results that surprised you.
- Identify at least one specific action you will take to either
- reduce the size of your Hidden Area,
- further understand your Blind Area, and/or
- explore your Unknown Area.