Reference no: EM134026073

Question 1

After watching the video of a gun debate between Piers and Dana, there are some obvious issues resulting from ineffective communication. Neither of them were very good listeners, which led to one sided arguments without solid rebuttals to each others points. The book lists several barriers to effective listening, and I believe there are many examples within this debate. For starters, both parties seemed to be bias or judgmental. Both sides were very passionate about their opinions, however their bias for each other led to an inefficient debate. Secondly, both had parties either only partially listened, or had selective perception. Like I mentioned before, there were several times that tangents were brought up to avoid answering a question. Whether those questions were avoided because they only heard what they want to hear, or they missed the concept of the question, neither make for effective communication.

In order for two people of extreme opposites to effectively communicate on a topic like this, I feel like the other woman that did not say much could have stepped in and been a moderator. This way neither of them try talking over the other, and everyone can hear both sides of the argument. Additionally, they should let each other finish their sentences before trying to talk over their counterpart.

Question 2

That video was definitely difficult to watch, especially for those watching it live. The broadcaster, Piers, had a different perspective than his two guests, Scottie and Dana. The biggest issue throughout the video was the lack of respect they showed one another. All three speakers cut off one another at some point during the video. To be a good listener, you cannot interrupt others. In this instance, all three individuals were bad listeners.

There were some good aspects of the conversation that can be taken away. Piers did a good job at asking questions. He tried to stick to the script and get answers he was looking for. Unfortunately, he did that in a disrespectful way. On the other hand, Dana attempted to answer the questions to the best of her ability. After she had been cut off by Piers several times, she was able to communicate both her feelings and perspective. She stood up for herself and tried answering as many questions as possible.

A tip that I would have given in this situation would have to be showing respect goes a long way. Try not to cut each other off. Also be a good active listener. You each have a personal belief to get across, so let one another speak. Both parties are gonna get time to discuss what they wanted to say. I believe the conversation would have been much more successful if they could have shown a little more maturity and respected one another.