P2 – Becoming More Assertive – Follow–up
Follow-up to WSPA– Becoming More Assertive – P2 from Sean's blog
P2 - Becoming More Assertive - Follow-up
Workshop Tutor: Bev Walsh
Date: 03/07/2013
Assertive behaviour is possibly one of the best traits I have now acquired during my time at Warwick. I cannot emphasise enough the improvement in my communication skills following the workshop. I have continuously been surprised by my original attitude of being open-minded but assuming that the information learnt in workshops would be relatively self-explanatory. This has completely changed having witnessed the vast changes in my character at a professional and social level.
Although I did not realise it at the time, becoming more assertive has assisted my organisational skills and my ability to build important relations with staff that can help me further my career as is the case with BPP law school who always say it is an absolute pleasure to speak to me. I feel much more confident in tackling issues as they arise and clarify points I am unsure of as soon as they arise which makes both my life easier and the person answering my inquiry.
Several situations of conflict have arisen where I feel comfortable remaining calm and assertive. I would even go as far to say that I now enjoy being in situations of potential conflict especially where it comes to negotiating and meeting a satisfactory resolution. This has been the case when I renegotiated my mother’s contract with her broadband supplier to make a saving of around £8 per month. Even in the gym today, I found myself in a situation where I had been waiting quite a while for a member of staff to give me an induction and free trial. Whereas before I would have continued to sit there, on this occasion I complained and clarified the situation which seemed to be down to miscommunication and the issue was resolved within a few minutes.
As far my aims to improve my mild lordosis, I am making slow progress. My lower back pain has reduced during walks and standing and the curvature is reduced. I am gradually feeling more comfortable holding a neutral stance and believe that the main issue with my back is tight hamstrings and overly flexible quads which have caused an imbalance resulting in a slight pelvic tilt.
Sean McShane
04 Jul 2013 11:22
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Tags: P2 Portfolio
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Beverley Veasey-Walshe
Hello Sean,
I will be commenting on your blog shortly (I like to read them frst and then have a think about them before posting), but as this is your final blog, I was wondering if you would mind if I used some of your comments for my website? (with or without your name, it would be up to you).
I’d be very grateful!
bev
04 Jul 2013, 15:16
Sean McShane
I am happy to be named and you can take whatever snippets of my blog that you see fit. Should I rename this as my Final Blog instead of as a Follow-up instead? Thank you for making the workshop so enjoyable and using a learning by doing approach. This has made it much easier to put into practice what I have learnt through the workshop.
Hope all is well and best regards,
Sean
04 Jul 2013, 17:05
Beverley Veasey-Walshe
Hi Sean,
I realised that this not your final blog – I misread ’’follow’ as ‘final’ and the content has that satisfying review of achievement and development that final blogs often have.
So – to answer your question, no don’t re-title it, i can’t wait to see what you write in your real final blog. But I would like very much to use some of your comments for the website.
I will as i said make my official comment shortly – notice that you have posted you p4 blog too, so I will be commenting on that too.
Bev
04 Jul 2013, 19:19
Beverley Veasey-Walshe
Hello Sean,
Your opening comments about expectations ring true to me – many blogs way the same thing in a far more roundabout way. I think the key issue here is that ‘every day is a school day’. Even if you are familiar what material, or even have a degree of expertise, there is always something new to learn. It has been my experience that the people least open to learning. whether it is new behaviour, skills or knowledge are those that know a bit, feel safe with that bit, but resist new ways of viewing or interpreting this bit of knowledge. I have seen this at every level of life.
This is a long winded way of saying I think this insight is mature and will of benefit to you in the future!
I hope you can continue to make movements with the back problems, and I am gad to hear that they are reducing if only slightly.
Finally – I am delighted that you have identified that the initial act of assertiveness actually benefits everybody, as the domino effect of mis-communication is stopped in its tracks.
Thank you for this blog, full of reflection, detail and context. I look forward to your final blog, when you can tell me about your development and plans for the future.
Best wishes
Bev
06 Jul 2013, 07:22
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