SPC Blog#2 - Alejandra Saenz

Alejandra Saenz (1000 words)

SPC1017-2227-4848

October 27^th,2022

Reflection

The second blog of the semester is going to be based on the three presentations given by each group based on chapters one through fourteen. Each group was given a theme, and our group was given racial divides and listening. As a group, we decided it was best to use our WhatsApp group chat as a method of communication. In order for us to work efficiently we used Google slides, where we could all edit and input our information individually without hassle. To make our presentation unique we added our own images and videos that correlated with our topic. For my slide, I chose racial divides as my theme to connect it to chapter six. Chapter six is about listening and understanding which I used to correlate the abolition of slavery. I was able to find a video that represented exactly the racial divides going on today in the world. We weren’t able to show the full video since it was an hour long, but the message was to spread awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. At the beginning of the interview, it showed the brother of a black male who was shot and killed by officials unrightfully. He spoke about wanting to change the lives of black people to feel safer when they go out in public and not fear death.

     Some key points in chapter 6 were the different ways of listening and understanding scenarios. In this chapter, listening is defined as the complex affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes of attending to, understanding and interpreting, and responding to verbal and or nonverbal messages. There are people who have a hard time listening and this is called listening apprehension. Listening apprehension is defined as anxiety felt about listening. I’m not sure if others can relate but this tends to happen to me in a public setting because I’m personally not a social person. Being around a lot of people can make you nervous and can make it hard for you to find interest in what the other person is saying. The listening style is defined as our favored and usually unconscious approach to listening. Content-oriented listeners are defined as people who focus on and evaluate the facts and evidence during a conversation. These types of people can step in and correct you in the conversation. People-oriented listeners are defined as people who focus on the feelings their conversational partners may have about what they’re saying. This can happen if you truly care about the person you’re speaking to. Action-oriented listeners are defined as people who focus on the ultimate point the speaker is trying to make. Time-oriented listeners are defined as people who prefer brief and hurried conversations and use nonverbal and verbal cues to signal that their partner needs to be more concise. I like this one because I personally like brief conversations if I’m not into the topic. These are all key in being able to understand another’s point in a presentation such as this one.

My favorite part about the presentations was the interviews. The top interview I would say was the one Morgan showed which was an interview with a healthcare official. One of the talk points was how he felt about the topic of every American having free insurance. This topic intrigued me because that would be wonderful to have in the real world since not everyone can afford to pay for insurance. Most people that go to an emergency room or hospital, in general, end up in heavy debt and this would help prevent that. The only problem I would see with this is that our taxes would most likely rise, and our economy could possibly crash. The government should look into this idea and find a way so that our economy can still excel whilst having free healthcare for all. You never know when you will be needing assistance since most accidents or health issues happen randomly when least expected. Apart from hospital visits being expensive, the medication prescribed is also another heavy burden for some. Medication should also be free for all because it's what helps patients have a healthy recovery. Not everyone might agree but I do believe this should be a thing although we might not see that change until years from now. Another topic that was touched on in the interview was Covid-19 and the damage that has occurred because of it. Most symptoms of Covid-19 are losing taste, stuffy nose, nausea, nose bleeds, cough, etc. Some people who contracted this new disease ended up dying due to breathing problems. For most, their immune system was compromised even though they were perfectly healthy. This disease affected our economy because no one was able to work so many struggled to pay their bills. It’s only until now that everyone has been able to recuperate and even so some people are still struggling to catch up after this incident.

 All presentations show that the students put hard work and dedication into making it as unique and knowledgeable as possible. Another interview I enjoyed was from one of the groups ( I forgot which group) that

interviewed a professor that teaches at Miami Dade College. He is a professor of philosophy who was asked questions about the economy. The student was very professional because he had his questions written down and made the teacher feel comfortable. I loved that the student included the questions on the slides just in case someone forgot what the professor was answering in the video. There were other students who could’ve done better with their slides. Some slides lacked creativity and you could see the procrastination because they just used a basic font and background. Other than that, all kept a pretty aesthetic throughout their slides. The brochures were also a great part of the presentations because it was something quick and short to add to the presentation time. Everyone was stressed while working on their project but we came together in our groups and finished with great results.