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Matthew Gilday

ENCE 424 Communication for Project Managers

First Pearl Diving Assignment

9/26/20
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Reference

Introduction​ pg 2

Crucial Conversations​ pg 2-3

Networking​ pg 4

Business Etiquette​ pg 5

Increasing Network Abilities​ pg 5-6

DISC Personality Assessment​ pg 6

Conclusion ​pg 7

Works Cited​ pg 8
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Introduction

I am a Senior Architecture major, and I am doing the Construction Project Management

minor, so communication is something that goes hand in hand with the curriculum. I have given

countless presentations explaining my design concepts for architecture and what I am working

on each week. It is essential to be a good communicator because I need to explain my thought

process as well as defend my own work on a daily basis. Although I am and architecture student,

I want to be a project manager, and the skills I have developed from my past as well as concepts

from the readings in this class just further hone my abilities to be an effective communicator.

Crucial Conversations

The first concept from the readings in which I have tried to incorporate into my life come

from the book ​Crucial Conversations.​ It is a very simple concept, but what this book has made

me realize is that the more frequently someone deals with crucial conversations, the better off

they will be. The main takeaway I have from this book is to not be afraid to speak up and have a

conversation. Having a crucial conversation does not mean what I originally thought; I thought it

was just two people arguing, but it is more than that. Sometimes it is as simple as asking an

opposing question, or even asking someone to clarify a statement they made. These can be very

civil conversations, but they do have high stakes and can benefit both parties greatly. Although

many other crucial conversations include ending a relationship, asking a roommate to move out,

and even giving feedback to your boss about their work, even I was surprised with how often a

crucial conversation can come up people’s lives.(​Patterson ​14) There are so many others, and the

hardest part about having a crucial conversation is starting one. Everyone is scared of the

negative that can come from having one, but in fact there are so many positives that I even did

not realize.
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The one story that stuck out to me was the Kevin story in chapter 2. The short summary

of Kevin’s story is that he is one of the vice presidents at his company and the CEO was giving a

pitch of an idea. The idea had the whole room confused and whenever someone disagreed with

him and made a comment about it he responded poorly because he was the boss and just wanted

to get what he wanted. Kevin then asked a simple question “Hey Chris, can I check something

out with you” then he proceeded to show the CEO that this is not the best opportunity for the

company, and even the CEO realized his mistake and agreed to try another thing(​Patterson ​17).

This stuck out to me and something that I will definitely try to incorporate into my career

wherever I end up. It was such a simple thing he said, but he had the nerve to stand up and speak

up against the boss. Sometimes you have to make the hard right and speak up rather than sit in

silence and suffer.

I have applied this lesson already in simple, smaller crucial conversations with friends

and family and it has worked out for my benefit which is amazing how a simple skill can work

so effectively. I was with some of my friends and we were planning out our saturday and trying

to find something to do. Some of my friends wanted to have a smaller party and invite people

over, but with everything going on in the world right now I just simply stated something along

the lines of “hold on let's think about this again.” I stated how it would be unwise to have

something like that in these times and maybe we should all just have a bonfire and do a cookout

with ourselves. My friends all realized that although they do want to have people over it would

be a better call to hold off on that and just have our small group together. By simply pointing out

the logic of something and making that person realize that maybe that is not the best idea, it

completely changed the course of what would have happened, and in return, it benefited us all.
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Networking

The book ​Networking for College Students and Graduates​ has really made me realize a

lot of things about the term “networking,” and it has made me realize that it is not as formal as

one might think. Another point is that networking happens all the time in almost every

interaction one might make. I will be honest, the term networking does scare me a little. It

scares me because when I think of the word, I think of a job fair where everyone is having the

same type of conversations over and over again, and they know you are just looking for a job. I

prefer to let things happen naturally and to connect with people who you have previous

interactions with in some type of way. The funny thing is, it is also networking which I did not

necessarily realize. The biggest point so far, which is fairly small, in this book that really stuck

out to me was to have business cards. “Business cards are necessary for networking. If you wish

a person to remember you or ever contact you, a business card is a must” (Faulkner 45). It

makes so much sense to have one, especially at my age right now, when no one I know has one.

It is just another way that I am able to stick out even more and look more professional and

responsible. It shows I am always ready and proactive.

There have been many times in my college career already where I have begun networking

with someone at a place as simple as a tailgate for a football game, and at the end of the

conversation they give me their business card. It is such a simple gesture, but if I also gave them

mine then it allows for the opportunity for two way communication. I have started to look into

ordering some and designing my own, because this is definitely something that I want to

incorporate into my life because you never know when you can run into a person of interest.
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Business Etiquette

Business etiquette is very important, and especially as a senior, I need to make sure that I

am always consciously practicing it so it is second nature when I am in the real world. I have an

opportunity to work on my business etiquette this week on Thursday. I am in a seminar class

with fifteen other students and it is about three hours long where we analyze the readings we

have done the week prior and we talk for the full three hours about them. One thing I am going

to try to work on this week in not cutting people off when they speak. It is hard because of the

online platform and the fact we are getting graded on participation to have one person speak at a

time. I have found myself in previous classes talking louder over people to get a point across,

and even ignoring other people’s questions so I can ask one myself. I need to be better and

respect the other students in the class. Although participation is important, respecting the class

and being a respectful participant is more important, so that is what I will work on this week.

Increasing Network Abilities

There have been a few things that have just become apparent to me about networking that

I will keep trying to incorporate in the future. The first thing I have already mentioned and that

is just ordering the business cards that I am working on right now. This will allow transactions

and networking easier between someone and myself because instead of taking the time to take

down someone's number you just hand them your card, and it looks professional.

The other thing that I have done is become more active on Linkedin. I had to make an

account Sophomore year for a class, but rarely have used it since. This is such a big platform

that benefits so many people. It keeps all your friends together on a platform and also shows you

what they are doing while also showing the company they work for. I have already seen some of
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my friends and even friends I have not seen in a long time working for companies that are in the

business of construction. It just shows that if I do need help, or I am looking for a job that I can

reach out to them from a professional standpoint because that is what this platform is for.

DISC Personality Assessment

I personally do agree with the results to a certain extent. The biggest quality trait of mine

is dominance at 47%, and I do agree with that. I like to be assertive and get things done right

away. I do like to control the situation of things when I get the chance, but I also like to hear

other people’s input. I like to be dominant in a lot of aspects in my life and I feel that a good

project manager needs to be dominant to a certain extent. I am never willing to let things happen

passively if I can have a say in it. Influence was the second biggest trait at 38%, and I do also

agree with this because I like to think of myself as a leader, and someone people look up to in

some sort of way. I like to think I can be someone that people turn to when they have questions

about something or even just advice in general. Compliance was 9%, and I do agree with this

being a quality trait of mine, but I believe it would be higher. With all of this being said, I like to

be in charge of situations and have a say in these decisions, but I also like to hear others out and

even listen to them about certain points. Steadiness was my least at 7%, and I have to say I

disagree with this. I am very thoughtful and willing to take time in certain efforts. I think I am a

mix of dominance and steadiness although that might seem counterintuitive. I believe a good

leader, and even project manager, needs to be able to have those dominant qualities as well as

being able to take a step back and look at the big picture with time and patience. Sometimes a

quick decision needs to be made and the dominance and influence traits can be to my benefit

where people will look to me for advice and also listen to what I have to say.
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Conclusion

All of these concepts, skills, and even after learning more about my own personality, play

a huge role in how I see myself and also how I see the future of my own way of communicating.

Simple things such as speaking up, handing out business cards, and even understanding my own

traits and tendencies all help to develop myself as a better communicator. These are things I

definitely will not forget because they are so crucial to succeeding in the field of construction.
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Works Cited

Faulkner, Michael, and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.

Pearson Learning Solutions, 2017. Print.

Patterson, Kerry, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. ​Crucial Conversations: Tools

for Talking When Stakes Are High.​ , 2012. Print.