Course Project
Week 1 Course Project: Part 1 – Selecting a Communication Goal
· Link (Word doc): Week 1 CCC Part 1 Template (Use this template to complete the assignment.)
Introduction: Communication Change Challenge (CCC) Part 1 The Course Project is about improving your interpersonal communication skills. For this project, you will select a relevant interpersonal communication behavior to work on, attempt to change your behavior or pattern in the communication area you selected; and evaluate your progress and performance. Click on the following link for project examples:
Click on the following link for project examples:
| Problem | Outcome |
| A 20-something woman recognizes that she appears to frown and/or has a negative facial expression when communicating interpersonally. Others often misread her as a result.
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She set the goal of using a positive facial expression when communicating interpersonally. She was more successful at work and received significantly more attention in her personal life as well. She made many new friends and broke off a long-term, unhealthy relationship with her boyfriend as a result of the increased attention.
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| A 40-something woman with a successful career recognizes that she does not accept criticism well. Generally, she jumped to the defense and never heard, nor considered, the merit of the feedback.
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She set the goal of changing her response to receiving criticism. She found that she was able to learn from constructive feedback and was recognized in her review for the positive change in her behavior.
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| A 30-something man recognizes that he is taken advantage of by his co-workers because he does not know how to say no. He often does the work of several employees and is sometimes even mocked by the co-workers who know that he has this deficit. | He set the goal to clearly evaluate requests from co-workers and say “yes” to those that are appropriate and to say “no” to those that are unreasonable. The co-workers were surprised at first and continued to challenge him for a time, but ultimately he won their respect and improved the working relationships significantly. |
In Part 1 of the project you will select a communication goal or challenge that is related to interpersonal communication. You will work on this challenge for the duration of the session, so take some time to consider what is worthy of the time.
Note: Later in this course, you will be implementing new communication behaviors to rectify your communication challenge. It is critical that you interact with the person or people identified in Part 1E over the next 8 weeks.
Project Timeline The following is a breakdown of what will be covered in each part of the project:
| Part | Description | Due |
| 1 | Selecting a communication goal | Week 1 |
| 2 | Describing communication patterns | Week 2 & 3 |
| 3 | Establishing behavioral goals: What will it look like when I am doing it well? | Week 3 |
| 4 | Analyzing the goal | Week 4 |
| 5 | Covert Rehearsal: Practicing in your imagination | Week 5 |
| 6 | Behavioral Rehearsal: Practicing your new behavior | Week 5 |
| 7 | Actual Implementation: Performing your behavior in real-life situations | Week 7 |
| 8 | Evaluating your progress | Week 8 |
Instructions Take some time to think about challenges you have communicating with other people. These difficulties may involve strangers and acquaintances, friends, family members, or people at school or work. You may identify situations that involve specific individuals or general circumstances. Some examples include having trouble starting a conversation with someone you have never met, saying “no” when your sister asks to borrow money, or avoiding participation in meetings even when you have a question or contribution to the discussion.
Complete the steps in the following framework to identify a goal. Using the template for this week, detail each of the steps to explain how you chose this one communication problem area you intend to change.
1A. “I Can’t” List What are your “I can’t” communication behaviors? Address verbal, nonverbal, listening, group communication aspects, and cultural differences. Click on and read the sample responses for this section first:
Then, write and submit the following for this part:
· Make a list of 4-8 challenges relating to your interpersonal communication that you feel require attention because you “can’t” seem to do these well.
· Describe each “I can’t” behavior in detail. Provide examples to illustrate why you included each behavior in this list.
· Write a 1-2 paragraph description/example for each behavior.
1B. “I Won’t” List What are your “I won’t” communication behaviors? Now read your list of “I can’t” communication behaviors aloud and consider each one carefully. Go back and read each behavior aloud again, but this time, substitute the word “won’t” for “can’t.” (“I won’t ask my friends for favors when I need their help.”)
Be honest with yourself – were there behaviors on your list for which the word “won’t” seemed more accurate than the word “can’t?” Probably so, because there are very few communication behaviors that people are physically unable to do. “Won’t” suggests that an element of choice is involved.
Write and submit the following for this part:
· A list of any statements that you revised to say, “I won’t”
· Explanation for each why it is more accurate than the original “I can’t” statement
· A narrative describing why you feel each statement belong there instead of the original
Eliminate any “I won’t” statements from consideration for this project.
1C. “Don’t Know” List Now go back to your remaining “I can’t” communication behaviors and try substituting, “I don’t know how to” for the words “I can’t.” Instead of saying, “I can’t keep my staff focused on the discussion at hand during meetings,” try saying “I don’t know how to keep my staff focused on the discussion at hand during meetings.”
It is important that you do not take the phrase “I don’t know how to” too literally. You may find that you do know how to do some of the things on your list, but you don’t know how to change from your existing poor habit to an improved communication behavior.
Make a list of any statements you revised to say, “I don’t know how to,” and describe for each why this is more accurate than the original “I can’t” statement. If there are any issues that you still feel belong on your “I can’t” list, include a narrative to describe why.
The “I don’t know how to” items on your list are the ones to consider for this project. These are the ones you can expect to change by taking this course. Select one of these problem areas to work on for the remainder of the course and for the purpose of this report. Describe your process for eliminating additional “I don’t know how to” items to narrow your list to the one issue that you finally selected for the project.
Write and submit the following for this part:
· Your list of issues that more accurately fit the “I don’t know how to” category
· A narrative describing why you feel they belong there instead
· Describe why you left certain issues in the “I can’t” category.
1D. Issue Selection Write and submit the following for this part:
· A narrative describing how you eliminated those that remained in the “I don’t know how to” category to decide on the one issue you selected for your project
1E. Project Statement Write and submit the following for this part:
· A clear project statement of the communication behavior you will address with this project and the person or people with whom you will be communicating for this project
Link: Sample Project Statement
Writing Requirements (APA format)
· Length: 2-2.5 pages (not including title page or references page)
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
· References page
Week 2 Course Project: Part 2 – Describing Communication Patterns
· Link (Word doc): Week 2 CCC Part 2 Template (Use this template to complete the assignment.)
Introduction: Communication Change Challenge (CCC) In Part 2 of the CCC, your goal is to take an in-depth look at the challenge you selected in Part 1E, which you will work to improve later in the course. It is not time to make any behavior changes yet.
Before you try to repair the problem identified in Part1E, you first need to understand it. Keeping a conversation log for 5-7 days of instances when the communication behavior is most apparent, and reviewing your log for patterns, will lay the foundation for identifying how you will rectify the communication behavior later in the project.
Note: Communication Change Challenge Part 2 is due this week and again next week along with Part 3. This part requires you to observe and analyze your communication patterns and observe the communication behaviors of others for Weeks 2 and 3. It is important that you get started now in order to ensure that you will have sufficient time to observe these patterns and behaviors as they occur. Record daily conversations during these two weeks. You will turn in your work for Part 2 each week. You will have 8 days this week, from Sunday to Sunday, to record your conversations.
Be sure to include specific detailed evidence from your observations that support your identification of a particular pattern for each section. Respond in narrative format for all Behavior Log Review and Evaluation sections.
Project Timeline
| Part | Description | Due |
| 1 | Selecting a communication goal | Week 1 |
| 2 | Describing communication patterns | Week 2 & 3 |
| 3 | Establishing behavioral goals: What will it look like when I am doing it well? | Week 3 |
| 4 | Analyzing the goal | Week 4 |
| 5 | Covert Rehearsal: Practicing in your imagination | Week 5 |
| 6 | Behavioral Rehearsal: Practicing your new behavior | Week 5 |
| 7 | Actual Implementation: Performing your behavior in real-life situations | Week 7 |
| 8 | Evaluating your progress | Week 8 |
2A. Behavior Log Listing List your interpersonal communication goal from Part 1E.
Keep a dated conversation log of specific instances when you exhibited this behavior. Keep this log throughout Weeks 2 and 3.
Think about who, what, where, when, why, and how questions. Record the following:
· To whom you spoke
· What you talked about
· Where you spoke
· When you spoke – the time of the day
· Why you had this conversation
· The circumstances
· How you spoke
Think about your feelings and your nonverbal communication. Did you listen well? Were you delighted, hurried, rude, polite, angry, frustrated, and so forth? Record other important or interesting conversations as well, even if they do not relate to your goal. You need at least 5 entries this week, but you may have many more.
Be sure to include an entry each day from the time you begin monitoring your communication behavior (conversations with others) until the time you conclude 2A. If you do not face your challenge on a particular day, say so. If you face other challenges, perhaps related challenges, on any of these days, include that as well. If you cannot document a conversation about your challenge that day, record another interesting or important conversation. You should have at least one daily entry for your conversation log, and you may have multiple conversations on the same day.
2B. Behavior Log Review and Evaluation – Most Effective Review your log and document patterns of your most effective communication skills. Answer the following questions:
· At what time and under what circumstances did I perform this behavior mosteffectively?
· In what places?
· With whom?
· Under what conditions?
2C. Behavior Log Review and Evaluation – Least Effective Review your log and document patterns of your most effective communication skills your least effective communication skills. Answer the following questions:
· At what time and under what circumstances did I perform this behavior least effectively?
· In what places?
· With whom?
· Under what conditions?
2D. Behavior Log Review and Evaluation – Recurring Communication Review your log and document patterns of your other recurring communication behaviors. Answer the following question:
· What other recurring communication behaviors did I exhibit when I did or did not perform this behavior?
2E. Behavior Log Review and Evaluation – Most Pressing Behavior Review your log and document patterns of your most pressing behavioral pattern. Answer the following questions:
· Is your greatest communication problem the same one you listed in your goal for CCC Part 1 E at the top of your page?
· Do you need to modify your goal for this project? If so, state your new goal by revisiting Part 1E in Week 1.
Remember, you should identify these patterns from the log you have recorded over the entire week. When you make a statement about an observed pattern, be sure to document it with specific data/examples from your log. You may find at the end of logging your communication behavior that your challenge is not what you first thought it was. As a result, it is possible that you may ultimately modify CCC Part 1E at this point in the project.
Writing Requirements (APA format)
· Length: 2-3 pages (not including title page or references page)
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
· References page (as needed)
Week 3 Course Project: Parts 2 & 3 – Establishing Behavioral Goals
Required Resources Read/review the following resources for this activity:
· Link (Word doc): Week 3 CCC Parts 2 & 3 Template (Use this template to complete the assignment.)
Introduction: Communication Change Challenge (CCC) Parts 2 and 3 This week, you were to continue your observation log (Part 2) from Week 2 Course Project. In Part 3, you are to observe the communication behavior of others who share your challenge and others who perform better in similar situations. Part 3 will help you to identify positive changes related to your challenge that you might make to your communication behavior. This will also help ensure that you don’t fall into the trap of adopting alternative communication behaviors that do not improve your communication outcomes. For this assignment, make sure to observe and write about an individualand a group. You can choose which conversations will be for the positive models and negative models (e.g., positive – group and negative – individual OR positive – individual and negative – group).
Reminder: You are still observing; you should not be making changes to your communication behaviors yet.
Project Timeline
| Part | Description | Due |
| 1 | Selecting a communication goal | Week 1 |
| 2 | Describing communication patterns | Week 2 & 3 |
| 3 | Establishing behavioral goals: What will it look like when I am doing it well? | Week 3 |
| 4 | Analyzing the goal | Week 4 |
| 5 | Covert Rehearsal: Practicing in your imagination | Week 5 |
| 6 | Behavioral Rehearsal: Practicing your new behavior | Week 5 |
| 7 | Actual Implementation: Performing your behavior in real-life situations | Week 7 |
| 8 | Evaluating your progress | Week 8 |
3A. Positive Models Find positive models. Choose a person or several people who perform your interpersonal communication skill well. Observe and record specific aspects of their verbal and nonverbal behaviors and listening skills as they relate to your chosen issue.
· What do they say?
· How do they say it?
· How did listening help you to understand the positive model?
· What behaviors would be useful to incorporate into your own repertoire?
Provide 4 conversation model examples of effective application of this communication skill by others, i.e., positive modeling. Examples should be specific and based on your observations of others. Label each example: 3A1, 3A2, 3A3, and 3A4, and so forth if you have more.
3B. Negative Models Find negative models. Identify people who perform verbal, nonverbal, and listening skills ineffectively. Watching these can be very useful, too.
· What makes them ineffective verbally?
· What makes them ineffective nonverbally?
· How did listening make this a negative model?
· What behavior do these people exhibit that you would like to avoid?
Provide 4 conversation model examples of ineffective application of this communication skill by others, i.e., negative modeling. Again, your examples should be specific and based on your observations of others. Label each example: 3B1, 3B2, 3B3, and 3B4, and so forth if you have more.
Reminder: Go back to Week 2 Part 2. Provide the new daily conversations, and submit Part 2 for this week as well.
Writing Requirements (APA format)
· Length: 4-5 pages (not including title page or references page)
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
· References page
Week 4 Course Project: Part 4 – Goal Analysis
· Link (Word doc): Week 4 CCC Part 4 Template (Use this template to complete the assignment.)
Introduction: Communication Change Challenge (CCC) Part 4 In Part 4, you are setting a goal for this project based on the outcome that you want to achieve. Knowing what you want the end result of this project to look like will help you to identify and implement the behaviors necessary to achieve that goal. Second, you are identifying a set of communication behaviors (in 4E) that will lead you to your goal. Be specific and very detailed. What will you do or say that is different?
Reminder: It is not time to implement new behaviors yet. This week you are setting a goal and identifying the new communication behaviors that will help you to achieve that goal.
Project Timeline
| Part | Description | Due |
| 1 | Selecting a communication goal | Week 1 |
| 2 | Describing communication patterns | Week 2 & 3 |
| 3 | Establishing behavioral goals: What will it look like when I am doing it well? | Week 3 |
| 4 | Analyzing the goal | Week 4 |
| 5 | Covert Rehearsal: Practicing in your imagination | Week 5 |
| 6 | Behavioral Rehearsal: Practicing your new behavior | Week 5 |
| 7 | Actual Implementation: Performing your behavior in real-life situations | Week 7 |
| 8 | Evaluating your progress | Week 8 |
Instructions The interpersonal communication skill you selected earlier in this project is not yet stated in specific behavioral terms. For example, “I want to overcome shyness and meet new people,” gives you little direction. Some questions you might ask yourself for that behavior goal include the following:
· What new people?
· Where will I meet them?
· When will I meet them?
· How many do I want to meet?
· How often?
· What will I say when I meet them?
· What do I typically do in these situations that I want to avoid?
Provide a detailed outline of your movement through these 4 steps: 4A through 4D.
4A. Goal Reflection and Revision Think about your original goal from CCC Part 1E. Review your Week 1 statements: “I can’t” and “I won’t.” Read over your journal analysis of the CCC Part 2, and the positive models you want to emulate from CCC Part 3. Do you think your goal as written in Part 1E needs to be modified or changed? Address and submit the following:
· Your original goal from CCC Part 1E.
· What do you think your updated goal for this project should be now? It may be the same, slightly modified, or totally different from Part 1E.
· Why is your goal the same as CCC Part 1E, or why did it need to be changed?
4B. Behaviors Brainstorm Jot down some communication behaviors that you associate with your goal. To arrive at this list, address and submit the following:
· What must a person be saying and/or doing for me to say that he/she has achieved the goal?
· Given a room full of people, what is the basis on which I will separate them into two classes: those who have achieved the goal and those who have not?
· How will I recognize and measure goal achievement when I see it?
4C. Behavior Description Describe each behavior. Do this in a statement that identifies the manner (or extent) of the behavior that is required to achieve the goal.
Repeat this statement for each behavior on your list. This step helps you to establish the criteria by which you will measure your success in reaching the goal.
State your goal in specific behavioral terms, considering these example questions again.
· What new people?
· Where will I meet them?
· When will I meet them?
· How many do I want to meet?
· How often?
· What will I say when I meet them?
· What do I typically do in these situations that I want to avoid?
Use the following format:
· 4C1. Behavior 1: In order for me to achieve my goal of …, I will . . .
· 4C2. Behavior 1: In order for me to achieve my goal of …, I will . . .
· 4C3. Behavior 1: In order for me to achieve my goal of …, I will . . .
Do this at least 3 times for each behavior.
4D. Description Revision Now, look at your behaviors again. Consider this: If someone else performed the behaviors you have outlined, would you be willing to say that person has achieved your goal? Can you answer “yes” to this question for each of the behaviors you listed above in Part 4C? If not, modify the descriptions of the behaviors until you can say, “YES.” The answer to Part 4D is YES or NO.
Do this over until you can state YES as the answer for each of the behaviors you have listed in 4C above.
In your description, explain why these behaviors would exemplify the attainment of your goal.
4E. Final Behavior List Conclude with a clearly identified statement of the communication behaviors you intend to implement to achieve your interpersonal communication goal. Be specific.
Revisit these questions to help finalize the list:
· What new people?
· Where will I meet them?
· When will I meet them?
· How many do I want to meet?
· How often?
· What will I say when I meet them?
· What do I typically do in these situations that I want to avoid?
Copy your goal from 4A and then add all your specific behaviors from 4C. Conclude with a clearly identified statement of the communication behaviors you intend to implement to achieve your interpersonal communication goal. Be specific and detailed.
Writing Requirements (APA format)
· Length: 1.5-2 pages (not including title page or references page)
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
· References page
Week 5 Course Project: Parts 5 & 6 – Rehearsal
· Link (Word doc): Week 5 CCC Parts 5 & 6 Template (Use this template to complete the assignment.)
Introduction: Communication Change Challenge (CCC) Part 5 & 6 In Part 5, you will imagine implementing the new behaviors you identified in 4E. In Part 6, you will practice your new behavior by role-playing with a family member or close friend who is not directly involved in your goal. It is still not time to actually implement your new behaviors, as Parts 5 and 6 will help you to iron out the wrinkles.
Note: Submit both CCC Part 5 and CCC Part 6 in one document, but start a new page for CCC Part 6.
Project Timeline
| Part | Description | Due |
| 1 | Selecting a communication goal | Week 1 |
| 2 | Describing communication patterns | Week 2 & 3 |
| 3 | Establishing behavioral goals: What will it look like when I am doing it well? | Week 3 |
| 4 | Analyzing the goal | Week 4 |
| 5 | Covert Rehearsal: Practicing in your imagination | Week 5 |
| 6 | Behavioral Rehearsal: Practicing your new behavior | Week 5 |
| 7 | Actual Implementation: Performing your behavior in real-life situations | Week 7 |
| 8 | Evaluating your progress | Week 8 |