Margazine

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Turning a negative situation into a positive

a potentially negative internet interactions has taught about how to improve communication skill in every area of life I gave what I thought was constructive criticism to a friend on his latest post for his church blog about expanding it He defensively responds to me that was not the intent and tells me to create i I wrote plenty here on COVID and the vaccines. However it was unnnecessary . simple explanation about the overall purpose of his blog or the post would have hurt less to me than the reaction I received. Therefore it was not necessary f or me nor was his reaction. it I could have gotten bitter and ruined a friendship over this. However I decided to use this to learn about myself and for self-improvement

Stating my concern about the choice issues surrounding the vaccine was an order to revise the post with this information. I just thought he needed to make his assumptions clear or least his concerns. I t was not expeceting a profound treatise, but a little more explanation could have helped for me. It was a general statement that he could ahve kept in mind for the forte . I did so when someone told to write more topics in about women’s non psyhical strength. A smart the issue was sensitive and writing is personal. So, I understand the reason for the angry reaction I would felt nervous if not defensive in the past about this. However, I learned to be open about it

More is necessary sometimes for effective written communication

Less in generally more all other things being esaul in written communication However, when it comes to argumentation that statement sometimes doesn’t apply Sometimes it is necessary to make your assumptions clear especially when dealing with complex or controversy We often avoid controversial but necessary conversations because emotions often get in the way. I was not expecting him to go into a profound treatise. But elaborating how he felt might have taken the heat out of already controversial topics like the COVID vaccines. Sometimes our lines of reasoning are unclear too as in my first COVID piece. Instead of getting defensive, I did the following. First, I explained my intent calmly. Then I went back and made it more transparent. Sometimes we may perceive our writing differently form our reader no matter how many times we edit. To me, reader feedback is a blog equivalent of letters to the editor. You may not be able to correct on the spot, but it helps for the next time.

. Moments like these help me improve communication skills as I go

I also realized I need to improve my communcation skills especially online, where my tone of voice is absent I agreed with his overall point, so I should have made it that clear. As they say, it is better to lead with positive feedback rather than antagonistic to soften the blow. It also happened with a LiveJournal contact. She thought I was telling her to raise her cat when I was just relating facts that I have learned about cats. I got equally defensive, and she ended up banning me from her page. When these things happen often, I know I am at least partly to blame In the past these erroes might have discouraged me from interacting. I might have tried to get it perfect in advance as a result Now I take it as experiential learning.

Communication and strategy lessons for my blog

Rule: don’t ignore audience feedback not matter who tough it is to hear. It will help shape your content for them. Readers come from a specific purpose. If you don’t satisfy it, they won’t return. To me, reader feedback is a blog equivalent of letters to the editor. Based on feedback, don’t be afraid toclarify a post o even your purpose over a . is the perfect excuse to update something for SEO pointsConsider your secondary audience. For example, the author in question may be writing to his church members. However, those not members of that particular congregation may also read it and not know what is going on.

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