Displays of Great Communication

 

The first person I think about when it comes to displaying great communication is my good friend and co-worker. (I will call her Toni) When I first met Toni I just got hired onto the before and after school program as an assistant. Toni immediately displayed many characteristics of an active person. She was always smiling and having friendly conversations with children and their families. I also observed her personal interactions with children and saw how every child that attended the program responded with an excitement to see Ms. Toni as she walked into the room. I was drawn to her immediately and subconsciously followed her throughout the program. I liked how excited her facial expressions were when a child would come up to her to show her a project they completed. What really caught my attention is how silly she would be with the children and how easily she handled defiant and sometimes difficult children. A few days later I discovered that Toni is a military wife, mother and owned a home business. I also found out that she had been working at the program as well as having a second job at the school as a recess monitor off and on for 5 years. She then welcomed me into her home and I met her two beautiful girls and husband. I saw her prepare dinner for her family and then jump on the computer to maintain her home business. Toni then invited me to watch her host and set up a booth at an event to support military spouses. I watched her invite clients with her friendly character, eye contact and subtle promoting ability. She was always available when customers needed her and I even accompanied her when she would personally deliver her product to customers. I found all her positive characteristics as an effective tool (In my opinion everything she did to help children and families either at home, school and personal life had a personal meaning) I saw quality with her relationships and I thought to myself “WOW” how does she do it? To make a long story short throughout the time I spent working with her and getting to be close friends. I felt Toni set a high standard for multitasking women and encouraged me to model some of her behaviors and communication skills. I admit when Toni moved to a different location I tried following a bit in her footsteps and they were BIG shoes to fill. I filled some areas but not others.