SEEQS Portfolio Defense

Communicating Powerfully - ʻEleu

My Understanding

An example of what Communicating Powerfully would look like being a lead character in a school play and expressing your voice and body to its full potential. You want to project your voice and clearly articulate your words so that everyone in the theater can hear. When you need to get a emoution across a whole theater, you need to make sure that your physicality is expressive enough so that even the people in the back of the theater can see what you are feeling. This could also mean making sure your body language is readable for everyone to understand. A person who Communicates Powerfully would know that in a play, the audience is expecting you to be a lead character and take on the role of a prince. That person would stand tall with good posture and body language that shows the audience the prince is in a position of power. They should clearly project their voice for everyone in the theater to hear, and make sure that they are deep in the character’s shoes. That may be flexing muscles or pretending to slay a dragon. That person would be Communicating Powerfully to everyone in the theater and showing them that you can tell people what their message is.

A counterexample of this would be to be closed off from other people. If that person was in a role and they needed to have dialogue, a person who couldn't Communicate Powerfully would keep their volume at a low level and make it hard for everyone in the theater to hear. They would also be unaware of the expressions that they may be making. If the role is to be a big strong elephant, then that person wouldn't be making the sounds of an elephant. That person wouldn't be showing the audience that they are an elephant. If you are being a counterexample of Communicating Powerfully, you would not be applying what the audience expects from you. If they expect you to act like an elephant and you don't act like one, then you would not be Communicating Powerfully. The great thing about Communicating Powerfully is that it isn't just used in theater. You can use this skill in debates, interviews, writing, visual art, and other important conversations in your life. For example, a good way to use Communicating Powerfully outside of school is if you are trying to paint an abstract portrait of someone you love. A person who can Communicate Powerfully would be able to find colors and emotions in the brush that can match a person's personality. For example, if I were to paint an abstract picture of my mom, I would apply large amounts of turquoise and yellow to describe my mom's love for the ocean. I would also paint in a motions that was delicate and smooth to convey my moms kindness and patience.

A counterexample of this skill in the same situation would be to use colors that don't match with the person. If you were to make an abstract painting of a person who is very jubilant, a person who couldn't Communicate Powerfully would use colors like black and brown. This is showing their lack of attention to who the person is and their lacking ability to communicate who that certain person is. This is a counter example of Communicating Powerfully.

To me, the most important part of the skill Communicating Powerfully is being able to say the same thing in different forms. For me, this is the most important part because if someone is able to communicate the history of the world in 1 painting, then that painter has Communicated Powerfully. A writer could write an essay about the history of the world. An actor could construct a play with emotions and settings about the history of the world. In conclusion, communication can take several different forms. This is the most important part of the skill to me because it shows that as people, we are able to say similar things in a variety of ways. We all want people to agree on something. Whether that is world peace, or better education, if the world can master Communicating Powerfully, then we will be able to tell the world what we want to say in numerous ways.

My Growth

In 7th grade, I was taught more about needing to listen to others as well. Along with being able to listen to the different perspectives and applying them into what you say. That part of learning occured in my 7th grade British Debate Class. At that time, I was discovering that Communicating Powerfully wasn't just a skill used in theater. In 8th grade, due to piano and lessons from Mr. Slaughter, I learned about the several different colors and shapes there were to express certain things. Whether it was by volume, by music, and facial expressions, Communicating Powerfully was a new door to have different voices. In the beginning of the year in 8th grade, I was pretty good at this skill. I knew how to express myself so that others could hear me and I was engaging to the audience. But throughout the quarters of 8th grade, my teachers have been helping me discover other ways to communicate. For example, in Q1 in Showbiz for 8th grade, Mr. Slaughter showed us different ways to express a message. You can convey different emotions and messages throughout your body and facial expressions like a mime, or you can dance and sing to give a message in a musical form.

Another way that I have grown in this skill is by paying attention to others more. I am now getting good at observing and learning from what I see. I am able to watch someone do something and be able to add on to my talent for it to be special. One example of this is how I started learning how to perfect my skills on piano. I started learning piano in 6th grade and am now 3 years into the class.

I have learned so much. But one thing that I particularly took away was how I was able to watch my teacher play a song and then master it later on. This for me is a good example because it reflects on how I am growing at SEEQS. I start off just watching and observing/still learning. Then I start to get the hang of things and form a message and a strong voice of my own. Then finally I have a concrete and skilled mindset and voice on how to engage with the audience better than before, and allowing them to understand and listen.

For example, when I am playing on the piano and want to express a sad and low melody, I play low keys in a low rhythm. When I want to express that I am very happy or joyful, I will tend to play higher notes along with a more upbeat rhythm. This way, I can communicate different emotions through music. With the help of my Piano teacher, Ms. Tatiana teaches me ways to play chords and melodies in certain tunes. Hopefully, as I keep growing in piano, the more I will be able to harness the emotions of music. When I want to write my own music and tell a story about my life, I want to add emotions like curiosity, happiness, sadness, and love. Those emotions may be expressed in high tunes, low tunes, fast played chords, or short played chords.

This is important in life because as I go to highschool, playing piano can be something that I really want to progress in and start to perform in large performances. If I can be able to bring a crowd to tears with my music, then I will know that I can communicate certain messages in my music with poise.

I too want to join the school’s theater class and be able to have a voice at the school I go to. If I go to the school sounding like I don't know how to express the messages and things I want to say, then other classmates and teachers won’t want me to present certain ideas that a group may have. Knowing Communicating Powerfully will help me find different ways to Communicate my skill and what I am expressing. For example, in 8th grade, Mr. Slaughter has taught me a lot about how your volume, pitch, and pronunciation can affect your ability to demonstrate your communication. If I am doing a monologue about a man losing someone he loved, I will want my volume to be very high to express the pain he is experiencing. My voice should be crumbling as well to communicate how that man feels hopeless. A man who has lost someone he loves would also probably have some anger in his voice due to his question of why that person he loved had to die. To show that anger, I might want to speak very loud and show facial expressions of my teeth pushed against each other. And make my hand in the shape of a fist.

If my school sees that I can move them in a sense that they feel the emotions and thoughts flowing through my character's head, then they will recognize that I am a person who can show messages and emotions through acting. This may lead to more opportunities in a play such as a lead role. My growth in Communicating Powerfully can lead to many different opportunities in my life. The skill has opened up a gate of several ways to say what I want to say.

What Project Helped Me Grow

In my History class with Mr. David one of the assignments that we did was the British Debate assignment in 7th grade. My classmates and I were put into groups of people who thought the same way about the British in the 1700’s. We had to go against the opposing group who thought differently. Some people thought that the British and the Colonists were at fault, some people thought that just the British were at fault and some other people thought that just the Colonists were at fault. In this project, our groups were trying to figure out who was responsible for all of the events that happened. Ex. The British Tea Party December 16 1773. Ex. The Boston Massacre March 5th, 1770.

Once we knew how we were going to explain why both the British and the Colonists were at fault, we had to organize who was going to say what. When we discussed our certain roles, we had to communicate with each other. As a group, we recognized that certain people were very good at presenting and certain people were not. I communicated with my peers and asked them different questions to test them on whether they understood our side of the presentation. This was a great test that I also took because it allowed me and my group mates to make sure that when we were going to have a discussion against the opposing team, we wanted to have information that would go against what they would say. The more we practiced the things we needed to communicate, the more we were able to do it with more ease. Step by step we would fix our certain word usages to find words that would fit better with what we wanted to communicate. We also made sure that we would have questions for the opposing team that would make it sound like the other team had no idea what they were talking about.

For me, this is the powerful part of Communicating Powerfully. It is when you are perfecting the way you are communicating. In theater, it is made by fixing your facial expression to match the emotion. In piano, it may be changing the pace of the song to make it seem more melodic or gloomy. In debates, making your communication more powerful may be by editing your word choices to see if they match with the description of the message you are trying to express.

Now it was time for debating. The whole class sat down in their benches with notes, information from their doc, and other pieces of evidence that would help their claim be backed up. Our side had noted cards. In these note cards were questions and key points that we thought were necessary to point out when it was our turn to speak. We had decided what type of information to add on the note card by talking as a group and discovering together what parts of our side are most important for the opposing sides to hear. We discussed what perspectives there were and in what ways and tones we should present them in. At the end, the key points we had were: The British pushed the Colonist to a point where anger had taken over. The Colonists were also at fault because they had chosen the wrong decision to form a mob and disturb the British soldiers. We were ready to debate.

As the debate began, I was telling my group mates to make sure that they were really listening to what the other groups were saying. I said this because during a debate in real time, you have to listen to what the other person/side is saying. You need to be able to respond in order to make your point. You need to listen to the argument by my opponent for the purpose of knowing how to respond so you can convince the judge or the people who are listening that your claim is the right one.

Once the 1st group going FOR the British had finished. It was our turn to ask questions. Me and my group had started to raise our hand and present what we were curious about. Since we wanted to prove that we were right, we wanted to ask them questions that would put them on the spot. We asked questions like: “ If you think the British didn't do anything wrong in the 1700’s, how would you explain the British raising the taxes on tea for the colonists after all the help they have given to you? Don't you think you are being harsh? If they did deserve the punishments they are receiving, what causes you to do that?”

These questions ended up helping our group sound more like we were right. As the side FOR the British struggled to answer our questions. I realized how the Communication of forming our questions early on really helped us. It allowed our side to look like we had the right opinion.

Once it was my group's turn to speak, my partner, Rin, and I stood up and explained the research we had been doing. We spoke with high volume. We wanted everyone in the classroom to hear everything we were saying. Rin and I also roasted the other side as well. This way when the opposing sides were embarrassed, our group looked more right. Therefore, we were supporting our claim. As Rin and I spoke, I felt completely comfortable. We were Communicating Powerfully. We had the ability in our presentation to turn our opposing sides options to our side. People were really starting to agree with our group. Since me and RIn were speaking clearly, using proper words, and giving evidence, we were really communicating our claim. It was due to the Communication we had earlier as a group and how we applied it to when we actually presented.

The British Debate was a project that really helped me learn about the definition of Powerfully in Communicating Powerfully.

Even though I have grown a lot in this skill, there is still plenty for me to improve in. Since there are many ways to Communicate Powerfully, a certain way that I would like to grow in my Communication is by writing more clearly. When I write, some of the points I make can be very hard to follow and poorly organized. For example, sometimes when I am writing an essay about how the Pandemic has affected my life, I will give an example in the 1st paragraph about how it has given me a positive impact. Then I will write about how it gave me a negative impact. Then I would write a positive impact. Instead of just separating my paragraphs from the beginning to being about positive impacts and the end having negative impacts, my writing gets unorganized. I see this when my dad and teachers read a piece of my writing. The most common piece of feedback that I get is to organize my writing. The way that I will grow in that part of my communication is by reading more of my writing out loud. As much as it may sound strange, the times I do read my writing, I tend to have more organized pieces of work. So when I am writing essays or Stories, I would want to read what I write so that I will have more professional writing.

Another Example: I really like to tell people about how my day was. At home, I will start to talk about how my day at school was. I tell my parents about the end of school, the beginning of school, lunch, then certain classes. This tends to get a little confusing. My parents will start wondering and asking me if my schedule has changed because of how confusing I am. So to be more effective in my communication, I should speak in a chronological order. This way people will be able to understand the flow in which I went through a day at school. My audience would be able to get the full picture of how everything went. A specific way I will help remind myself to write and speak in a chronological order is by speaking as if I was going through the same day again. This way, I would be reviewing everything that happened that day at the time that I experienced it. As much as I would like to say that I have mastered my ability to Communicate Powerfully, I have to be honest and say that there are still many things that I have left to grow in.

How This Project Relates To the Skill

For me, the project process that I had completing this assignment was done very well. First, I needed to understand and plan how I was going to complete the project. To start, I read the instructions for this assignment and thought out in my head what I wanted my ending draft to look like. My next steps were to just draw an original sketch of my waterpark with all of its necessary needs. Next, I had to fill in the points where the entrances and lines were. By doing that, I would be able to plot the points on my sheet of graph paper. I was very happy about the way I was doing this before the assignment was due, but I had a few questions about the assignment so I emailed Ms. Janelle for some clarifying questions. I really wanted to do this assignment to the best of my ability so I had to make sure that I did nothing wrong.

As we started the project, I analyzed the steps I had to complete to finish the project. I noticed that 1st, we had to sketch out our park. We met the standard on what we had to add in the park. Slides, Kid pool, Gift shop, Security, etc. After this, we needed to plot out the coordinates to all of the entrances to our slides, entrances to the park, security, etc. Once I had my answers, I started to re-draw the sketch of my water park on the graph paper. Then I colored it in so I could prove that I took a lot of time to finish the experiment with quality. Now I have completed task 1 out of 3. I was proud of the way I have managed to follow the steps correctly so far. Later in the day, I worked on the project even more. I stayed inside and worked. I was able to get task 2 out of 3 done. Task 2 was built up by writing down the coordinates of my water park. I found out where the entrances were for all the attractions, and wrote them down. I had to be very careful and work very hard to make sure all the coordinates were right. It was getting late, so to stay on schedule, I made a plan that I would work on this on my independent work time next class. And that's exactly what I did.

When the time came, I got right to work and did just what I said. After 30 minutes I thought I did it all right and I had finished everything, but as I checked my answers with my dad, I realized that I had switched up some numbers. I made a mistake, but I took a deep breath, fixed it, worked hard to get it right, and finally finished all of my steps to completing the project. This is how I have been able to grow in the skill of Managing Effectively.

View Other Sustainability Skill Reflections:
Reasoning Analytically
Managing Effectively
Collaborating Productively
Thinking Systemically