Personal Narrative Analysis

The purpose of a dyad paper is for two people to connect to one another to become better listeners and to work on becoming empathetic. For this assignment I chose Nikki as a partner. Both of us agreed that we would stick around in the classroom since it was a comfortable environment for the two of us to speak freely with little distraction. When speaking with Nikki I think I perceived what she said very well. I realized that we are more alike than I initially thought. Remembering all the details is a little hard for me but I felt an emotional connection with Nikki so I recall what she said more than I normally would. She spoke about her home life, relationship and her future goals and dreams. Most of her dreams are similar to mine, we both

I felt that Nikki was very open with me and her facial expressions showed that while she spoke I paid close attention to what she said. Her body language was very relaxed, which shows that she was comfortable when talking to me. Other body language displayed was eye contact, being leaned forward and overall being engaged in the conversation with me. As the listener I provided both facts and feelings feedback. I am an emotional person to begin with and I take emotion very seriously, especially when engaging in conversation with another. When listening to Nikki speak I found myself using responsive cues to Nikki’s sentences instead of interjecting with my own. For example, when Nikki said she was going to school for psychology I responded by saying “Really?”. Responding with such a short, blunt question helped Nikki know I was engaged in conversation and it was short enough to allow Nikki to not feel

After learning about listener apprehension I have found that I have this problem. I am so determined to be a good listener so I can provide positive and constructive feedback that sometimes I fall off the track and later find out I completely missed the point of the conversation. I tried my best to go into the conversation with Nikki with a relaxed and open mind. Being the speaker was difficult for me because I was nervous about how I would be perceived when speaking of my past. Given the stigmas that surrounds some things I have experienced I felt as if I could possibly “scare Nikki away” by speaking on such matters. Although both were a little difficult for me I felt being the listener was more enjoyable. It is very refreshing and wonderful to learn about new people and this was a positive experience for