Today I had a great time at the
Lydia Home. I got to help serve the kids snack, help with them with their homework,
and then we had free playtime outside. As I looked around and observed the
children as we were playing outside I noticed that the kid’s age range was from
approximately three to eight years old. There was one kid that was an exception
to this age range, his name was Javon. He was a twelve year old boy who didn’t necessarily
fit in with all the other children based on his age. I went over and started
talking to him once I noticed he was sitting by himself. Without even saying a
word I could tell he wasn’t a very outgoing person just by his non verbal
communication actions. When talking with me he held his head down, fidgeted with
his fingers, and spoke in a soft tone, he was shy. Once we got to know one
another a bit more I started kicking a ball back and forth with him as we
continue to talk. As this went on Javon started opening up more to me with his
non verbal communication actions. His head finally rose up and I started to see
a smile as we talked.
From
today’s experience I am happy that I could make a kid who wasn’t very happy or
comfortable in his environment open up to me and smile. Just by analyzing his
nonverbal cues and his characteristics before approaching him I knew I needed
to be the main contributor in this communication exchange. While speaking with
Javon I made sure to use the four stages of listening to make sure I was
showing interest, understanding, evaluating, and retaining all the information
he was giving to show that I cared and I was there to be his friend if he
needed any advice.
By
this experience I plan on letting children open up to me and making sure that
they have someone in their life that they can turn to when they are in a tough
spot or they just need a friend. I also realized how important those four
stages are when talking to someone who wants someone to listen and they don’t always
say what they are saying with their words but also with their non verbal cues.
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