In my life I strive to be the best person I can be, I always want to learn and grow. This comes from the fact that I never want to stagnate in life. If I can learn and grow from the people and places around me, I will become a well-rounded and effective person in society. I realized that I was at fault in my communication and so were others. I think one of the most important things I need to work on is moving “You” statements into “I” statements. Working in law enforcement, the "You" statement can get people excited very quickly, whereas if I used an "I" statement it would probably make the situation better for everyone and get things done more quickly . I find that after reading chapter five, sic and seven, I realize how much of a role listening and responding skills play in my law enforcement career. When I started this career, I was forced to become a good listener and had to learn many different verbal communication styles. I had to learn to develop these skills on my own as I embarked on this lifelong career. Listening is essential to being able to understand and help people with their problems. When I show up on a call and everyone is excited and everyone is trying to speak at once, it can be difficult to decipher every word and hear the stories from both parties. By separating the parties and letting them know that I hear what they are saying and process all the information. It is a major role in defusing situations on the ground. A week ago today my dispatch called me and she told me I needed to respond to a car accident on Mill Plain Ave and 163rd. I informed dispatch that I was on my way. As I walk to the call, the dispatcher calls me about two minutes late...... middle of paper...... In conclusion, I have learned that the communication skills I need to to work are really simple. fixes that won't take much to fix on my part. I hope that by addressing my communication issues with others it will become easier. I've also noticed that when others use the "I" statement, I am much less likely to use the "you" statement. I've also learned that compassionate listening is almost second nature in most cases to me. The other thing I learned from this section is that I am able to read body language better than most. I hear this from my wife all the time: "How can you read me so well and I don't need to say a word?" It's scary, but my job has taught me to read each situation as it presents itself. Works Cited Beebe, Steven, Susan Beebe and Mark Redmond. Interpersonal communication. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2014. Print.