Problem-Solving Essay: Confidence in Conversations

The world has turned into a global village with increasing social interactions that are pushed forward conversations. In fact, conversations happen in all social and professional environments to include dating scene, supermarkets and stores, church, school, work, and even when exercising in the gym. Conversations have become such as common part of daily life that people do not consciously think about how difficult it can be to hold a conversation, or even the anxiety that the prospect of holding a conversation can cause, especially when the conversation occurs in an unfamiliar language. This is a reality that many international workers and students must contend with so that they end up avoiding participation in conversations, especially when there are significant cultural and language differences. While avoidance helps these international students and workers to avoid embarrassing themselves in conversations, it is a serious problem for those who are trying to learn the native language as participating in conversations is a crucial exercise for developing language skills.  Problem-Solving Essay Paper  Besides that, avoidance makes it difficult for them to engage in social activities so that they struggle with making and maintaining friends, and could field more isolated as they are away from home in a foreign environment. Although nervousness is a natural feeling when participating in conversation with strangers in a new language, international workers and students must find ways to improve their confidence in their ability to participate in conversation so as to better acclimatize to the new environment (Sanderson & Huffman, 2020). International workers and students can choose from various solutions to improve their confidence in participating in conversations.

The first solution to improving their confidence in holding conversations is to learn about relevant, current news that can help to start and push conversations. Many international workers and students find it difficult to join in conversations because they are unsure about what topics others are interested in or are talking about. Through awareness of current news topics, they can understand what the majority of persons are interested in and even offer informative opinions with the right terminologies to ensure that they are actively included in the conversation. One way of keeping abreast with current news topics is to visit the internet and joining local social groups. These are good sources of information on what the community is talking about, and their knowledge levels. With this information, international workers and students would have good background knowledge that prepares them for conversations. Besides that, this initial preparation allows them to better understand new terminologies and vocabulary that would form part of the conversations. Individuals can apply this solution by joining social media groups, following up on news stories presented by local media, and subscribing to local media reports, such as newspapers. Learning about local news and current events is an easy way for internal students and workers to get ready for casual conversations (Sanderson & Huffman, 2020).

The second solution is to actively prepare for common conversation topics that are likely to come up in social settings. While conversations would typically be different with no two conversations being the same even if they occur within the same social setting, there are some conversation topics that are likely to come up more frequently across different social settings. Through actively learning about these common conversation topics, international workers and students can be better prepared to participate in conversations, even if they practice and only chip in when the common topics came up. For instance, a common conversation topic is cultural differences. This is especially the case for international workers and students who are likely to be asked about their country of origin, culture, language, family, and hobbies among other topics. They can practice responding to this types of questions, talking about themselves, and even asking about the local culture in turn. Even as they have more conversations, they would come into contact with additional topics that they would initially find hard to answer but become more proficient in answering with more practice over time. Through thinking about and practicing the responses to common conversation topics, international workers and students would gain more confidence to participate in and even lead conversations (Chmiel, Fraccaroli & Sverke, 2017).

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The third solution is to listen to conversations that others hold to help build confidence. This is important for helping international workers and students to hear how the natives speak the language, how they start and end their conversations, use of vocabulary and diction, as well as how they change the topics, and if there are any ‘taboo’ topics that cannot be addressed in the social settings. Some of the conversations they can listen to include talk shows produced by the local television stations. These television shows can be recorded, then paused and replayed so that the individual is not pressured to participate in the conversation or understand the language at the first time. Since the individual is not pressured, he or she can repeat some of the sentences to learn the local accent. This implies that the individual would be participating in the conversation as a passive audience who critically analyzes the whole conversation. Other conversations that international workers and students can passively participate in include watching the news broadcast, local shows and featured stories. Although the conversations presented on television are likely to be more formal that social conversations, they are a good reference for learning the similarities and differences between the different types of conversations (formal and casual types). Practice in listening to conversations is very helpful for international workers and students to overcome conversation anxiety as they participate in the conversations without the pressure of having to make active contributions (Bowles & Bartone, 2017).  Problem-Solving Essay Paper

The fourth solution for reducing conversation anxiety while reversing the habit of avoiding social conversations is to refine language skills and prepare interesting questions to help advance the conversation. Through improving language skills, such as pronunciation, grammar, fluency and vocabulary, international workers and students will gain the confidence to participate in conversations. Even if they are unable to contribute much to the conversation topics, they would be able to understand the conversation as others exchange information/ideas. Many international workers and students are hesitant to speak in conversations because they do not want to make language mistakes. This solution helps them to reduce this concern as they refine their language and gain more confidence to actively hold conversations. An effective strategy for refining language skills is to listen to the questions that others ask, and creating grammatically correct questions that can be asked in the conversations. These grammatically correct questions can be developed, practiced and memorized to ensure that the combination of words and language is correct. With these questions and continued improvements in language skills, international workers and students can gain more confidence and be better prepared to participate in conversations (Douglas et al., 2016).

The fifth solution is making use of the local language and dialect in all situations. There is a tendency, albeit unconscious, for international workers and students to revert to using the native language whenever possible. This is especially the case when talking among themselves. With these unconscious actions, efforts to improve local language skills would be hindered. To speak a second language with confidence, the individual must practice to improve proficiency. This is achieved by holding monologues, observing and listening, and knowing personal values and stepping up. Holding monologues involves the individual talking to himself/herself in the second language to boost the ability to respond in that language. This can be a little awkward at the first try, especially when the monologue is meaningless and constrained by limited vocabulary. Notwithstanding the awkwardness, monologues must be consistent to improve vocabulary as they allow the individual to form coherent sentences more easily. Also, it is achieved by observation and listening. Talking less and listening more helps in capturing what other people are saying in terms of getting their ideas. Understanding what others are saying makes it easier to contribute to the conversation. Besides that, it is achieved by knowing personal values and stepping up through networking to understand and relate to the stories that others tell. Being in a foreign environment can cause an individual to have difficulty in relating to the stories others tell, thus making them more hesitant in contributing to the conversation, especially when it is conducted in a second language (Cotterill, 2017).

The sixth solution is adopting a learning mentality. This includes speaking slowly and clearly, checking for understanding, avoiding slang, using visual communication methods, having peer interactions, and attending language classes. Speaking slowly and clearly helps to ensure that words are well understood and there is good diction. Words that are slurred or garbled are difficult to decipher. Using visual communication methods involves using motions and facial expressions, alongside spoken word, to put the point across when words are inadequate. The expressive movements provide a clue as to what is being communicated in the conversation. Peer interactions allows for regular conversations as the individuals are motivated to develop an understanding of the language in order to communicate. Investing in language education involves getting instruction from an understanding teach to ensure that the individual has the time needed to grasp the subtleties of the language and vocabulary that is useful in the community. Through adopting a learning mentality as discussed, international workers and students will acquire the skills to improve their confidence in holding conversations (Maude, 2020).

It is evident that improving confidence in conversations focuses on improving the communication skills. This includes being confident in the surroundings. International workers and students should not think of themselves as foreigners or guests as this would discourage efforts to learn the language for conversation. In addition, it entails listening and being observant with a focus on shifting from what is to be said next towards paying more attention to the information being delivered. Learning to listen indicates an eagerness to know about what is being communicated, attention to the moment and body language. Any fidgeting, distraction or lack of eye contact would be considered as indications of lacking confidence. Having control of these non-verbal signals helps to keep the conversation productive. Also, connecting is important as it helps with initiating conversation, a tough task to pull off when facing persons from different backgrounds. In this case, avoiding political and religious subjects would be helpful as they can be polarizing topics that degenerate the conversation (Hodgetts et al., 2020). Besides that, it is important to be aware of cultural shock. While the surrounding would be different from what the individual is used to, it should be turned into a positive experience such as taking it as a new way of life that broadens the mindset. This achieved by applying a warm and intuitive behavior that talks to others without any hesitance, sharing ideas and way of living while understanding others. Furthermore, being assertive while ensuring that the conversation is direct, unbiased and respectful ensures that there is clear communication that avoids misunderstanding. Moreover, retrospectively analyzing conversations and keeping notes on them is important is important for understanding what when right or wrong with each conversation, and how future conversations can be improved (Baumeister & Bushman, 2017).

In conclusions, international students and workers have many options that can be applied to improve their confidence in participating in conversations. Choosing to apply any one of the discussed solutions would help them to improve their language skills and build stronger relationships with others even as they form social contacts and make the best of being in a foreign country. Given that conversation is part of everyday life, whether in social or professional environments, and cannot be avoided entirely, it is better for international students and workers to conquer their fear of conversations through deliberate, adequate preparation, rather than limiting self-expression. Whether an international student is talking to a date, a roommate, or a classmate, or an international worker is talking to a colleague, they would feel empowered to be better conversation partners by applying the discussed solutions.

Policy Process Assessment is a technique for determining where a policy is in the policy development process. In this assignment, you will use your workplace or the Internet to locate a healthcare policy. If you select a policy from your workplace please do not disclose the name of your employer due to confidentiality. 

For this assignment, you will be describing the following in APA formatted paragraphs:

• A summary of the policy and why you chose this policy,
• why there is a need for the policy,
• what revisions or changes for future recommendations would you make, providing rationale for your suggested changes or actions

Make sure to also include in your summary who the stakeholders are for the policy as well as who would need to approve any proposed changes. Be sure to provide any evidence you rely on in support of your suggestions in accurate APA citation. The evidence must be a current (within 5 years), peer-reviewed journal article on evidence-based practice or best practices. The toolkit listed as a resource can be used to guide your work – please adhere to the assignment guidelines as listed above.

Problem-Solving Essay Paper