Today was my second day of the Women and Leadership course and I have learned multiple things already. It is incredible how much I’ve taken to heart from this program.
Class started off with an activity that involved us girls creating three things that we felt described ourselves and our passions out of pipe cleaners. Through this activity, we discovered more about each other, and we were all surprised at how similar we are. At least three girls expressed themselves with a soccer ball, two girls shared the usage of nature to describe themselves, and Rebecca and I both expressed our love for animals through the pipe cleaners.
Kisa taught us how to begin brainstorming on what we were going to do our capstone project on. She taught the class about the brainstorming tree, in which one starts out with a general idea and branches out different options that can be integrated with the general idea, as well as the “who, what, when, where, and why” of the project.
After a lunch break, Robin Rose, whom the ILCers met at the brunch held on Sunday, greeted us back in the classroom. Like Kisa, Robin remembered our names, which, to me, felt like a great honor. Robin’s lecture was titled “Listening or Feedback Skills.” She stressed the importance of communication in a successful leadership setting, referring it to “the bedrock of leadership.” Robin taught us how to effectively facilitate meetings and organizations without screaming. She told us what to do in case of an awkward silence situation, which is to wait for the group to think up a response and ask the question again. She also stressed how rephrasing what one person says in order to show that you’re listening is a valuable way of communicating. Robin Rose explained everything, from the arrangement of chairs in the meeting place to forms of communication that reduced one’s defensiveness, in great, but not too much, detail.
Although it’s only been two days in the Women and Leadership course, I’ve already gained a lot of knowledge that I cannot wait to take back to my community.
Rephrasing an answer is a great way to facilitate and check for understanding, but sometimes people can feel like their answer wasn't good enough if you "rephrase it too much."
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