1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?
I've never been a shy person or one to be nervous in front of a crowd. So talking to strangers isn't a problem for me. Something I have done though that is particularly useful in this course is time management. Planning ahead of time what you need to do and then executing it is very critical, especially because many of these assignments take an unknown amount of time. Finding people to interview can take 2 hours or 8 hours. It all depends. So setting enough allotted time to do the tasks is crucial. In summary, time management and proper planning.
2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?
In moments where I feel like giving up, sheer will keeps me going because I have high standards for myself. If I fail to meet them, my own disappointment will probably be worse than whatever it is I feel like giving up on. I've always felt like I've had a tenacious attitude, and that was reinforced even more so during my time in the Marine Corps. This course is definitely nowhere near as tough as the Marines, so I haven't developed tenacity during my time but it does have its arduous moments.
3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?
Plan ahead - as I said above, setting aside enough time is crucial in this course. It's important in every course really, but some of these assignments can take an unknown amount of time.
Don't be afraid to fail - In most courses, you study and study in order to not fail, but this course rewards it because failure is a learning experience. So don't be afraid to get creative, fail, learn, adapt, and try again.
Practice public speaking - You'll be speaking with strangers a lot in this course, so you need learn how to be okay with that. Pitch ideas, ask questions, etc., in front of friends or family at first. Practice being personable and speaking articulately. Slowly but surely, you'll get better.
I like the point you make about failure. Indeed the most important thing in this class is “just do it”. There have been some times with the assignments and interviews that I have felt like I missed an opportunity to ask a better question, or maybe asked the wrong person at the wrong time such as one time when I was speaking to a woman and she was having a very hard time keeping her kids under control. But you are right, each of those experiences did teach me something.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I have to give you credit for really putting in effort to this post and thoroughly explaining each step. A lot of the other post were short and seemed last minute. Onto the assignment itself, I really agree that tenaciousness is a must for this class, and I think almost everyone taking it would agree. The tips are great, you really have to plan ahead for this class, especially with the interviews.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with essentially all of the things you said in this post. I like that you highlighted the importance of time management, because I truly believe it is a necessary skill to have in order to succeed in the class. I also like that you added the point about public speaking, as finding strangers to interview or extended periods of time about a new topic is no easy task. Although I would add that maybe it's not necessarily *public* speaking skills, as you aren't really in front of a crowd, but maybe more *people* skills, since it's one-on-one.
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