LLB Professional Skills & Practice

2013/2014

Professional Skills and Practice

The Personal Effectiveness Inventory [adapted from Alberti and Emmons “Your Perfect Right”]

In order to get the most out of this exercise, it is important that you are completely honest in your responses. Putting down the answer you would like [rather than that which is true] will defeat the object of the exercise. It is therefore best if you complete this Inventory on your own and without discussion with others

Section 1Circle the number which would best describe your response:

0 = no/never1 = sometimes/somewhat2 = usually/often3 = nearly always/entirely

Consider the following questions [remembering to be brutally honest with yourself]:

1. When a person acts unfairly, would you speak up and point it out? 2

2. Do you find it difficult to make decisions? 0

3. Do you avoid people or situations out of fear of embarrassment? 0

4. Do you usually have confidence in your own judgement? 2

5. Do you insist that your spouse/partner/housemates take on their fair share of household chores? 1

6. If someone pushes into a queue ahead of you, would you speak up? 2

7. If someone borrowed something from you [money, a book etc] do you mention it? 0

8. Are you reluctant to speak up in class / a discussion / a de bate? 0

9. Are you uncomfortable if someone watches you work? 2

10. If someone keeps kicking your chair in a movie / a lecture, do you ask them to stop? 3

11. Do you find it difficult to keep eye contact with another person while talking? 2

12. Are you able to express love/affection openly? 3

13. If you discover that something you have bought is faulty, do you return it? 3

14. Are you able to comfortably ask friends for help? 3

15. When you meet a stranger, are you the first to begin the conversation? 2

16. At family meals, do you control the conversation? 1

17. Are you able to refuse unreasonable requests? 2

18. Are you comfortable receiving compliments? 3

19. Are you comfortable giving compliments? 3

20. If a salesperson is giving you “the hard sell”, how easily can you resist?0

To some of these questions, you may want to reply: “it depends on the situation” and so on. Don’t worry, The object is to get you to think about your possible responses in a range of situations and to spot patterns.

Section 2

In the seminar, you thought about self-esteem [or inner confidence] and how that affects self-confidence [or outer confidence/personal effectiveness.] You might like to think about the following on a “true or false” [T/F] basis:

1. I have a clear sense of what is important to me T /

2. I am known for being optimistic T /

3. I don’t beat myself up about my failings T /

4. When things get emotional, I can stand back and think clearly / F

5. I like doing new things T /

6. I like new challenges T /

7. I enjoy most of my work T /

8. I like myself T /

9. I respect other people T /

10. I am comfortable making decisions T /

11. I take care of my body / F

12. I can handle stress well T /

13. I have a healthy attitude to risk taking T /

14. I know what I want to be doing in the future T /

15. I have a realistic view of my own strengths and weaknesses T /

Now jot down the two most important areas for change you have identified from this process and how you might achieve the change:

1: I need to be able to control my feelings when I get unhappy or sad. It’s a difficult process for myself as there may be times when it is difficult to remain calm or happy. However I must recognise what makes me feel emotional and deal with my emotions in a positive way and not block out my instincts when I don’t feel positive at times as this is likely to make me feel worse by not facing my emotional issues and can control my actions in a negative way by ignoring an issue or problem that needs to be dealt with.

2: I need to start looking after my healthy and try to take up exercise and look after my wellbeing. If I don’t look after myself potentially I might be risking my health and wellbeing and this can cause problems later on in life I don’t treat myself with the care required.