*The Human Services Internship (Chapter 8) Wilbert Roberson, Jr.

Wilmington University The Human Services Internship: Getting the most from your experience. Writing And Reporting Within Your Field Agency Submit some samples of your professional writing and reporting to your e-portfolio. Include a range of different kinds of writing, such as writing related to client care (e.g., client care plans, summary notes, periodic summaries), and writing from administrative purposes (e.g., grants, public relations materials, administrative reports, fact sheets). Also submit information regarding at least one oral report that you have done in your internship. Your submission might include an outline or summary of your presentation along with an analysis of your audience and the goals you sought to achieve through this presentation. Additionally, you might include a digital video clip of yourself giving an oral presentation. After reviewing these submissions to your e-portfolio, comment on their effectiveness. What do you see as your strengths and weakness in written and oral reporting? Writing and reporting for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence has been a great learning experience for me. I have learned that effective communication and the application for human services organizations is a critical and intricate function for leading a human services agency. Agency mangers are challenged to resolve conflicts, provide feedback, manage information, promote ethical service delivery, attend to diversity, communicate change, inspire innovation, and influence the communication style of the organization and its members. The associated communication functions and responsibilities make it necessary for organization leaders to provide assessment and implementation of effective strategies. Conclude this portfolio entry by stating your specific goals for improvement and your strategies for accomplishing those goals. There are some of us who were born with a foot in our mouthskind of like my supervisor. Sometimes our tongues get us in trouble. Im sure we all have had an embarrassing moment in our lives when wished we could take back the words we said. I have found in my own life, if I wanted to have a good relationship with my coworkers, supervisors, clients, and others I needed to be a better communicator. Honestly, I sometimes struggle with being a good communicator. But, I work on it by walking around and saying good morning to as many of my coworkers as I can and genuinely show compassion about their lives. The dialogue helps me tremendously. I had to exercise the

principle of learning to be a great communicator. Every time I communicated and said something positive, encouraging, honest, and truthful I was in fact making a deposit in to their emotional accounts. Equally when I communicated such words that were harsh, negative, and critical I was making a significant withdrawal from their emotional account. I believe my dominant style of communication is that of a listener and creator. My goal is to be careful of my words and be mindful of individual emotional accounts.

References Kiser, P. (2012). The Human Services Internship: Getting the most from your experience. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.