Reflection 4:  Think about the target audience for each of your products. Now, consider yourself at the age of that target group and/or in the context of your other shared identities. What drew/draws you into people’s work? Think about aspects of writing, imagery, sound, design, etc. How might you shape/modify your own work with this in mind?

For my product to reflect on the mentee, my target audience would have to be a mentor, and with the reflection of the mentor, it would be vice versa. As the mentor or mentee is reading, they can understand the perspective of their mentee or mentor and what has been an advantage or disadvantage within their relationship to aid the benefit of the partnership. Personally, I understand that to help guide people in understanding, you have to be willing to go through trial and error. The mentee-mentor relationship is a constant trial and error due to the constant growth between the two, which will be an advantage as the relationship continues to progress. Something that would attract me to both sides of the reflections would simply be imagery and the writing. The writing would have to be intriguing and keep my attention even if it is short, sweet, and straight to the point. Sometimes the unnecessary words and long paragraphs can steer me away because sometimes it doesn’t seem genuine and comes off more scripted. When things are coming from the heart and feeling, they tend to be less wordy and more descriptive due to the emotion that is being sought after.

Reflection 3 : Which of the five principles has been most relevant in your work with CODES in previous semesters? Which of the five principles is most relevant now?

The reading states, “Effective communication is not just about getting your message out; it requires you to strategically tap into what shapes people’s feelings and values.” I think the two principles that have been relevant in my work would be “join the community” and “communicate with images.” Joining the community is the most impactful due to CODES work having a strong emphasis on community and making sure we are having an impact on those we do meet and have around us. In our research teams, we have been constantly working to show that within the community we can have one another’s back and make sure that we consistently hold one accountable. Communicate with images has shown us how to use our platforms and voices to embark on new territory. This could mean communicating with our peers with something they would enjoy and understand. With images, you are able to convey a message to those who may need to interpret it into their own way of thinking so that it isn’t an one size fits all understanding.