Importance of Communication Skills - Essay Example

Journal Journal Among the most influential people in my life are my grandparents who have always been with me through the best and the worst part of my life. I lost my parents at an early age and my grandparents took me in and ensured that I lacked for nothing. They made sure that I had the best education that they could afford despite the poor circumstances that we had in our home. My grandparents are among the most kindhearted and knowledgeable people that I know of and this has influenced me to ensure that I model my character after theirs; a fact that is only natural in me considering the environment in which I was raised. It is my grandparents who ensured that I was best placed to learn about all manner of technology since my grandfather worked at a computer manufacturing company. As a result, I was given an early exposure to technology and I am proud to say that using my computer, I have been able to make new friends through social networks as well as ensuring that I get to share class assignments and other tasks with my friends and classmates. My grandparents have also helped me to develop a calm demeanor, which has enabled me to take part in conflict management within my community and among my friends. Journal 2 I would categorize my communication skills as being above average and this can be attributed to the fact that I was raised in an environment where one was allowed to openly express himself. Living with my grandparents, I was allowed the freedom of self-expression and this enabled me, from an early age, to develop my communication skills needed to survive in the society. The strength of my communication skills has been proven through the way that I have been able to present myself in various situations, which have, to an extent, made me successful. The power of having good communication skills can be considered to be among the greatest that any human being can possess, and I can gladly count myself among these privileged individuals. It has always been my wish to speak at an important function so that I can be able to show the world how good my communication skills are. However, this has not been possible because of the fact that most of my presentations have often been in a classroom situation, or during some school functions which have enabled me to gain some experience in communicating. Journal 3 I have found that the development of good social skills is essential for effective communication because of the fact that individuals are not likely to listen to a person whose social skills are not good. Good social skills are necessary in ensuring that you have the full attention of those individuals who are listening to you. A person with weak social skills hardly ever keeps his listeners’ concentration for long and one will find that one’s listeners would have their attention elsewhere whenever one is talking. In fact, it is normal for one to find that he has lost all but a few of his listeners, creating a situation where the communicator loses most of the confidence that he has in himself to communicate. As a result, the presentation ends up being delivered in a way that can only be said to be weak, resulting in the ineffective delivery of the intended message. If the message being delivered is found to be ineffective by the listeners, then it is likely that it will be ignored or that it might not be put into consideration. Such a situation is likely to make the presenter in a situation where he loses all his confidence of expression. Journal 4 The most common means through which individuals tend to lose interest in a listener is often through the presenter’s lack of confidence when addressing his audience. It is a fact that many individuals, when presenting, do not display the confidence in what they are saying in order to impress on their audience the importance of the matter which they are discussing. This has created a situation where the listeners lose interest and they end up wanting to leave almost from the moment when the presenter begins to speak. In addition, a reason why a listener may choose to block when a presenter is speaking is when the latter does not seem to know or understand what he or she is talking about. This is a very fundamental reason for the development of adequate research by the presenter before he proceeds into any presentation. In addition, one will find that individuals who are not interested in the subject being discussed might not be into the presentation, and it is the duty of the presenter to ensure that he provides a description concerning the various aspects that he is discussing in such a way that his audience is able to get interested in and understand. Journal 5 I would like to ask for an extension for the assignment given because of circumstances, which were beyond my control. After the assignment was given, I intended to start on it immediately but this did not turn out to be the case because I ended up being swamped with so much work that I was not able to complete the assignment as swiftly as I had intended. At the moment, apart from the assignment that you gave, I also have two others pending and I have found this to be extremely distressing since it has left me with little option of ensuring that my work is done on time. I regret not having had the time, despite my best effort to make it, to ensure that my work was done on time. In addition, at the time when the assignment was being given, I had yet to learn how to create a proper personal timetable, which would have ensured that I used the time available to me wisely. At the moment, I have learnt how to do the latter and I have begun applying it to magnificent effect, thus giving me the confidence to ensure that I will complete the current assignment, as well as any assignments that will be given at future times. Journal 6 It is a fact that all human beings view the world differently and that because of this, it is essential for presenters, when communicating, to ensure that they take into account these differences. For a long time, it has been known that different individuals make decisions differently and this is the reason why it is important for the presenter to create a situation where all of these individuals feel comfortable in the environment where the presentation is taking place. The presenter, when communicating, should realize that what one is good at doing and the way he does it is not the exact way that another would do it. This is the reason why even when presenting, he should consider the different viewpoints of his audience and ensure that he addresses them adequately to satisfy their audience. In addition, the presenter should be in a position to look into all the controversial issues that their audience would like to address in a neutral way so that he does not end up antagonizing some of his audience. By doing so, the presenter will not only be able to capture the attention of a large portion of his audience, but also to pass his message across to them in a constructive way. Journal 7 The most fundamental reason for communication is ensuring that the audience gets the message that the presenter is attempting to put across. While this is the case, it is important for the presenter to ensure that he has captured the attention of his audience through adequate research concerning the topic being discussed. This is the only way through which he can be able to make his audience follow what he is talking about effectively, and as a result, he will receive a positive response. It is often necessary for the presenter to be eloquent in his discussions because it has been found that many individuals often closely follow what an eloquent speaker is saying. A presentation by an eloquent speaker ensures that the goal of communicating a message, whether important or otherwise, is fulfilled. Communication is often done for making an audience understand a message concerning a particular thing that directly affects their lives, hence ensuring that they come to terms with it. Thus, communication is a bridge that connects the presenter and his audience, and without it, the human society, or civilization as we know it would cease to exist because communication is their basis. Read More