Communication Skills

Communicating effectively is the most important life skill in my opinion. “Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another, whether this be vocally (using voice), written (using printed or digital media such as books, magazines, websites or emails), visually (using logos, maps, charts or graphs) or non-verbally (using body language, gestures and the tone and pitch of voice).” ("Skillsyouneed", 2014). Great communication skills can benefit you in many ways including personally and professionally. Presentation skills I feel are beneficial in both your personal and professional life. Once you get over the fear of public speaking whether that is formal or informal it helps you to build up your confidence. Some may never get over the fear of presenting but nerves will calm down. However, even speakers that give speeches or presentations as a living still get nervous before hand. Learning how to present and give a speech will help you learn how to communicate in the best way possible. Connecting with your audience is your main goal so learning how to do that and figuring it out over time is really a great way to develop great communication skills. Writing skills is another skill that is great to have when trying to communicate anything. Again, this is a great skill that will benefit you in your personal and professional life. “The ability to be able to write clearly and effectively is key to communication, this set of skills should not be limited to journalists or professional authors. Poor written communication can be frustrating for the reader and potentially damaging for the author – would you buy a product from a website peppered with spelling mistakes?” ("Skillsyouneed", 2014). I also think that learning how to write it will help you when you go to give a presentation, speech or just talking with a friend or family member. Last, would be personal skills. “Personal skills are the skills that we use to maintain a healthy body and mind.” ("Skillsyouneed", 2014). Developing these will help you with the communication process tremendously. Things like improving self-esteem and building confidence can have a big impact on the way one communicates. Personal appearance and presentation effect the way you behave and can have a bearing on others perception of you, which affects communication. Knowing who you are and knowing what you stand for will help you be confident and it will show. All three of these skills will help one communicate in their personal and professional life. They are very important and take some time to master but it is possible. Without these skills communicating may be hard for you and or as well as the listener. Reference: SkillsYouNeed. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/communication-skills.html