Communication Competency While Most People Might Think

Communication Competency

While most people might think that they understand what communication is, the minority of people communicate with true effectiveness. "Communication is defined in a basic way as a process in which an individual initiates messages using verbal and nonverbal symbols to express meanings in such a way that similar or parallel understandings are aroused in all the communicators involved" (DeFleur et al., 2005). Communication competency is when the meaning is clearly lucid and understood from the speaker to the listener and that no one is offended by the message. One could argue that communication competency requires a certain degree of emotional intelligence attached to it. Part of emotional intelligence involves being able to listen comprehensively and address people in a clear and understandable manner without making anyone feel marginalized or put down. Essentially communication competency means more than just all parties have comprehension of a given message; there needs to be an accessibility of comprehension and a manner of communication that takes into account everyone's feelings.

The communication competence scale was created to glean information regarding how comfortable people felt they could engage in dialogue or non-verbal communication in a range of communication situations with a variety of listeners (McCroskey, 1988). The goal of the communication competence scale is to empower the respondent to define the terms of what communication competence is exactly (McCroskey, 1988). "Since people make decisions with regard to communication (for example, whether they will even do it), it is their perception that is important, not that of an outside observer" (McCroskey, 1988). McCroskey stresses one of the most illuminating aspects about the communication competence scale which is that it is a measure of perceived communication, rather than actual communication (1988). The scale ranges from 0 to 100, with 0 being completely incompetent and 100 being competent. Over 86 is considered high communication competency and under 51 is considered low. Higher SPCC scores generally refer to a higher level of self-perceived communication competence in a range of settings and with a range of receivers: for example, people with high communication competency scores are able to communicate effectively with both friends and complete strangers.

My personal score for the Communication Competence Scale ranged at just around a 72, which I feel was accurate. I have a high level of communication competence with friends and acquaintances, but with strangers, my level of effectiveness and comfort when communicating can truly vary. I believe it's this lack of consistency which lowered more score. I think the respondents could also tell that when talking to strangers I have a markedly lower level of comfort and ease, something which no doubt was reflected in my score.