Communication skills: development and workplace applications

¶ … Communications Skills for Students

As college students, we must be able to communicate effectively at various different levels and via numerous different formats and media. Naturally, success in higher education depends substantially on the ability to communicate ideas in formal writing. In college, the primary value of good written communications skills is that they enable us to demonstrate our understanding of substantive course material on examinations and in written assignments. In that respect, there is an element of good academic performance that is very directly a function of communications. In the longer term, the writing skills that we develop as college students are essential to our ability to produce various types of written reports and both internal and external communications in the ordinary course of business. Typically, our ability to express ideas effectively in writing also becomes a factor in establishing the first impression that we hope to make on others.

College also allows us to practice our verbal communications skills, particularly in connection with speaking in public and speaking in front of large audiences. Just as writing skills play an important role in our ability to express ideas clearly in formal communications, our verbal communications skills determine how well we express ourselves in real time and in impromptu situations. In college, fluency of verbal expression is important in classroom discussion situations. In the longer term, it allows us to develop the necessary skills to communicate effectively with coworkers, business associates, customers, and with a wide range of individuals in the normal course of professional and commercial business relationships.

Useful Sources of Information

One useful source of advice about communications skills is an online article titled "Troubleshooting Human Communications Tips" authored by information technology (it) professional, Lenny Zeltser (2012). The author provides helpful strategies and tools for improving the ability of technical experts to communicate with laypersons. Whether or not we are experts in technical fields, practically all contemporary business communications require the ability to communicate similar ideas to audiences with different comprehension levels about our topic. In that respect, Zeltser's article is helpful to a very wide audience.

Another useful source of information about communications skills is the article titled "Nonverbal Communication Tips: Improve Your Nonverbal

Communication Skills with these Tips" by About.com contributing writer Kendra Cherry (2012). Cherry explains the importance of understanding nonverbal communications in face-to-face interactions. Those skills may be especially important to practice in an age where so much of our interpersonal communications take place via a digital medium.

Communications Skills Self-Assessment