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The Importance of Communication Skill





  Communication skill is one of the most important human traits. Human beings are sentient beings and social beings. We can feel and think. And we are willing to live in a group of other individuals for our physiological and our psychological needs. We have feelings, thoughts, and emotions which we need to exchange with others for our basic survival and better living. 

Communication skill is our ability to convey our feelings, thoughts, and emotions, and it is also an ability to understand others' feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Human beings start communicating even before their birth when they are in their mother's womb. An expectant mother starts interpreting her child's cravings, this means that the child in the womb knows how to convey its feelings. The process continues after birth and goes on for the entire life of human beings while they are in social situations, in academic institutions, and in workplaces. The process continues till death.

We can communicate with our words in written and oral forms, and we can also communicate without words using our body language or any other visual presentation. Communicating with words is verbal communication, whereas communicating without words is non-verbal communication. In both cases, communication can be effective, only if a communicator's intended message is interpreted properly by a recipient. 

Ineffective communication is the result of a communicator's inability to convey any message, and/ or a recipient's inability to interpret the message. Sometimes, it is also due to environment or semantic gap (cultural difference or differences in dialects, body language, choice of words, pronunciation, etc.).

Communication can be effective or ineffective, only when a person communicates. But, there are several individuals who find it difficult to communicate with others. Talking to others or even initiating a conversation is a daunting task for them. And this inability hampers their social interaction, academic learning, and career growth. 

Hesitant students avoid asking questions in their classes, fail to gain maximum from the lectures, face difficulty in conveying their thoughts to others, stay away from extra-curricular activities, develop an inferiority complex as they lag behind their peers, and give up trying. The problem still remains. Even if, students acquire technical skills and they have academic knowledge, they struggle to get their dream jobs. On the other hand, confident students excel in their academics, in their extra-curricular activities, and in their careers

Shy working executives have a hard time when they have to interact with their clients, their superiors, and their colleagues. And they get limited growth, as they can not express themselves. They would never be the first choice of their bosses for important assignments. On the contrary, dynamic and proactive employees easily climb corporate ladders because of their effective communication skills and result-oriented approach, they are the true motors of companies' growth. 

People in general also need good communication skills in social situations such as parties, functions, parent-teacher meetings, etc.

Good communication skills boost academic learning, foster positivity & productivity in workplaces, and smoothen social interactions.

Warren Buffett advises graduates: "Develop communication skills. You've got to be able to write well and you've got to be able to talk well and just fill your head. It is such a wonderful time in life to have every day end up with you knowing a lot of things that you didn't know the day before."

In a nutshell, how big you grow depends on how effectively you communicate.

Consult Buddham, if you want to improve your communication skill.

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