More than almost anything else, communication can set you apart from your peers. Your communication skills will either help you get that job, or into that school or training program, or it will keep you in line with everyone else continuing to look. If you REALLY want to excel beyond your peers, take communication seriously. Listen CAREFULLY to your friends: how frequently, within ONE sentence, do you hear “like..., ummm..., ya know...” etc? The power of speech - oratory, is not appreciated by most, but the people who understand it’s power, and ACT to learn and develop the skill go farther. It’s everyday habit. It isn’t a switch you can turn on and off. Make it who you are.
Let me be practical here. To be hired for a supervisory role, a management role, a leadership role, you must be able to communicate directly and concisely. Listen to those in charge at your school or other organizations where you are involved. How do they speak? How do they write? If they communicate well, it is because they took it seriously and learned. They studied. They practiced. They implemented. If they SOUND educated, it is because they ARE educated, at least about communicating. In fact, you can hide lots of faults if you communicate well!
How can you improve your spoken and written communication skills? Make it a goal! Go to your english teacher for extra help. Find a tutoring program. Read books, both educational in nature on communication, as well as everything else. Pay attention to how good writers form their sentences. Pay attention to their grammar, their vocabulary. Learn to expand yours! But most of all, PRACTICE! When you write anything, go back over it and re-read it. Does it say what you intended? Will it make the reader want to read it, and more? Did you take any lazy shortcuts? Could you use fewer words to get the idea across?
Today, everyone writes in their own personal “shorthand”. Email use (and texting, instant messaging, etc.) is destroying language skills because it is (wrongly) assumed that one doesn’t need to meet basic standards when writing email messages. Make yourself stand out! Use proper english when writing emails. Use punctuation, vocabulary, and grammar that your english teacher would approve of, or perhaps even respect! Don’t be lazy - make the extra effort and it will become a habit that will serve you the rest of your life. Maybe it will even help you get that next job up the ladder!
Dan Scheerer
SmartGeorge
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