Essential Communication Skills

Effective Communication Blog

                Upon completion of the assessment I had a fairly long list of skills that all received a five rating in the importance factor. After taking some time to think about it, I was able to narrow it down to the three key skills. The three skills I find to be the most valuable are; adapting to people of a different culture or those with a different belief system other than your own, effective assertiveness strategies, and reducing nervousness.

 In my opinion, the most important skill is to be able to adapt to people of a different culture or belief system other than your own. So many times I have seen people treated differently because they are not the same as the majority in some way. I believe this way of thinking still goes on in many parts of Wisconsin regularly, and that it holds Wisconsin back. I am a firm believer that a person should be able to humor an idea whether they agree with or not. I also believe that people cannot communicate effectively when only using their own beliefs and perceptions as a reference. Furthermore, without this skill it will be difficult to be successful in our ever changing workforce. I chose effective assertiveness strategies because I feel it can reduce conflict on many levels. I have had trouble with assertiveness in the past. It can be difficult to distinguish the line between assertive and aggressive. On a professional level I feel that this skill helps people have the confidence needed to be successful. I chose reducing nervousness because when a person is nervous they cannot always focus on the task at hand. I have anxiety with certain things in life, and I find that if a person can calm their nerves it is much easier to focus. My career choice in HVAC influenced this selection, in that there is so much detail that I can’t afford to be nervous. I must be able to perform at a high level.

After thinking about which competency I would like to improve on during the semester, I have chosen to reduce my nervousness. I have had public speaking anxiety in the past. I have improved by leaps and bounds since being in college, but I feel I still have a long way to go.