The Importance of Effective Communication Skills in Life

This is a blog by a student taking a module on professional communication. As much as I would like to write with an informal setting, to facilitate my training on communicating in a professional manner, I have decided to write my posts with a degree of formality.

The decision to write in a formal manner demonstrates the importance of developing effective communication skills in human society. Man is a social animal that has evolved to survive through the formation of tightly knit social units. Through communicating with each other, prehistoric men were able to hunt down large prey using the most primitive of weapons. This is because communicating with one another allows for people to coordinate with each other and work together to conquer otherwise insurmountable tasks. It is this ability to work in a coordinated group that has allowed Man to dominate our planet even though we are not the most physically viable of all animal species.

In this modern age, the role of communication in a person’s life has not decreased one bit. In order to achieve a successful and wholesome life, a person must develop skills that enable him to communicate well with people. The ability to communicate well with people opens up a channel rich in opportunities to obtain resources such as information, finances and even more contacts.

Interestingly, a person’s level of emotional intelligence is an important factor in determining how well one can communicate with others and a person’s ability to communicate with others greatly affects a person’s emotional health. Introverted people often experience problems such as low self esteem and low self confidence. Conversely, people who are poor communicators often find it hard to maintain good relationships with people. For example, parents who have difficulty expressing affection for their children often cause their children to grow up emotionally impaired, thinking that their parents don’t love them. Many conflicts and misunderstandings often stem from miscommunication between people.

Personally, I have learnt about the importance of communicating well with people in maintaining good relations with people. Through heart wrenching conflicts where good friends have been lost and countless hours of self reflection, I have learnt the value of respect for people. Experience has taught me to pay attention to the emotional state of people and to be wise in my choice of words and tone of speech when speaking to people. Ultimately, it is the quality of the relationships that I have with my family and friends that determine the degree of happiness and fulfillment that I find in life; and this is only possible through the development of effective communication skills.