Assignment 5: The Importance of Communication

One of my favorite quotes ever is from Stephen R. Covey. Covey once said that, "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply". Communication is a crucial skill for every day life and there is more than one form to it. There are verbal, aural, visual, and written forms. Each form has its own effect in the way we use them when communicating with others. I think the importance of communication lies in how we use the different forms of it to communicate with others so that we understand and express ourselves correctly.

When we talk to friends, family, and employers we tend to use different types of communication. I know that when I am communicating with friends verbally I'll speak to them with a more laid back tone and use slangs or expressions. Even with texting (a written form of communication), I use slang and acronyms to shorten my responses which shows that when it comes to friends I can be more carefree in the way we communicate each other because we have a trusting bond. This is the way friends tend to talk to each other. When it comes to family, I'm not very much different. I still have a laid back attitude because my family and I have a good relationship with each other. The only difference is that I use less slang due to a majority being more inside jokes with friends. Lastly comes communication with employers. When it comes to them I make sure to be more aware of how I communicate. I never show up to work with a frown because visually that gives the wrong impression. I also find it very important to make sure that when my mentor is telling me something I give them my full attention and nod once in a while to assure them that I'm interested and listening to what they have to say. It is also very important that when we communicate through written forms, we use professional language with correct grammar. There is no room for slang when it comes to communicating with your employers. In all, the way we communicate with each group of people comes with its own set of rules to follow.