Communication is one of the most important aspects in everyone’s lives. I am currently an engineering major, which means good communication skills are more than necessary in my field. While I am comfortable with most forms of communication, there are times when I struggle to express my thoughts. One form of communication, would be online communication. I am especially comfortable communicating online through social media, as well as through email. To me, communicating through the internet is easy, since I get a chance to thoroughly process my thoughts, before I type them down.
It is easy for me to establish what kind of tone I should use for different types of people online. An example of this would be using emoticons and abbreviations online correspondence with friends, as opposed to writing out every word when I am corresponding professionally. Although I am most comfortable through online communication, I prefer, and am best at carrying a one-on-one conversation. I’m good at reading and expressing myself through body language. I can quickly read facial expressions, and understand how the person I’m having a conversation with is feeling.
Therefore, I can easily reciprocate, and contribute to the conversation. An example of this would be the time when my grandpa was terminally, ill and my mom did not know how to break the news to me. I was able to tell how nervous she was before announcing the news, just by watching her actions. I was able to tell she had bad news, because she did not look me in the eyes and could not focus on what she was doing. As stated above, I can work with most forms of communication. However, I have yet to master the communication skills of public speaking. I struggle with this form of communication, asI have stage fright.
I would rather speak to a small group of people, than to a large crowd. An example of when I had trouble with public speaking, was when I had to give a 5 minute presentation to my engineering class. I was well prepared, and I knew the information well. However, when I stood in front of my peers, I mixed up the information, and was too nervous to execute what I had prepared. I’m sure I can overcome this with a few more presentations, and master public speaking. Communication skills are important. I possess the ability to converse online, in person, and in public.
