Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What is the point of a Communication class? I talk just fine.

You may ask yourself why you have to take a communication class as you may already have great communication skills...at least in your humble opinion. Check out this article on why a communication class can benefit you: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-we-need-classes-how-to-talk-to-people/

Some things to think about:
1. Why do you think medical schools are starting to test applicants on communication skills?
2. The article makes a comment about misanthropic characters like Dr. House on the television show House M.D. How do you think shows and characters like this effect our perception of communication?
3. The article mentions business majors not knowing how to handshake or eat properly. Are notions like "proper etiquette" forms of communicative behavior? As in do they communicate something about us to ourselves and to other people?
4. Why is communicating so hard that some people (the article mentions engineers) want as little of it as possible in their jobs?
5. What purpose is there in engaging in communication with people on things you don't agree on?

These questions are designed to get your brains going and aren't designed for a right or wrong answer.

13 comments:

  1. I think that it is very important to obtain good communication skills because it is key to the way we interact with people in everyday life. If one is not able to communicate what they are trying to say then it is impossible for anyone to try to understand the point they are trying to get across. The benefits of being able to communicate clearly are endless, I personaly believe that if you are able to communicate at a high level you can be very successful!

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  2. Taryn Grover posted the comment above

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  3. The purpose of engaging in conversation with people on things you don't agree on is, if you went in without an "i'm not going to budge" attitude, to hopefully learn something and although it may be unlikely that your outlook is changed you realize and acknowledge why a certain person has a certain perspective.

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  4. Communication is important when it comes to living an effective life. Learning how to communicate more efficiently can help when it comes to understanding one another. This is important in the medical field, as the article said, because if doctors' ideas are not expressed clearly people can become sicker or even die. "House" is a great example of how the media effects our perception and communication. We can't just assume all doctor's are like House and have arrogant attitudes, but Doctors have to have good communication skills so that we can have the ability to trust them.

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  5. I feel as if the article was spot on!! People are lacking valuable social skills that they should have. having the ability to talk someone is the most important aspect of interaction that there is. The smartest person alive could have come up with something revolutionary ,but it does not matter because he cant tell anyone about his ideas. Thats the problem I feel that a communication gap has been allowed to grow because social skills are something that we are supposed to just obtain through osmosis. Well unfortunately it does not work that way. Thats like me saying wow i want to learn how to play the french horn and just picking one up and knowing how to do it. I wish life was that simple but the sad fact is that it is NOT. So whats the cure to this problem.. Whats the fix??? Well its hard to say just one thing , but we can all start by simply talking to someone. They say that practice makes perfect so we should practice something that will make society a much better place to be.

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  6. I am pursuing a career in film (directing) and i know from experience that communication is key to success on set. I know that if i'm on set i need to know everything that is going on during the time we shoot. Our social skills matter at these points, they way we talk to each other on set makes the chemistry play out better in the film were making. Communication affects us on and off the screen and we honestly need to step it up because sometimes we lack the key points in successful communicate but its not to say that they can't be worked on and progressed.

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  7. I think schools need to facilitate more real-life interactions, but not having people call upon acting skills they won't need. Maybe having an actor help creating these situations along with the teacher explaining what they are trying to accomplish could be a great way instead of just reading about skills we need on a PowerPoint.

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  8. First, I loved that this was from cracked.com. Second, after reading that article, I can understand why colleges and jobs are requiring communication classes. Let's face it: People generally do not know how to communicate with one another. History easily proves that. I liked that they referenced "House," because that is what I was thinking about, too. And sadly, many doctors are like this. A bunch by choice, but plenty of them just do not realize how they are coming across to their co-workers and patients. Social etiquette is severely lacking in numerous people, simply because they do not know how to behave properly, like the article stated. In addition, many employees desire to work independently because they do not care about whoever is speaking to them, and feigning interest just does not appeal to them. However, it is a positive thing to discuss a topic with someone that you know he or she will disagree with you on, for example, politics. Engaging in this can open you to new ideas that you might not had considered.

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  9. It is extremely important to take a communications class, and I would recommend that every one does so. Simply because, this course is one of those "real world" courses, meaning that one could use the things he learned in this class and apply them to real life. After reading the article, I must agree that communication is lacking in today's world, and I support the fact that aspiring doctor's are now being tested on social skills. I support this because the type of relationship a patient has with his/her doctor is important. For example, a woman would prefer an OBGYN that she feels comfortable with, compared to a doctor who does not try and get to know his/her patient. All in all, social skills are extremely important, and could be the determining factor in "making" or "breaking" you.

    -Julian Jones

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  10. I believe that it is crucial to take a communications class. Communication is the way that people interact within a society therefore it is extremely important to know how to communicate effectively. Based from the article, I am in total agreement with the fact med schools are beginning to test for social skills. As i previously stated, social skills and communication are vital skills to obtain in life

    -Sam Phillips

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  11. Communication is something essential to survival in not just the social aspect of the society, but also in the business world and in school. If you don't know the best ways to communicate effectively with other people, you will not necessarily fail in life but you will not get as far as you would have had you know those techniques only taught through a communications class.

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  12. PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO COMMUNICATE! It is good to take this class becuase it lets us know how healthy communication is for the human race.

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  13. I would have to agree with Julian in that Communication is a very "real world" course. For that reason, communication tends to be a little more enjoyable and a little easier to learn because it is very applicable to one's everyday life. Communication, however is very necessary and vital to a student's future. I have witnessed with many of my educated and intelligent family members that they are very "book" smart but lack in social skills. A communication class can help one break out of their introverted shell without changing their personality. There are many people who are naturally shy, timid, and quiet. However, basic communication and social skills are necessary to be successful in this world. Though cliche, it is very true that in order to be successful, it's not what you know but who you know, hence making networking and communication a very important skill to accomplish.

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