Communication Skills

Communication Skills Matter:

Since ancient times, society has valued people who can clearly communicate and express their ideas, opinions and feelings in a way that resonates with others. 

Communication skills are valued more than ever in this age of overflowing information and communication technologies all competing for the attention of family members, colleagues, consumers and the wider public. 

Communication skills help us to work effectively in teams, often with people from different cultures and continents working in different time zones. 

If we have good communication skills, we are more likely to be successful in the workplace, and keep our jobs; since complex communication involves intense human interaction, jobs involving these skills are less likely to be automated in the future. 

Employers agree that oral and written communication skills are among the top four skills and qualities they look for in new employees. Communication skills are necessary for fostering loyal relationships with customers, especially in the growing services sector.

Good communication skills are indispensable in today's globalized society. 

Deficiency in Communication Skills among School Graduates:

Today's education systems are facing many challenges in developing good communication skills. 

A recent report called Are They Really Ready to Work? found that US high school and university graduates are deficient in written communications skills. It's a similar picture around throughout the world. 

Employers say that oral and written communication skills are among the top four skills they seek in new employees, yet all high school and college graduates are lacking in these areas. 

The superintendent for the US Miami-Dade School system, Rudolph Crew, even reports that “kids don’t know how to shake your hand at graduation.”

The costs of school graduates failing to develop effective communication skills to individuals, families, businesses, communities, and wider society are so great that they are not possible to quanity. Yet, they are avoidable costs. 

Realizing Communication Skills as Educational Outcomes:

Communication skills can easily be built into a learning environment organized around how children learn and develop. This makes teaching easier and more effective, as the following examples illustrate: 

1. Relationship is the foundation for development - A supportive teacher-student relationship, one built on communication, nautrally develops the child's oral and written communication skills, since the child's self-confidence and freedom to express ideas grows. 
2. The child learns in an integrated way - A teacher who understands that children learn in integrated ways can relate learning to the child's environment, context and surroundings. This engages the child and makes the subject matter relevant, and enhances the child's communcation skills. 
3. Children are natural learners - A teacher who understands that children are natural learners can encourage a love of learning, and provide rich opportunites for the child to express his ideas, and read and write.  
4. Each child learns in his her own way - A teacher who understands that children learn differently can foster the learning process that works best for each child. This naturally leads to improved oral and written communication skills. 

The benefits of an education that works - of a learning environment based on how children learn and develop - for realizing communication skills as educational outomes are self-evident.