Here is the good news: communication is a skill that can improve with practice. Therefore, regardless of your perceived skill level, you can evolve into a great communicator.
So what is a great communicator? Author Kory Floyd suggests that a competent communicator is one who communicates "in ways that are effective and appropriate in a given situation" (25). He offers that competent communicators have five characteristics in common. Review each of the characteristics and their respective descriptions below.
Based on the information above, answer the questions below.
By pausing and reflecting on your strongest and weakest characteristics, you're one step closer to becoming a competent communicator. Such reflection is key to enhancing your self-awareness. All of the other characteristics are important, but we will we will focus our attention on self-awareness, self-monitoring, and cognitive complexity. After all, it is quite difficult to improve on the other characteristics if you are not aware of your current conversational behaviors and how they impact other people. So, let's first take a look at verbal and non-verbal communication.
To proceed to the next topic, click the "Verbal/Non-Verbal Communication " tab above.
Gamble, Teri K. and Michael W. Gamble. Interpersonal Communication: Building Connections Together. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Inc., 2014. Print.
Gamble, Teri K. and Michael W. Gamble. Communication Works. 10th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.
Floyd, Kory. Interpersonal Communication. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw Hill Education, 2017. Print.