Communication Skills and Trends

This assignment delves into the dynamic field of communication skills. It examines how communication skills are evolving in response to current trends, highlighting the significance of adaptability in a rapidly changing world. The analysis encompasses diverse areas influenced by communication, such as business, healthcare, and education. Students are expected to research recent advancements, analyze their impact, and propose strategies for effectively navigating the future of communication.

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

The communication skills are a significant aspect that has a great impact on an
individual’s personality. There can be many strong areas related to communication within a
person, while on other hand there may be some points where communication is little weak
(Allen, Hunter & Donohue, 2009). The present report is based on self reflection where the
major aim is to deeply analyse the communication skills. This analysis is based on some
diagnostic tools which will aid in recognising the areas of strength and weakness in
communication. Afterwards, the literature review will address key issues in communication
which has been identified through diagnosis. On this basis, the last section of report will
contain an action plan which will help in making improvements in communication within a
structured time period (Bodie, 2010).
For the purpose of identifying the communication skill in myself, I have taken help of
five different diagnostic tools. As per that, the first tool is self observing questionnaire which
will aid in recognising self competence in communication in different situations. The
questionnaire contains several questions which can help in finding out different aspects that
have an impact on communication (Bylund & et.al., 2017). Similarly, another tool used for
the same purpose was a personal report of communication anxiety which will help in
measuring the level of fear or anxiety that is confronted while having a communication with
another person or group of individuals. Thus, this report will aid in recognising the level of
comfort or discomfort that is faced while interacting with others. Moving forward, next
diagnostic tool was the report on communication in difficult situations. It is evident that in
difficult situations, stress and uncertainties is the major thing that makes it complex to tackle
situation and communicate properly (Christensen, 2014). Thus, the report will identify the
level of various feelings at the time of difficult situations. The fourth diagnostic tool was
readiness to listen which will recognise the willingness towards listening which is an
essential feature of good communication. The final tool was acceptance towards
disagreement which is helpful in getting information about acceptance of people towards
ideas that are conflicting with one’s strong belief (Davis, 2014).
The diagnostic tools applied to analyse various areas of communication were quite
effective in generating desired results. The first tool of questionnaire helped me in identifying
my basic communication style. Besides this, the personal report made to analyse the
communication anxiety stated that I am little weak at making communication among public
who are not personally known to me (DeBenedectis & et.al., 2017). On other hand I am very
comfortable in making communication with my friends or family members where interaction

is direct and one-to-one. Thus, the major issue was related to making interaction with large
number of people at one time. Apart from this, as per the scores generated from the
diagnostic tool application of personal report to identify communication anxiety, I attained 60
marks which can be categorised under fair level of communication power (Duran & et.al.,
2017). Similarly, on the account of making communication in difficult situations, I scored 50
marks which is low and states that I am less comfortable in establishing communication at the
time of difficult situations. I feel very stressed and nervous in such trouble situations which
become a major barrier in my communication skill.
The fourth tool applied to assess the listening skill; I scored 70 marks which show my
willingness towards listening which falls under a moderate level of communication
(Guetterman & et.al., 2017). On other hand, the last tool applied for acceptance against
disagreement, I scored 120 marks. This is a good level as per the scale of analysis and states
that I am inclined to evade conflicts and disagreement; therefore I solve the disputes and
various issues tactfully. The assessment done by applying various diagnostic tools revealed
effective results showing me my present status regarding the level of communication (Hargie,
2011).
As per the generated results, the major requirements regarding issues in
communication is related with communication in difficult situations and communication
apprehension which is faced while addressing a group of people. Apart from this, the other
areas of communication like readiness to listen and acceptance to disagreement are on
moderate level which is required to be maintained and improved further so as to become less
prone to attain a lower level in future (Hargie, 2011). I feel stressed and nervous at the time
of difficult situations because of which interacting with others at that time becomes quite
difficult for me. On other hand, the difficulty felt at the time of having interaction with large
group of people is also a major issue that needs to be addressed for making improvements. In
addition to this, for the acceptance to disagreement, I have a view that in corporate world
disagreements are very common which is a healthy sign of progress. Without disagreements,
various aspects of a matter cannot be assessed from different views. Thus, it helps in
improving the decision making process (Kim & Lee, 2014).
According to recent examples, I have faced some issues while making communication
with large group of people. The first situation was faced at professional level in a production
company. I was at the position of Production manager where the department’s performance

was not up to the mark. Following to this, the senior manager called me to meet him
personally for explaining the reason for such underperformance of the department. This was a
very complex situation for me where I was feeling a lot of stress and nervousness. I was
expected to explain the current status and reasons of underperformance of the team. In this
situation, I was unable to explain the fair reasons in proper manner and to concentrate over
the important points. Besides this, I was unable to make keep my points and explanations in
the expected manner because of which the manager was not clear about my reasons for such
underperformance.
Another example of such communication issue was faced in the same organisation at
the time of addressing the entire department while giving a presentation. The topic of
presentation was new for me and it was essential to give related information about it to the
employees. In this condition, I was unable to make clear all the points and queries of
colleagues in an appropriate manner. Besides this, addressing large number of people was
like a challenge for me as I forgot to address some major points for discussion. Apart from
this, the presentation delivery was required to be very accurate and comprehensive which can
be understood by the audience in a good manner. Therefore, this condition added an
additional pressure on me which led to difficulty in concentrating over significant points for
discussion.
Thus, the above examples show my major weaknesses in the field of communication
that are required to be addressed and improved as soon as possible. By making improvements
within these issues will definitely help in making an overall development in my personality
and communication aspects (Liu & et.al., 2017). Apart from this, other aspects of
communication areas are at moderate level and making little reforms in that will aid in
getting things over right position and in better way.
The communication skills are not the same within each and every person because of
which the personality and way of interacting differs. According to Mandeville, Ho & Valdez,
(2017), there are various areas of communication which are essential to be addressed for the
purpose of overall development in the communication skill inventory. There are some issues
related to communication which are essential to be improved. These issues may be
communication apprehension (CA) which can be referred as a fear that can be present within
an individual as a result of different situations which are difficult and stressful. Besides this,

they may have an anxiety while having an interaction with the group of people because of
which the effective way of communication cannot be established (McAllum, 2017).
As per Neuliep, (2017), the individual who has the issue of CA generally try to avoid
making interaction with large number of people and feel nervous while keeping their opinion
in front of them. This behaviour may have a negative influence on the image and personality
of a person over others. These fear and negative behaviour are the results of a number of
factors ranging from character, types of audience and current situation. Some individuals are
more concerned about their image and reputation among others because of which they
become anxious at the time of interaction with group of people. Thus, this type of
anxiousness presents the fear among different individuals as a result of their nature or traits.
Norbury, (2014) states that there are several number of people who become more conscious
and nervous as a result of audience whom they are addressing. For instance, the audience of a
speaker may comprise of some reputed personalities and dignitaries. Therefore, addressing
such audience may be a tough task for some persons resulting into improper establishment of
communication. Similarly, there are some other persons as well who become anxious as a
result of situation which may not be much favourable for him/ her. These situations may
include some interviews, one to one interaction with seniors on some sensitive matters etc.
(Priem & Solomon, 2009).
According to Schulze & et.al., (2017), the ability to interact and address public and
large group of people is an essential requirement which must be present within a person at
professional level. This capability help in acquiring a good position at corporate level as it
demonstrates the power and efficiency to make communication better and have good links
with people. Apart from this, various researches state that the role of fluent communication
within organisations is a pre requisite which must be entertained by an individual. There are
some barriers in establishing effective communication among people at different levels which
must be overcome by a person so as to get desired results in a positive way (Shah & et.al.,
2017). Therefore, it is essential for an individual to do away with various anxiety and stress
that is confronted in different situations. By making improvements in communication skills, a
person can evidence long term results in professional career.
Apart from this, Wright & et.al., (2013) stress on being a good listener to become a
good speaker as without knowing others’ views and their point of views, a person may not
communicate in meaningful manner. The theoretical frameworks and models also identify

listening as an essential element for having a better communication and presenting effective
views on a particular subject matter. Besides this, being a good listener can help in getting
knowledge over some essential topics about which an individual may not have required
information (Shannon, 2012). Thus, being a good listener has some advantages which must
not be skipped by an individual for attaining an overall development of communication skills.
According to Madlock, (2012), for improvements in the communication skills, a person must
have to develop their expressiveness, preciseness and clear meaning of their views. By
improving these characteristics, a considerable impact on listeners can be made. If a manager
has a good communication power within an organisational setting, the teams or employees
will have a good level of understanding and better style of executing the tasks.
In the views of Rajasekar, (2014), disagreement in the views is also an inevitable part
of business environment where meetings and discussions use to take place. In such
discussions, there can be disagreements among various people who are attending the meeting.
These disagreements have a positive influence as well because it gives an opportunity to
assess a specific task from various points of views. Apart from this, it also helps in taking a
good decision by eliminating different flaws in the matter. But in such disagreements, a
person must have the ability to accept it and keep their opinions in an effective way which
can aid in impacting others way of thinking as well (Floyd & et.al., 2013). Apart from this,
the non verbal communication within an organisational setting has also a considerable
significance and can be an additional essence in the communication power. By simply
nodding in proper way or showing positive signals by smiling can also have a good
impression on others. As per Niemann-Struweg, (2014) the verbal communication has a
prominent significance in the negotiations. Through verbal communication at the time of
negotiations, the person may express their views and positive or negative attitude towards
different points.
The above literature review entails a number of features that are related to
communication skill at the level of organisational setting. As per this, there are some essential
features that must be improved upon for establishing a better way of communication (Stowe
& et.al., 2012). Besides this, the barriers related to such skills must be improved upon so that
at corporate level, impression over others can be made in positive way.
As per the above assessment done to identify areas in which improvement is required
to establish better communication, an action plan has been made which will help in getting

improvements in the identified issues. I confront major issues in addressing a large group of
people while giving presentations or while imparting knowledge about a particular topic. For
this process, the first step would be to maintain a daily sheet for keeping track of my progress
in the learning (Coldwell, Joosub & Papageorgiou, 2012). After this, I would make a proper
plan of steps that could be taken for making improvements. This process would start by
having a mentor who can give guidance related to learning process. As per this, I told about
my communication anxiety and fear while having communication in difficult situation to my
mentor. As per his experience in communication of more than 15 years, he framed a six week
training programme for me to eliminate issues (Stanimirovic, 2015).
As per this, I started reading books based on communication apprehension and
methods to tackle with them. As per this, I learned to make a forecast about various situations
which may occur so as to prepare myself for it. This will give me confidence to deal with that
specific condition. Besides this, I took part in a course related to making improvement in the
interpersonal communication. This helped me in eliminating the fear about various situations
so that I can keep my opinion among others in a better way and with confidence. I also
attended some seminars based upon eliminating fear while having public interaction. I
learned an effective way of speaking and methods to present the opinions among public so as
to impact their minds (Caruana & Ploner, 2012). In addition to this, I started reading books
related to my field of profession which can help in enhancing my knowledge and learning to
current aspects. This helped me in getting the ideas that can help in being calm and confident
in adverse situations. The mentoring and guidance also helped me in increasing the
confidence so that I may not have anxiousness while confronting any difficult situation
(Porter & Tanner, 2012).
S
.
N
o
Activity / Duration
Wee
k 1
to 3
Wee
k 3
to 4
Wee
k 4-
5
Wee
k 6
to 8
Wee
k 9
to 15
Wee
k 16
to 20
Wee
k 21
&22
Wee
k
21to
23
Week
23
and
24
1 Analysis of the
current skills
2 Determining issues
3 Searching and
choosing a mentor
4 Reading books to
attain knowledge
5 Joining
interpersonal

communication
class
6
Joining training for
enhancing
confidence for
public speaking
7
Attending
seminars on public
speaking
8
Attaining
knowledge through
books to handle
difficult situations
1
0
Getting guidance
from mentor for
improvements on
dealing situations
1
1
Making changes as
per the feedback
sheet
The above essay has made a self analysis of communication skills according to which
major issues in the area of communication apprehension and communicating in difficult
situations are identified as prominent issues. The review of literature has been done to
identify the ways that are ideal for dealing with communication barriers (Floyd & et.al.,
2013). From the present study, I identified that communication is major strength in all phases
of professional area which must be improved. Similarly, the action plan has been developed
under the supervision of a mentor to make improvements in the present status of
communication skill.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Allen, M., Hunter, J. E., & Donohue, W. A. (2009). Meta‐analysis of self‐report data on the
effectiveness of public speaking anxiety treatment techniques. Communication
Education, 38(1), 54-76.
Bodie, G. D. (2010). A racing heart, rattling knees, and ruminative thoughts: Defining,
explaining, and treating public speaking anxiety. Communication Education, 59(1), 70-105.
Bylund, C. L. & et.al., (2017). Implementing and tailoring a western-developed
communication skills training program for graduate medical trainees in Qatar. International
journal of medical education, 8, 16.
Caruana, V., & Ploner, J. (2012). A critical review of contemporary practice and educational
research in internationalisation within the business education subject communities.
Christensen, M. (2014). Communication as a strategic tool in change processes. International
journal of business communication, 51(4), 359-385.
Coldwell, D. A. L., Joosub, T., & Papageorgiou, E. (2012). Responsible leadership in
organizational crises: An analysis of the effects of public perceptions of selected SA business
organizations’ reputations. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(2), 133-144.
Davis, A. (2014). Core Communication Competencies in.
DeBenedectis, C. M. & et.al., (2017). Coming out of the dark: a curriculum for teaching and
evaluating radiology residents’ communication skills through simulation. Journal of the
American College of Radiology, 14(1), 87-91.
Duran, R. A. & et.al., (2017). Exploratory Study About the Implementation of the
Competency-Based Approach in Graduate Programs From Two Panamanian
Universities. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 16(3), 191-208.
Floyd, L. A. & et.al., (2013). Ethical outcomes and business ethics: Toward improving
business ethics education. Journal of business ethics, 117(4), 753-776.
Guetterman, T. C. & et.al., (2017). Initial construct validity evidence of a virtual human
application for competency assessment in breaking the bad news to a cancer patient.
Advances in medical education and practice, 8, 505.

Hargie, O. (2011). Skilled interpersonal communication 5th ed.
Hargie, O. (2011). Skilled interpersonal interaction: Research, theory, and practice.
Kim, S. H., & Lee, M. A. (2014). Effects of emotional labor and communication competence
on turnover intention in nurses. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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Liu, Y. & et.al., (2017). Communication skills training: Adapting to the trends and moving
forward. BioScience Trends, 11(2), 142-147.
Madlock, P. E. (2012). The influence of power distance and communication on Mexican
workers. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 49(2), 169-184.
Mandeville, D. S., Ho, T. K., & Valdez, L. A. V. L. A. (2017). The Effect Of Problem-Based
Learning On Undergraduate Oral Communication Competency. Journal of College Teaching
& Learning (TLC), 14(1), 1-10.
McAllum, K. (2017). Language (in) competency, communication strategies, and the
development of an international academic teacher identity: becoming an audible
minority. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(4), 763-776.
Neuliep, J. W. (2017). Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage
Publications.
Niemann-Struweg, I. (2014). An integrated communication implementation model for the
post-2000 business environment. Public Relations Review, 40(2), 184-192.
Norbury, C. F. (2014). Practitioner review: Social (pragmatic) communication disorder
conceptualization, evidence, and clinical implications. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 55(3), 204-216.
Porter, L., & Tanner, S. (2012). Assessing business excellence. Routledge.
Priem, J. S., & Solomon, D. H. (2009). Comforting apprehensive communicators: The effects
of reappraisal and distraction on cortisol levels among students in a public speaking
class. Communication Quarterly, 57(3), 259-281.
Rajasekar, J. (2014). Factors affecting effective strategy implementation in a service industry:
A study of electricity distribution companies in the Sultanate of Oman. International Journal
of Business and Social Science, 5(9).

Schulze, J. & et.al., (2017). The knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required
for face-to-face versus computer-mediated communication: Similar or distinct
constructs?. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32(3), 283-300.
Shah, D. V. & et.al., (2017). Civic Norms and Communication Competence. The Oxford
Handbook of Political Communication, 467.
Shannon, D. (2012). Effective physician-to-physician communication: An essential
ingredient for care coordination. PE J, 16-21.
Stanimirovic, D. (2015). A framework for information and communication technology
induced transformation of the healthcare business model in Slovenia. Journal of Global
Information Technology Management, 18(1), 29-47.
Stowe, K. & et.al., (2012). Are Students Prepared to Present?: An Analysis of Presentation
Skills in Business Schools. Journal of the Academy of Business Education, 13.
Wright, K. B. & et.al., (2013). Communication competence, social support, and depression
among college students: a model of Facebook and face-to-face support network influence.
Journal of Health Communication, 18(1), 41-57.