The Importance of Effective Communication

Running head: BUSINESS COMMMUNICATION
Business Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1BUSINESS COMMMUNICATION
The importance of effective communication in human life can never be overstated. A
person who feels confident while speaking, and can assert his views as and when required, can
lead a successful life, both in the personal as well as the professional domain. Hence, I felt that it
has become extremely important to analyse my communication skills and identify any
communication issues, if present me, that I need to work on (Evans et al., 2017). I have realized
that effective communication skills will not only help me later in my professional life, right from
getting selected in an interview to leading and managing my team at workplace, but will also
help me interact effectively with my professor, friends and family members. Considering the
importance of analysing my communication skills, I undertook communication self-assessment
test with the help of five distinct diagnostic tests, the results and findings of which have been
discussed below, along with the action plans that I need to follow in order to overcome the
identified communication issues (Leathers & Eaves, 2015).
The first communication diagnostic tool used by me is the Talkaholic Scale
Communication Questionnaire. This specific questionnaire helps to understand if the person
taking the test is a Talkaholic or not. Although the word is often used in a derogatory way, it
should be remembered that a positive result in this test does imply that the individual is an
effective communicator. The whole idea of the test is to determine if the speaker is able to
communicate effectively in presence of others or not, and being a Talkaholic is quite different
from being talkative. A Talkaholic neither uses offensive words, nor does he talk too much, but
knows how to express his views and ask questions, as and when he requires to do. Accordingly,
on undertaking the test, I found out that I scored 27, which implies I am moderately talkaholic.
The result suggested that I communicate with people as and when required, and i do not have the
tendency to engage myself in conversations, which can be avoided by me. I am not verbal that

2BUSINESS COMMMUNICATION
way, and prefer to remain quiet, unless the situation arises which demands me to express and
exchange my views. The result also suggested that I am not capable of dominating conversations,
and my apathy towards initiating conversations can also be seen as a symptom of my behavioural
shyness.
The second test that I undertook is called Listening Diagnostic Pre-test, which intends to
evaluate the listening skills of the speaker. As it is a known fact, listening is one of the most
important features characterizing the communication style of a good communicator. A person
should not merely talk but necessarily be ready to embrace the perspectives of other people.
Accordingly, after taking the test, I found out that I scored 75 which shows that I am not a bad
listener at all, even if I am not an effective listener. I usually prefer to avoid boring speech
sessions, which is quite normal for anyone. However, the results of the questionnaire clearly
suggested that I put efforts to appreciate the speech and perspectives of the speaker even if he
does not express views and opinions I subscribe to. Even though I may not be able to appreciate
the perspectives expressed by the speaker, I never tend to get up and neither levae the
conversation, nor do I feel bored in a remarkable way. In other words, I do possess effective
listening skills not merely because I remain present at the time of the speech even if I do not like
it, but essentially because I actively listen to and engage myself in the conversation.
Although verbal communication receives most of the attention, non-verbal
communication is no less important to be considered. The way a person interacts, the gestures he
uses and the body movements of him, can say much about his communication approach and
style. In order to evaluate my non-verbal communication skills, I undertook the Non-verbal
Immediacy Scale Self Report. As per the findings of the report, my non-verbal communication
skills are perfect. I always maintain a relaxed position, never frown or exhibit any negative facial

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expression, that can be considered to be offensive. This test, just like the above two reports,
confirmed that I have no communication issue in this field as well, as far as my body gestures,
facial expressions, eye contact, postures and voice tone are concerned.
It is not sufficient to be able to communicate with people and listen to them, but it is
equally important to strike effective and free conversation with the people coming from foreign
locations or belonging to different cultural groups. Accordingly, in order to examine my inter-
cultural communication skills, I undertook the Personal Report on Intercultural
Communication Apprehension (PRICA) that helps in showing the degree of intercultural
competence of the student in the communication process. This is the test where I identified my
first communication issue, as the findings suggested that I am not competent enough to engage in
conversations that involve speakers from different cultural backgrounds of the society.
Accordingly, the test showed that I feel nervous and tend to get anxious when I engage in
conversation with people of distinct cultural backgrounds. The inability to understand a new
language, along with lack of comprehension of understanding the cultural norms and ideological
beliefs of the person from an alien culture, creates anxiety in me, and my thought often gets
jumbled up within, while I try to express my opinions before the person. My low score of 42
suggested that I may have problems in working in a diverse workplace owing to cross-cultural
communication problems.
I also undertook the Public Speaking Anxiety Test to understand if I get anxious at the
time of delivering communication or not, and I scored 98, suggesting I have speech anxiety
issue. After undertaking the test, I discovered that I experience intense fear and communication
apprehension while or prior to delivering a presentation, and also often experience stage fright.