Reflection on Communication

Running head: REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
Reflection on Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note:

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REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
The term communication is derived from the Latin word ‘communicare’, which
means ‘to share’(Ellis & Beattie, 2017). This is the essence of communication. We, as a
member of human society, need to share our thoughts, emotions and opinions to other fellow
members, in order to perform and bond well as a community. Effective communication is of
prime importance to achieve a common purpose. It is essential to develop relationship among
individuals, irrespective of age, gender and social status. Hence, reciprocation among the
fellow members is a necessary mechanism in a society (Adler, Rodman & Du Pré, 2016).
Furthermore, for a person to grow and enhance his or her social abilities, communication
plays a vital role in both his/her personal and professional life. In this paper, we will examine
the role and importance of communication with regard to personal experience in personal and
professional sphere of life.
Communication can be verbal and non-verbal. Within a community, it may take the
form of employing mutually understood semiotic usage, sign and symbols (Mehrabian,
2017). Primarily, language serves as the key instrument of communication. However, beyond
a certain demographic region or a community, non-verbal communication is what enables the
fellow members to convey messages to each other. Human beings are unique for their use of
abstract language in an extensive range (Danziger, 2013).
I personally feel that without the help of communication, our lives will be way more
difficult. Since infancy, we are dependent on other people around us. When a child is born, he
or she is unable to use any language to convey his/her difficulties or needs to others.
However, the mother instinctively can reciprocate to the child. Upon hearing a child cry, she
can understand whether he/she needs feeding or comfort. As the child grows, he/she is taught
to communicate to other members of the family and society through their mother tongue.
Apart from language, children are taught social customs and practices to address or to

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REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
reciprocate with elders and their peers. These are also essential elements of communication
(Castells, 2013). When I was a child, my mother made me understand that I should talk to my
elders with humility and respect. Also, I was aware that I must be nice to my friends and
cousins. As a child, I grew up in a large family abundant with love and compassion. This has
helped me to communicate to larger groups of people effectively. My parents looked after our
behaviour so that we never use any ill manner or disrespectful words. As an adult, now I feel
that this has made me an approachable person, where people find it easy to talk to me. The
training, starting at one’s childhood, influences the personality of a person. On the other
hand, children from a broken home or a disturbed surrounding have a great impact on them
psychologically (Habermas, 2015). They may grow up to be a bitter person in such cases.
With the said understanding of behaviour and manner from our parents and family,
we enter the social arena as individuals. School is the first social hurdle of our lives to
overcome with our communication skills. Often it is seen that the shy and introvert kids in the
class face difficulty to reciprocate to the rest of the class, or even with the teacher. This
usually hampers their participation and development. They fail to convey their difficulties to
the teachers. Also, they are often bullied by their peers but cannot stand up for themselves
(Akhmetshin et al., 2017). I, on the other hand, was very inquisitive and responsive child.
And thankfully, we had a teacher in our middle school who was very encouraging and
attentive to the students. I used to have a lot of questions regarding everything I saw around
me. She always had the patience to listen to me and answer my questions as much as
possible. It motivated me to pursue my education with passion. This is one example of
effective communication in one’s childhood that impacts the psychological development and
helps shape his/her personality.
The elements of communication, as has been mentioned earlier in the essay,
incorporate certain styles and manners, other than mere language. They comprises the