Communication Skills: Building a Successful Career Report

This report delves into the significance of effective communication skills for career advancement, particularly for graduates entering the professional world. It emphasizes communication as a fundamental aspect of career building, exploring the impact of emotional intelligence (EQ) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) on graduates' success. The paper defines EQ as the ability to recognize and manage emotions, highlighting its role in critical thinking, self-awareness, motivation, and interpersonal skills. Similarly, it explains NLP as a tool for understanding and modifying communication patterns to achieve specific goals. The report also reflects on the author's personal development in communication, detailing the importance of interpersonal skills, active listening, non-verbal cues, and confidence. The paper concludes with peer reviews that assess the report's strengths and weaknesses, providing feedback on employability competencies such as commercial awareness, communication, and analytical skills.

Running head- Effective Communication Skills
Effective Communication Skills

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Effective Communication Skills
Introduction
This paper is focused on the importance of communication in order to develop or build a career.
It has been observed that communication is one of the most significant parts of building career.
Communication in a simple word can be defined as the exchange of information between two or
more than two parties. Communication is a process in which one party or person sends
information whereas the second party or person receives the information. It is a way of
expressing emotions, ideas, belief, and many more things. Communication is essential in every
aspect of life either in professional or personal (Ruesch et al., 2017). In the same way for a
graduate, it is very important to have good communication skills. Mostly the graduates are
expected to enter into the corporate world after completing their graduation. Therefore, they
must have excellent communication skills because the employers always prefer such employees
who have good communication skills.
Advancement in technology has impacted the way of doing the business and hence with the
advancement in technology the expectations of employers from their employee increase. There is
a significant impact of technological advancements such as Emotional Intelligence and Neuro-
Linguistic Programming on the career of graduates (Atkinson et al., 2016). The technological
advancement can make a difference to graduates succeeding within their career. Thus, the
purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which Emotional Intelligence can make a
difference to graduates succeeding in their career.

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Emotional Intelligence and its Impact
Emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to recognize and control one’s own emotion.
It also makes an individual able to identify the emotion of others and manage them. Emotional
intelligence helps of the people to be more aware of the surrounding environment and work
accordingly. Emotional intelligence makes an individual able to solve the problem as well as
able to manage the emotions of others (Qualter et al., 2017). It has also been observed that
emotional intelligence makes people more successful in their career. Emotional intelligence is a
critical skill for employees as it helps the employees to think critically about the matter of
concern.
Therefore, it can be said that emotional intelligence is very significant for the graduates in order
to shape their career or to succeed within their career. Emotional intelligence has a long-term
positive impact on graduates. Nowadays, emotional intelligence has become crucial for career
success. With the help of emotional intelligence, the graduates can identify the best career for
themselves along with the way to achieve that career and become successful one in that career
(Joseph et al., 2015). Emotional intelligence allows the students to think from different
perspectives on an identified career in order to analyze the potential to succeed in that career.
Emotional intelligence helps the graduates to critically think about their identified careers and
evaluate them to select the best one. One of the best things about emotional intelligence is that it
increases self-awareness. Thus, the graduates can significantly identify their strengths and
weaknesses. As the strengths can be identified, the graduates can also develop the strategy to
maximize the strengths. Apart from this, the graduates can also develop strategies to improve
their weaknesses. Hence, they would be more productive in their career which will help them to
succeed.

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Emotional intelligence also increases the level of motivation. The people with high emotional
intelligence are self-motivated. The motivation for such people does not drive by job or money
instead they are fuelled by an inner ambition which is resilient to failure or disappointment (Urch
Druskat et al., 2017). Emotionally intelligent people do not just give up, but they find a way to
struggle successfully.
Emotional intelligence also makes people able to manage people effectively. Emotionally
intelligent people due to mastery of emotions get along well with the people. They can easily
develop trust and rapport with their colleague. It is one of the most significant skills for the
graduates to make rapport with their colleague to be successful in their career. Therefore, it can
be said that up to a great extent emotional intelligence can make a difference to graduates
succeeding within their career.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming and its Impact
NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming is a combination of skills which uncover the types of
communication which matters most. It is also considered as an approach to personal
development, psychotherapy, as well as communication. It was created by John Grinder and
Richard Bandler in California, United States of America. According to them, there is a
connection between the behavioral pattern of individual learned through experience and
neurological processes as well as language (Lee, 2016). They also stated that these could be
changed in order to achieve specific goals in life. It can also play a significant role in career
development or to make a successful career.
Neuro-linguistic programming helps in understanding the thing in depth which can influence the
beliefs, behavior, as well as the thought of the people. With the help of neuro-linguistic

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programming, the individuals can alter their negative patterns of behavior which help in building
rapport with the colleagues. It significantly helps in improving the ability to communicate
effectively with the management, colleagues and other people. It is very much similar to
emotional intelligence. Thus, graduates can significantly improve their interpersonal
communication skills, people skills, learning experience, etc. Thus, a graduate can effectively
develop such skills which are necessary to achieve the career goals (Potter, 2018). Therefore, it
can be said that neuro-linguistic programming can also significantly make a difference to
graduates succeeding in their career.
Improvement in communication so far
The activities from the given module have helped me a lot to improve my communication skills.
Initially, I was not focused on improving my communication skills. I was aware of the need for
communication skills. But I was not aware that how much effective communication is necessary
in order to build a career. First of all, the thing which I learned in the given module is the
importance of effective communication skills in day to day life. I learned that effective
communication skills are not only necessary in professional life, but it is also necessary for the
personal life. Effective communication skills are equally important in personal as well as
professional life (Austin and Pinkleton, 2015). Without effective communication skills, it is very
tough to succeed in professional life. Effective communication skills provide a competitive edge
to the individual to be selected by the employer. In the same way, effective communication skills
help in developing a healthy relationship in personal life. Thus, the given module with the help
of activities taught me the importance of effective communication in our life (personal life as
well as professional life).

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After knowing the importance of communication our personal as well as professional life, I
started learning the skills of effective communication. Interpersonal communication is highly
required in both personal and professional life. Without interpersonal communication skills, an
individual cannot perform either in the personal life or professional life. So, I focused on
improving my interpersonal communication skills. The activities of the given module help me to
collaborate and cooperate with the colleagues (Fan et al., 2015). It is very significant to
cooperate and collaborate with the colleagues or the members of a team in order to achieve the
goals and objectives. It helps in focus on a common goal and all the members of the team focus
on the same goals to achieve that within the given time frame. Hence, if there is effective
communication in a team and the team members are cooperative and collaborative, the team will
perform better. I came to know that collaboration and cooperation among the team members
cannot be possible without compromising several things. So, I also learned that in order to keep
the focus on the common goal and achieve that it is necessary to give enough space to each
member of the team to have a say. The opinion of each and every individual is important to
achieve the common goal.
I learned the importance of active listening. The activities of the given module helped me to
know the importance of active listening. Without active listening, the process of communication
cannot be effective. Active listening is one of the most important components of effective
communication. In order to make communication effective, active listening is very significant. I
learned the skills of active listening.
In order to listen actively, it is necessary to pay attention to the speaker. The speaker should be
allowed to think and speak. He or she should be given enough time and opportunities to keep his
or her point of view. The listener should also pay attention to the body language of the speaker.

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Sometimes, it has been observed that one single word reflect different meanings and without
paying attention to the body language right meaning of the word cannot be decoded. Therefore,
paying attention to the body language of the speaker is also significant.
It also teaches me the importance of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication
such as body language, gesture, shaking hands, hugging, patting the back, pushing, facial
expression, as well as eye contacts, are very significant, and the sender or the receiver of the
information should focus on these in order to make the communication effective (Greenaway et
al., 2015). So, I also focus on these types of non-verbal communication while communicating
with anyone. And it has helped me a lot to get the right message delivered by the sender of the
information.
I have also learned that confidence is very important for effective communication. Confidence
helps in expressing the ideas or thoughts clearly and concisely. Confidence shows that the
speaker believes in what he or she says and thus the listeners follow through. I also learned that
making eye contact while communicating with anyone shows the level of confidence. So, I also
make proper eye contact in order to show confidence while communicating.

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Peer Review: Student 1
You have rightly pointed out the employability competencies which are relevant to the career of
choice. You have also demonstrated knowledge about the employability competencies such as
commercial awareness, communication, and creativity. It is very important to have commercial
knowledge in order to enter into the corporate world because without having proper commercial
knowledge, the graduates cannot serve the organization effectively. For graduates, it is utmost
important to know before the interview the nature of business of the organization. You have also
provided statistics to support your argument which makes your response impressive and credible.
The definition of communication and other employability competencies provided by you are
simple and easy to understand. The references to support some of the arguments are also making
your response impressive.
One thing which I found less impressive about your response is the limited employability
competencies. You have provided only three employability competencies. However, these are
very significant employability competencies although there are some other competencies which
are also essential to get employment in the corporate world. You should have included these
employability competencies as well; teamwork, problem-solving, self-management and time
management, planning and organizing, etc. These are also very significant competencies without
which it is very tough to get employment. You also need to explain your employability
competencies.

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Peer review: Student 2
The way you have shown the employability competencies is very effective and focuses on the
core competencies of employability. You have provided core competencies of employability
required in some of the organizations which are quite impressive. You have rightly pointed out
the importance of verbal as well as non-verbal communication skills which are required in the
property investment sector. Another thing which I also found impressive is your personal opinion
about your employability competencies. You have rightly stated about the level of skills you
have command over. You had effectively define communication and pointed out its importance
in the business world. Apart from this, you have also defined analytical skills and how it is
important for the graduates to be successful in the business world. Leadership skill is one of the
most important skills which a graduate should have. It helps in getting employment and get
success in the career.
Apart from these, there are some other skills which are similarly important to getting
employment and you should have discussed in briefs such as innovation and creativity.
Innovation and creativity are very important for graduates considering the level of competition in
the business world. Without innovation and creativity, it is very tough to get employment. It is
also very important for the organization considering the cut-throat competition in the market.
You need to include teamwork skill, problem-solving skills, etc.

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References
Ruesch, J., Bateson, G., Pinsker, E. C., & Combs, G. (2017). Communication: The social matrix
of psychiatry. Routledge.
Atkinson, G., Smith, B., & Singh, D. K. (2016). Emotional Intelligence: What is Your EQ?.
Qualter, P., Gardner, K. J., Pope, D. J., Hutchinson, J. M., & Whiteley, H. E. (2017).
Corrigendum to "Ability emotional intelligence, trait emotional intelligence, and academic
success in British secondary schools: A 5-year longitudinal study”[Learning and Individual
Differences 22 (2012) 83–91]. Learning and Individual Differences, 58, 97-99.
Joseph, D. L., Jin, J., Newman, D. A., & O'boyle, E. H. (2015). Why does self-reported
emotional intelligence predict job performance? A meta-analytic investigation of mixed EI.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 298.
Urch Druskat, V., Wolff, S. B., Messer, T. E., Stubbs Koman, E., & Batista-Foguet, J. M. (2017,
October). TEAM EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: LINKING TEAM SOCIAL AND
EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENT TO TEAM EFFECTIVENESS. In DIEM: Dubrovnik
International Economic Meeting (Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 433-454). Sveučilište u Dubrovniku.
Lee, J. (2016). Neuro-linguistic programming.
Potter, D. (2018). Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Change Leaders: The Butterfly Effect.
Routledge.
Austin, E. W., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2015). Strategic public relations management: Planning and
managing effective communication campaigns. Routledge.

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Fan, S. P., Liberman, Z., Keysar, B., & Kinzler, K. D. (2015). The exposure advantage: Early
exposure to a multilingual environment promotes effective communication — Psychological
Science, 26(7), 1090-1097.
Greenaway, K. H., Wright, R. G., Willingham, J., Reynolds, K. J., & Haslam, S. A. (2015).
Shared identity is key to effective communication — personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
41(2), 171-182.