FY026: Reflective Essay on Communication Skills and Development

This essay, written for the FY026 module 'Preparing for Success at University', explores the significance of communication skills in both academic and professional environments. It delves into various aspects of effective communication, including active listening, non-verbal interaction, friendliness, confidence, feedback, emotional intelligence, and clarity. The essay reflects on the student's learning style, highlighting the benefits of a hands-on, participatory approach and the importance of effective communication skills for team work and sharing opinions. Furthermore, it examines the student's behavior, performance, and experiences, both in education and employment, emphasizing how communication skills positively influence performance and facilitate problem-solving. The essay also identifies areas for improvement, such as time management, and discusses the importance of adaptability and continuous skill development in the face of technological advancements. The conclusion reinforces the critical role of effective communication in achieving success and building sustainable relationships.

FY026 Preparing for Success At
University: Knowledge and
Creativity

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Effectual communication skills...................................................................................................3
Reflection on behaviour, performance and experience of individual within education or
employees....................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
Communication skill refers to abilities that are utilised while giving as well as receiving
distinct sort of information. It is the act to convey meanings among entities via utilisation of
mutual understood symbols, semiotic rules and signs (Brown, Lambert and Harris, 2019). This
report will illustrate information in context of effectiveness of communication skills that have
critical role in both the aspects that is academic and professional. Furthermore, reflection will
also take into experience, behaviour and performance that are acquired in employment as well as
education. Communication skills will also be illustrated by taking into account the aspects that
will influence personal along with professional level.
Main Body
Effectual communication skills
The way to share information, thoughts, knowledge and ideas in an efficacious manner is
referred to as communication skill. This is demonstration and illustration of views via
communicator to receiver. It is two ways process that takes place among sender as well as
receiver, in this context communication skills are depicted beneath:
Active listening: This illustrates that listener needs to actively pay attention to speaker by
focusing on peculiar instance rather than thinking about something else. Individuals who are
good listeners are appreciated by colleagues as their opinions are listened and acted upon
depending upon their relevance. The leader must possess this so that while delivering liabilities
any kind of confusions do not takes place.
Non- verbal interaction: This aspect comprises of body language, tone of presentation,
gestures and words. It is a manner for properly delivering as well as understanding by receivers
for presentation of relevant eye contact, facial expressions, arm postures and many more. This
becomes crucial for each communicator that they involve their audiences within presentation as
it will enable them to acknowledge message in an appropriate manner. In context of professional
manner, manager must be effectual and make use of appropriate non-verbal communication so
that employees are attracted towards listening.
Friendliness: The message that is delivered via sender must be in terms of affirmative
attitude. In this case, receiver will have friendly behaviour towards what is being said and even
there will be hardly any hesitation to raise a query (Fulton, 2019). For an instance gestures like a

smile will create positive impact and relationship between two different entities will also be
productive. With reference to academic and professional contexts, the friendly environment must
be developed that will further lead to bring in innovations.
Confidence: Individuals tend to respond to messages and ideas that demonstrate
confidence. Different ways like eye contact, preparation before time, etc. illustrates the confident
of an individual while message is being delivered (Munden, 2018). In professional context,
employees or managers must formulate presentation before hand so that it can be prepared and
relevant eye contact needs to be developed to create an impact on listeners.
Feedback: The essential aspect is to take as well as give feedback to audiences for
improvisation of interaction levels, answer their queries, develop relevant understanding and
render solution related with project. With respect to academic along with professional context,
manager need to furnish and take feedback so that anticipations of both the entities can be clear
as well as desired standard of support can be attained. This leads to motivate individuals to work
towards attainment of identical goal.
Emotional Intelligence: This implies ability along with power for understanding
capabilities or emotions for managing their liabilities when message is being communicated with
audiences. This involves self & social awareness, management and many more concerns. It is
important that organisation possess relevant standards of emotional intelligence for
acknowledging emotions of employees so that stress levels can be declined with passage of time.
Clarity: The critical asset of effectual communication is that message is acknowledged by
audiences in clear manner so that there is no room for any kind of confusion among audiences. In
case if message lacks clarity then there will be pessimistic impact on the ways services are
delivered by them (Trinh, 2019). In case of professional concern, the ideas and thoughts need to
be very clear so that project can be completed within given duration of time as well as per
desired standards. The employees have to work in right direction otherwise it will be wastage of
resources for organisation for certain time frame.
I am kinaesthetic learner who believes in having hands-on and being participatory
learners by being an active participant so that best educational outcomes can be attained. This
style is developed in order to acquire more knowledge for an example, while working within the
team the point of view of others will be acknowledged and will provide different perspectives.
This can be attained by making use of effective communication skills. I opt for reading in detail

to enhance my knowledge as this develops confidence in sharing opinion with others.
Communication skills, team working, analytical skills acts as an asset for me but there are certain
disadvantages also like time management and decision making. These can be improvised by
making use of schedules and being spontaneous by analysing the entire situation.
Reflection on behaviour, performance and experience of individual within education or
employees
Efficacious interactive skills will enable to improvise knowledge related with ways in
which ideas can be presented in appropriate manner. This enables to build up confidence while
sharing my view point with others. I can understand message that is given by other and through
this I am able to interact with them in healthy manner. In context of individual performance,
these skills will have direct affirmative influence on my performance while having my lectures.
The non-verbal communication, feedbacks, emotional intelligence and clarity within delivering
message are key skills through which knowledge can be amplified within shorter frame of time.
This will help me to gain skills along with communicate affirmatively with lecturers through
which certain issues can be resolved in effectual manner. The skills that are needed within
successful completion of course is time management, communication and analytical capabilities
as these are important aspects which have significant impact on the ways in which projects are
being delivered. Time management is weakness and for this schedule of different activities can
be created and reviewed in continuous manner.
In addition to this, if perspectives of employees are considered then there are ample of
skills like active listening, confidence and friendliness that will aid employee while having
communication with employer in relevant way. This will allow to easily resolving the workplace
conflicts and deliver the accountabilities in adequate way thereby ensure that objectives are
attained within stipulated duration by maintaining high quality. This will enable me to deliver
my responsibilities within peculiar time frame. With the evolution of technologies, it becomes
difficult to have core knowledge related with that and this can act as an obstacle. I have opted for
training related with communication skill and this will enable to coordinate with other
professionals in future as well as keep my point of views among them.

Conclusion
From above report, it can be concluded that, effectual communication will enable
individuals to sustain in the marketplace or organisation for a longer duration of time. In addition
to this, it will help to be a successful person by listening to others as well as putting opinions in
front of others through different ways. This will lead to resolve certain conflicts which might
occur due to certain confusion and may not be so big. Communication makes it easy to share
views and understand perspective of others.

References
Books and Journals
Brown, V. A., Lambert, J. A. and Harris, J. A., 2019. Collective learning. Independent Thinking
in an Uncertain World: A Mind of One’s Own, p.22.
Fulton, J., 2019. Media entrepreneurship: Preparing students for work in a creative
profession. Australian Journalism Review, 41(1), pp.67-83.
Munden, P., 2018. Creative Living: How Creative Writing Courses Help to Prepare for Life-long
Careers. Essays and Studies. 71. pp.162-171.
Trinh, M. P., 2019. Learning Identity, Flexibility, and Lifelong Experiential Learning. In Oxford
Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management.