Communication is key. If there was anything that I took away from this class, it was the overwhelming importance of communication with present and future acquaintances. It is also not just simply the very basics of communicating but how you communicate.
First, one should communicate in a way that is professional and respectful. Individuals will notice right away if a letter is colloquial or if an Internet profile is “unkept” or even if a presentation is stilted and rushed. First impressions are key in communicating so that your message or intention will not be lost because of other distractions that can be present. In one of the lectures, an example was given that simply having a female consciously lower her voice would help the listener to focus on the presentation or issue that is being discussed. This is a prime example that the small things that surround communications are not as inconsequential as one might have originally thought. Many well-known people and businesses make good presentations of their knowledge of topics at TED events. These are some really good presentations to go through and pick up different aspects that characterize a presentation as being “good”.
Secondly,
one can communicate in a variety of different ways. In this class, Internet profiles such as
LinkedIn, Facebook pages, and Twitter were discussed and shown as good
advertising devices for businesses but also for career minded individuals. From a job seeking perspective, if employers
have never heard about you, how can they know that you are looking for a
job? This is where specific sites like
LinkedIn give individuals the chance to showcase their skills to more then one
specific community. Businesses that are
a part of this also get to advertise their business and then the individuals
will have a chance to contact them. The
same idea comes with a professional Facebook page.
You are able to put your resume on a site that has millions of users and
then you are instantly exposed to a much larger community. At the very beginning of the ALES204 course, there were some statistics given about the increase in email and social media
sites throughout the world. Having a
physical newspaper is less and less popular as people will find out what is
happening in the world through a news site or in some cases simply going on
twitter. It was told to the class that
the Library of Congress has even started to record things that people are
saying on Twitter because there has been quality information and news that has
been shared on this Internet site.
Communication is changing and us as individuals need to be sure that we
are taking advantage of these opportunities.
Last of all, this blog has been a really neat way for me to learn about the different forms of Internet communication. Here are five other blogs of people in the ALES204 class and some of the comments I have posted. The blogs that I commented on are Stephanie's, Kelsie's, Sydney's, Annie's, and Becky's blog. Through looking at these multiple blogs it shows just how much we have either learned about communication techniques or about how to present ourselves in the best possible way to ensure good communication. I hope to take some of the things that I have learned into my everyday life, as most of these skills are very practical to have.
