Why Study Communication?

     The need to study something comes from a desire to understand such a thing and to become skillful in it by mastering its principles, its techniques, and its nature. Recall what we mentioned earlier – you can’t do what you don’t know. So, in order to become more proficient in communication, we seek to understand its nature and to become proficient through practicing it. But what benefits does one gain from communication competencies? As stated earlier, we study communication for instrumental reasons, that is, as a means to an end. These ends are professional/career, marital and educational success. Much research has been done to identify the critical life skills that leaders in education, business, and industry believe are must have for employees at all levels. Seiler and Beall (2007) confirm that recent studies emphasize that employers want workers at all levels that have the ability to communicate effectively. Here are the recommendations of these studies:

• Ability to speak effectively.
• Ability to listen carefully and efficiently.
• Ability to think critically.
• Ability to get along well with others.
• Ability to be aware of and sensitive to differences in cultural perspectives.
• Ability to make good decisions individually and in groups.

     It is apparent from the list that the required competencies of potential employees are communication skills and not computer or technical skills. These technical skills can be acquired on the job. And as some personnel directors have demanded, “Send me people who know how to speak, listen, and think, and I’ll do the rest” (Seiler and Beal, 2007). Take into consideration that some of your classmates, even though particular ones may have become friends, may also eventually become potential competition for the same job at some point in time (assuming they have the same major). The lesson here is to understand that although all of students acquired a similar knowledge and skill set in your major, effective and proficient communication may very well be the key that separates you from these individuals in attaining a job.

     The take away is this: communication and gaining communication competencies will greatly increase your chances of succeeding in your professional career. In addition to this, your acquired skills will be of great use in your personal and professional relationships, as well as in your education. Good communication study should engage students in all of the competencies identified. The greater focus of this book is the number one listed competency: Effective Public Speaking. By understanding the different principles of communication, you will gain mastery of the different aspects of the subject and you will become an effective communicator.

Why Study Communication?

From a Global Village to a Global World

     Consider this – just in the last decade we have seen the introduction of smartphones, social media was just becoming popular (in 2008 Facebook had 100 million users, but boosts about 1.8 billion current users), we’ve seen the introduction of TomTom or Garmin GPS, as well as having the ability to stream through Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and so on (creating the demise of Blockbuster). The American communication philosopher, Marshall McLuhan, predicted the telecommunication explosion that we are witnessing today several decades ago. He popularized the term ‘global village’ when he used it to describe what the world is becoming because of the ease of telecommunication and both near and far, is not only plausible, but also possible. This has impacted the increase in international trade and ease and rate of international travel, as well as cross-cultural contact and infusion more than ever before! Indeed, the world is becoming smaller and smaller every day, thus making intercultural communication inevitable, and making it imperative for an international and multicultural understanding.

     So as you can imagine, what happens in one part of the world now has far-reaching implications across the world. Therefore, public communicators must now be versed in intercultural communication and, perhaps, learn other international languages in order to communicate effectively to a global audience. The far-reaching influence that public communicators exert has led to the maxim that ‘we should think globally and act locally in the new global village.’

     In a multicultural world, ethical responsibility takes on a new dimension. Not only are public communicators responsible to the local audience, but also to the global audience. Ethical standards now must pass the international litmus test such that what is not acceptable in the United States should not be acceptable behavior in Mexico, Sri Lanka or Nigeria. Sensitivity to the international community means being sensitive to cultural practices and differences across the world and being aware of the rules that govern ethical communication is the starting point.

Marshall McLuhan – The World is a Global Village

Communication in the Age of Technological Explosion

     The combination of telecommunications development and the invention of the computer microchip have brought a revolution to human communication. Now more people than ever before have access to information and are able to communicate rapidly across the world in little time from practically anywhere in the world. Now there is instant messaging, e-mailing, teleconferences, telecommuting and other innovations that have ensured that we remain connected to others in a virtual, instantaneous, and complex world of digital transmission. The caveat, though, is that people are becoming more socially isolated because as we access more information, the opportunity to connect virtually increases with speed, and the “need to be there” is becoming outdated, thus reducing our interaction to medium-to-medium and not person-to-person. The need for face-to-face contact, though very important, is becoming less and less common in forming relationships. Therefore, the McLuhan global village is here, but with mixed consequences for humanity. Ask yourself if you’ve seen a change in your face to face communication over time. Or, perhaps use your parent and/or grandparents forms and extent of communication as a comparison to yours, thus indicating how communication has indeed changed in merely a generation of time.

     The impact of the technological explosion on interpersonal communication is immense. We now live in a world where there is overdependence on technology for our social communication relationships. Generally referred to as electronically mediated communication (EMC), we depend on cell phones, the internet, Instagram, Memes and a host of social media (text-based, voice-based, and video-based) to initiate, connect, and maintain relationships. Now we ask people to text, tweet, Instagram, snapchat, friend, YouTube (and other parlances) us, to suggest the desire for others to link us up socially. We telecommute, teledate, and we teleemote! The intriguing question is how does the ubiquitous electronically mediated communication compare to real, face-to-face interaction? The comparison is based on six different factors which are time, varying degrees of anonymity, potential for deception, nonverbal cues shared, the role of the written word, and distance (Amichai-Hamburger, 2005).

     We can summarize the reasons why we study communication in practical terms that emphasize the importance of communication and state the fact that communication is essential. Studying communication comprehensively offers at least seven advantages (Pearson et al, 2011).

     By studying communication you can:

1. Improve the way you see yourself.
2. Improve the way others see you.
3. Increase what you know about human relations.
4. Learn important life skills.
5. Help you exercise your constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech.
6. Help you succeed professionally.
7. Help you navigate an increasingly diverse world.

Evolution of Communication