If I had to come up with a definition, I would describe communication as the way in which messages are exchanged between two or more people. As we’ve discussed already, this can include both verbal and nonverbal forms as well as intentional and unintentional messages that we send to one another.
There are several barriers to proper communication and I think that for many of us they differ on a person by person basis. Some of us are great at communicating in a professional setting but struggle to communicate in close interpersonal relationships. Others are open communicators when it comes to sharing past experiences or present feelings, but have difficulty navigating rules for and of professional communication. Ironically, I was the victim of a huge miscommunication just recently which ended up costing me an internship position at a residential site that I was very interested in. Long story short, I misunderstood an important expectation on my end and failed to communicate with that person later on to get clarification. Looking back on the experience after it happened and even now, I can see the ways that I could have and should have communicated more clearly and effectively. However, this example also provides me with a clear illustration of one of the many ways that messages can easily be miscommunicated.
When I take a general look at my communication skills, both strengths, and weaknesses, I think professional communication is an area where I struggle personally. I think this is in part due to my struggle with face to face communication, but can also be attributed to my lack of experience in a professional setting thus far. Moving forward I hope to strengthen my communication skills overall, but in professional verbal forms specifically, since this will be extremely relevant to my future career.
