The importance of communication skills can be more fully explained when you take a look at how much language and communication are changing on a continual basis. This is related to the fact that people and technology are changing daily as well.
Although people are the main reason why communications change, there are a number of other factors that affect the reasons why people have to work at continually updating their communication skills. The importance of communication skills is undeniable because of this rapidly changing world we all live in today.
Effect of Technology on Communication
Yes, communication is affected by technology. New words and terminologies are coined to fit the new discoveries. Here in lies one importance of communication skills. Since language changes all the time to keep up with these new technologies, one must be able to keep up with the new lingo or risk being left behind. In other words, a person should have enough knowledge to continue upgrading his or her communication when these changes occur.
We have already seen the changes wrought by technology in language. There was a time when a spider made a web and a net was used to catch fish. Not to mention the fact that there used to be a time when surfing actually involved boards and the sea. The importance of communication lies in the fact that developing new skills will help all of us progress in our lives more effectively.
Another way technology has had an effect on our communication is due to the rise in the use of emails and instant messaging. People have altered the way they translate words in order to more quickly and effeincently get their point across in the shortest way possible. If your own communication skills don’t keep up with these changes how will you ever be able to intrepret the meaning of LOL or DIY when it comes through on an email or cellphone screen? Once again, this shows the importance of updating your communication skills or being left behind.
Effect of Culture on Communication
Communication is also affected by culture. In the past, different cultures used whatever word they wanted to describe something. They never even thought about the word’s effect on someone from a different culture. However, because of the realization that some words do offend other cultures, we have changed our languages to respect this. This is more important than ever, especially since the world is shrinking more and more everyday and we come in contact with cultures we may not be familiar with daily.
Man is not meant to be alone. We each need our relationships with other people in order to live a full and successful life. There in lies the importance of paying attention to how our use of words and language affect our communications with those around us especially those from cultures that differ from our own.
There are other factors that help in the continuous transformation of communication. However, the point is that all of these factors contribute to the importance of communication skills.
We need to keep in mind, that communication is the way through which our civilization continues to flourish. The act of passing on knowledge from generation to generation is communication. It is through communication that we manage to continue these discoveries we talked about earlier.
Man’s experiences in life need an outlet. People need some way to express themselves in order for others to share their experiences and therefore people need communication skills in order to do this effectively.
The level of our communication skills mean the difference between a doodle and a masterpiece. These skills that we possess allow us to put order into the chaos of our human experiences and interactions. Without communication skills, people would be unable to understand the desires of each other and mutual growth would be impossible. Helping each other is the reason we have progressed through all of these years, and it is the reason we survive until this day.
It is through unity and solidarity that we as humans have reached these heights, and this is made possible through communication. The everyday occurrences of violence resulting from misunderstandings show us just what would happen if communication skills were non-existent. Communication skills are important because we need to be able to relate with the world around us. We need to be able to express ourselves as fully as possible.