Communication Skills: How to Effectively Interact and Reach Your Target Audience

"There are more avenues to reach people than ever before, but there's no substitute for face-to-face communication." Being able to communicate well is a vital task for people in everyday situations. There is communication all around us, whether it be words on a t-shirt to listening to another person's conversation. Communicating one-on-one to people is very easy for be, but on the other hand public speaking can be terrifying. The three skills I need to work on our public speaking apprehension, verbal delivery, and my critical thinking skills. Public speaking can be a big fear of mine and by working on these 3 goals I hope that panic will be diminished.

I can be a very outgoing person if I am in a comfortable situation. If I am surrounded by close friends and family, then you will typically see me chatting away. If I am in a new place with strangers I tend to be very shy. Once I get to know somebody well, I will open up and become at ease. I feel like I tend to use the words "like" a lot because I can't find any other word to use. I feel I am a person who is able to give a good speech if I know very well what I am talking about and am in a comfortable situation. If I feel awkward, then I freeze up and forget what I am supposed to say. I feel that I can be an interesting person if it a particular topic that I know a lot about but if someone is talking about something I don't care for, I don't talk much and just listen to what they have to say. When I get excited about a topic, I find myself talking very loudly but if I don't care for something I tend to talk more quietly.

Public speaking apprehension is something I definitely need to work on. I took a debate class in high school and I used to feel so uncomfortable getting up in front of the class having everyone watch me. I used to feel that everyone would stare at me and judge every little detail I had to say. I can be a very paranoid person in general and think people are always judging me. When I go up in front of a class, I get extremely nervous and I will sometimes forget what I have to say. I want to be able to get in front of my audience, feeling comfortable and confident, and be able to show people that I can be a great public speaker. I think the only way I will get over my fear is just to practice speaking in front of others before I give my speech. If I say my speech before others first, I feel I will be more prepared to give it to the class.

Verbal delivery is also an aspect that needs to be worked on. Verbal delivery is the way you speak and how your audience interprets you. I feel as though sometimes I can get very nervous and this will make me talk very fast. All I am thinking about is how badly I want to get my speech over with. At other times, I talk to slow which makes me sound like I am just trying to waste time. In the past, teachers have told me my voice usually gets very quiet and monotone. I want to be able to talk in a heartfelt tone of voice so my audience will know I've spent a lot of time working on the material that I am presenting. I want my audience to really believe that I enjoy the topic I am giving so they won't just fall asleep while I am giving my presentation. I want to be able to grab my audiences attention. I have been told that I can talk very formally when I give speeches so I want to be able to speak more informally so people will be able to understand me better. I wouldn't want to listen to a speaker that was using such difficult words that I wouldn't know what they were talking about. I want to be able to give vivid descriptions of what I am speaking so I come off as more interesting and so people can really imagine the details I am portraying. Before I give my speeches, I will practice in front of a mirror or in front of my friends and have them critique how I am speaking. I want to get some constructive criticism on my tone of voice and how interested I sound in my material so my audience gets interested.

Another area I need to work on is my writing skills. When I write, I have a hard time putting all my ideas together and having it all make sense. I like to write but t takes me a long time to figure out what to say and how to say it. I want to be able to organize all my thoughts and be able to put them down on paper so people can understand me. I think a lot and have a lot of vivid images in my head, but when I want to write them down, my mind goes blank. I want to be able to write clearly and not so confusing. I have so many ideas and sometimes I just write them all down and they don't make any sense. I sometimes jumble all my thoughts together and don't make my paragraphs clear. Before I start writing, I am going to make an outline of what I want to write and what order to write it in. Then I will decide the paragraphs to put everything in. I will try to organize my thoughts and writing clearly.

Public speaking is a way to show others your ideas and have an impact on our world. It is a way to make a difference in other people's lives. I want to be able to come a better speaker throughout this class. I have many areas that I need to work on in order to improve. I want to get out of this class not afraid to stand up in class and feel comfortable conveying my message. If I work hard on my three goals I will be able to get over my fear, become a better organizer and writer, and be able to convey my message in the clearest way. Communication skills are important in all jobs fields. If you aren't a good communicator then your chances of getting that job are much lower then if you can speak well. I want to be able to go out into the workplace prepared as I can be and by taking this class I hope I can achieve that goal.