Many people assume that they know a lot about communication because they interact with others daily through multiple channels. But there is much more to it than many realize. Effective communication is crucial in all aspects of life. It is always vital to know how to read, speak, and write with all confidence and professionalism while giving out information that is easily understandable. The importance of taking up communication studies is not only for business purposes but also for personal development since internal communications require as much effort and thought to allow for a clear conveying of information. According to research, good communication matters fundamentally in terms of creating individual success personally and abundant success professionally (Burleson & Harter, 2007). Like everybody else, I intend to be a great communicator, which I believe has a connection with the department’s PLOs, and all the five Foundations courses which I believe relate to the goals.
Personal and Professional Goals
My personal and professional goals for picking the five courses entail the power of persuasion, the ability to inform, the ability to listen and to develop more confidence in myself. No matter the course or profession one takes, it comes a time when one is required to control, convince, and motivate others to change their perceptions, attitudes, intentions, and beliefs about one thing or the other. Taking a communications course is often the best to sharpen the skills, especially since it normally includes units on effective persuasion which entail the use of body language and establishing an appeal to the audience. I believe that being able to sway individuals’ mindsets can probably lead to boundless successes in the personal and professional aspects of my life.
In taking the course, I also intend to develop the ability to give informative speeches and learn how to commendably communicate knowledge without leaving out certain pieces of information. Listening is also a crucial part of communication. I have the goal of gaining valuable lessons on effective listening that can help me grow in my career. I know that by having proper listening skills, I will be able to become a better presenter due to the ability to analyze the audience and appropriately adjust the communication message, tone, and form of delivery, transforming one into an excellent communicator. Finally, I have the goal of boosting my self-confidence, which can be achieved by improving the speaking, writing, and creativity skills.
How the Chosen Courses Relate to the Personal and Professional Goals
PLO 1: COMM 160F: Language, Meaning, and Culture
The PLO 1 course focuses on the meaning of language and various cultures. According to Holmes (2016), language is the essence of culture as it forms a very significant part of every culture. Different cultural communities develop with the advancement of language. Through language, a symbolic process takes place that results in the construction, maintenance, and transformation of social reality (Holmes, 2016). The course relates to my goals as it would enhance my communication skills by enabling me to interact with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Learning a language may be a daunting task, but it enables people to connect with individuals from different cultures. For that reason, the course will enable the development of the power of persuasion, the ability to inform, the ability to listen and to develop more confidence in myself by enabling me to connect easily with individuals from other cultures.
PLO 2: COMM 123I: Performance of Ethnodrama
This course explores the use of live performance to create and interpret cross-cultural performances. It involves students in reading ethnodramatic texts and engaging in original research, rehearsals, scriptwriting, and performances. The course will help develop my personal and professional goals by enhancing my ability to engage in cross-cultural performances through improving my language skills which in the long run develop my confidence in taking part in cross-cultural performances.
PLO 3: COMM 152I: Communication in World Cultures
This course puts distinct consideration to the significant communication patterns that took place among the early societies resulting in classic texts. World cultures continually inform the contemporary experiences of individuals by making them more aware of the classic texts and patterns and their origins. Through this course, I will be able to effectively communicate with individuals from different cultures and develop more self-confidence in responding to the communication patterns that exist among classic texts. Besides, my experiences while completing this part of the engagement were very interesting as I got to learn the different language forms and cultures used in the early societies, including Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
PLO 4: COMM 120P: Persuasive and Presentation Skills
This course is one of the most crucial that every student should not miss out on. It concentrates on the applied theories, research, and concepts on language and communication that deal with language and presentation skills. It digs deeper into the broader issues that impact persuasion at the societal and global levels and examine how the issues contribute to effective persuasion. Researching on this course left me with the best experience as I learned the importance of persuasion and presentation skills in language and communication. It complements my personal goal of becoming more persuasive with my language and communication abilities. With the course, I believe I will become more persuasive in my language and communication skills as I will have learned the issues it involves and avoided them altogether.
PLO 5: COMM 148P: Environmental Advocacy
Environmental advocacy is also a crucial course that contributes entirely to my personal and professional goals. It is a course on applied theories and message framing research, as well as community engagement, environmental communication, and social marketing. It considers wide-ranging persuasion issues and influences the sustainability of the surrounding to develop campaigns that support the environment. It also relates widely with my personal and professional goals as I intend to use my language and communication skills to influence sustainability and promote environmental advocacy. By developing the power of persuasion and the ability to inform, I will be able to persuade individuals and inform them through environmental advocacy campaigns about the importance of sustainability and how it would help protect the environment.
Conclusion
In sum, the five courses are crucial to the development of my personal and professional goals in one way or the other. They all have a unique way of contributing to my goals either by increasing the power of persuasion, the ability to inform, the ability to listen, and developing more confidence in myself. Hence, I believe that all the five courses that I have chosen are important to me and crucial to my personal and professional development.
