Communication Skills

Communication, like any other activity, can be done well or poorly. Just as people may have abilities that make them good surgeons, musicians, or athletes, individuals may possess skills that allow them to function well in interactions with others. Scholars have grappled with the problem of trying to define exactly what the term communication skill means, and numerous conceptions have been proposed (and various related terms such as social skills and communication competence have been introduced), but a great number of these conceptions center around the idea that communication skills involve effective and appropriate communication behaviors. That is, communication skills involve the ability to be effective in the sense that a person can accomplish his or her goals while also behaving in ways that are socially acceptable or desirable.

The study of communication skills has a very long history and is also extremely broad. It is at the center of the field of communication (where virtually every branch of the discipline is concerned in some way with communicating more effectively and appropriately), but it is also an important topic for scholars in psychology, philosophy, business management and human resources, family studies, and education. Communication skills (or lack thereof) are manifested at every turn in human endeavors: dating and marriage, parent-child interactions, friendship, job interviews, business presentations, group meetings, bargaining and negotiation, teaching and learning, physician-patient interactions, and on and on. And what is especially noteworthy about communication skills in all of these contexts is that research shows that they play a key role in the participants' success and satisfaction, both with respect to the immediate interaction and with their long-term relationship.