Will Poor Communication Skills Hinder My Success as a Professional?
We all know that communication is one of life’s essentials, especially as a professional. In the workplace, most tasks are completed through some sort of communication. That can be through email, orally, etc. As a college student, I’ve been reading ways to successfully communicate with those I will work with in the future. I’ve learned that having good grammar skills is directly connected to successful communication. Using the resources around me (professors, family, school library, etc.) can help me to achieve the needed communication skills that I will need in my future profession.
Susan Adams, a Forbes journalist, and Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, can both agree that using and knowing good grammar should be major component in the workplace. In Adams’s and Wien’s articles, they both give concrete reasons why good grammar should be a part of the professional workplace. In Adam’s article, “Why Grammar Counts at Work”, she suggests that when using good grammar, people usually gain respect from their co-workers (Adams). The use of good grammar skills show great organization. It is a characteristic of a good listener. In Kyle Wien’s article, “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar,” he explains why won’t hire people with poor grammar skills. According to Wiens, poor grammar can translate to unreliability (Wiens). Good grammar habits show attention to detail. It makes an individual more likely to receive good judgment from their co-workers.
To my surprise, I learned that my future profession calls for a great deal of interaction. After college, I will do forestry and conservation work. As a beginner to the field, I need to have good listening skills to handle tasks. Forestry work can be very dangerous. It is important that I am able to listen clearly to instructions given by technicians or more experienced workers. I should know certain terms and grammar that will be used in this field. I should be familiar with Word programs. This will be helpful when I need to write documents. Having good note taking skills will be needed to do certain tasks properly.
My communication skills will need to expand in order for a successful career in my future profession. To achieve this. I will improve my listening skills. I will begin to truly listen to people (I usually don’t do this). I will take composition classes to improve on my writing skills. Taking classes based on forestry will help me to learn certain terms and vocabulary used in the field. This will help me to better understand the tasks I will perform and thus make me a better at what I’m doing. Getting extra help from my instructor and using the library as a resource will greatly help to prepare myself for my future responsibilities.
Communication can be a hit or a miss. Reading Kyle Wiens and Susan Adams articles gave me insight in how important using good grammar is. For me, the connection between good grammar skills and successful communication is now hard to overlook. Making sure that I am prepared to communicate in professional world has now become one of my top priorities. I now see that the only way I will be able to reach my professional goals is through taking the steps I listed and applying them to my daily life.
Works Cited
Adams, Suan. "Why Grammar Counts at Work." Forbes. 20 July 2012. Web.
22 Jan. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/07/20/why-grammar-counts-at-work/>
"Farming, Fishing, and Forestry: Forestry and Conservation." Occupational Outlook Handbook.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic, 8 Jan. 2014. Web 27 Jan. 2015 http://www.bls.gov/ooh/farming-fishing- and-forestry/forest-and-conservation-workers.htm
Wiens, Kyle. "I won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why." Harvard Buisness
Review. 20 Juky 2012. Web 22 Jan.2015. <https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-
who-use-poo>
