I’m going to reflect on my experiences in my Communications class.
Started off well! Talked about communication in a personal sense, how you communicate with your friends and family and co-workers. Everyone got to share their experiences. It was a relaxed atmosphere and it was interesting listening to all the students who voiced their opinions. It was a late class and I like that a lot of the students were much older than the usual college crowd. ( Not that I didn’t like the younger students! )
Then we discussed symbols and their meanings. Very interesting discussion occurs around the #meToo movement and what it’s about. Then people talk about shows and reference some viral tweet. I feel left out because I don’t use social media or watch television. Left out in a sense that I don’t have anything to contribute to the discussion, but I still want my participation points – don’t want anyone telling me that I didn’t participate enough!
As weeks go by, we start discussing verbal communication – which I thought would be the majority of the class. I had this idea that somehow communication class will teach me some kind of powerful rhetorical tricks or persuasive techniques – but, we didn’t have any of that. Not that I’m upset, the next topic really spiked my interest.
Non-verbal communication is super cool. I ended up writing my midterm paper on paralinguistics (also known as vocalics) which is the changes in pitch and loudness of the thing being said. How you say it versus what you’re saying, basically.
Then COVID-19 struck and all classes moved online. I have never had online classes before and discovered that I hate them with every fiber of my being. I also got fired and got a whole bunch of personal problems which affected my academic performance. Online classes were alright – it was me that was the problem.
Next we had a really good discussion on sex and gender. Since gender expression is a form of communication, and so much of communication is gendered, it was a great point of discussion. And, it would have been fantastic for me three or four years ago. But, at this point in my life I have already been exposed to these ideas so much that it was less of an eye-opening experience and more of a good review.
Finally we discussed organizational communication. This, along with the non-verbal communication section, was the most interesting part of the course for me. I never thought about how information doesn’t just move from the top to the bottom – with bosses and manager issuing marching orders to the rest of the staff. But, communication can come from the bottom up or even go laterally from peer to peer.
The beauty of attending a liberal arts college is that at the end of it you aren’t just skilled in your particular field, but, hopefully, you have picked up a well rounded education that makes you capable in many areas. Nobody wants to work with that one awkward guy who, while being very good at his specific job, can’t write a well worded e-mail or communicate well with his peers.
So there are certain classes that I recommend everyone, regardless of their major, takes. Classes that teach meta-skills – skills that will help with any job or major that a person can end up with. Philosophy and Psychology intro classes are absolutely there, and I think that into to Communications class also deserves a place up on that list of classes that I recommend to everyone.
No matter what you do, you’re gonna have to communicate with others.
Miscommunicating Communication 