Communication Skills

The Study of Communication Skills

Communication scholars are often interested in researching communication skills in order to better [Page 209]understand how communication works in successful and unsuccessful ways. As an example of message production within the context of public speaking, eye contact is often considered to be an important skill for connecting with one’s audience in the United States. Specifically, public speakers are often considered skillful in eye contact when they catch the gaze of key members of the audience for a sufficient amount of time that the eye contact is recognized by the recipient but not for so long that the gaze becomes uncomfortable for either party. An example of a skill related to processing of communication is active listening. That is, an individual may be considered skillful at active listening to the extent that he or she is able to fully attend to another person’s communication, make sense of it, and paraphrase back to the other party what was heard or respond appropriately.

Communication skills are generally considered to be something that one acquires throughout one’s lifetime and can be improved much like other skills. Although individuals may be less proficient in a particular communication skill, with sufficient training or experience, it is expected that the skill can be improved. Similarly, communication skills may diminish with time when they are not practiced or used. It is important, however, to recognize that physical constraints may inhibit some communication skills, such as the ability for blind individuals to make eye contact with the audience or the ability for someone who is deaf to actively listen to a message that is spoken aloud. In these cases, adjustments to the conceptualization of what counts as a communication skill should be made.

The terms communication skills and communication competence are sometimes used interchangeably. Although there are some differences of opinion, many communication researchers make distinctions between these two concepts. Specifically, scholars tend to conceptualize a communication skill as particular behaviors or actions that lead to achievement of a goal. On the other hand, scholars tends to conceptualize competence as the complete collection of skills and knowledge that, when combined, lead to successful communication interactions. Thus, competence is made up of multiple skills that are all important for appropriate and effective communication in a particular communication context. For example, for someone to be considered competent within intercultural communication interactions, he or she would need to possess a variety of skills such as linguistic competence, adaptability, and perspective-taking, among others.

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