Running head: Philosophy of Communication 1

Philosophy of Communication

Alyssa Voit

Wisconsin Lutheran College

February 8, 2016
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Philosophy of Communication

Communication is an unavoidable concept that we deal with on a daily basis. As

Professor Heins of Wisconsin Lutheran College always says, You cannot not communicate.

There is a lot of truth to this statement despite the terrible grammar; we are living in a world that

has communication occurring at every second of every day. Whether we speak with verbal or

non-verbal communication, we are sending a message to somebody. Considering this as a

communications major, I appreciate the art and science of communication. By studying

communication, I am able to see how much communication really impacts me in my everyday

life. As I continue to study communication, I am able to see how this major truly impacts me, my

faith, and my future.

In order to grow as a communicator, it is important to reflect on my personal strengths as

and attitudes towards communication. I believe that for the most part I am able to communicate

with others fairly well. It is easy for me to get my message across to an audience and to speak

my mind. Something that also makes me a successful communicator is my passion. When I

truly believe in something, I cannot help but to show my passion when I speak. I like to use this

to my advantage to create interest with peoples motivation. I also have the gift of kind honesty

when I communicate. While sometimes it is hard to deliver a message to people, I am very good

at putting words together to speak honesty in a positive light. I use this effectively when I have to

get people to better themselves and improve such as how I would at work. While I have skills

that make me a successful communicator, I see myself as a communicator that serves a purpose.

The reason I want to communicate is to make an impact on peoples lives and to help others

grow and develop. I see the art of communication as a way for us to better ourselves and others.
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Communication can be thought of as a concept with five basic principles: being aware of

your communication with yourself and others, effectively using and interpreting nonverbal as

well as verbal messages, listening and responding thoughtfully to others, and appropriately

adapting messages to others (Beebe & Mottet, p. 3, 2010). I personally see these principles as the

guidelines to a successful work life, social life, and personal life. The basic truth is,

communication is transactional with other people meaning messages are sent and received

instantaneously (Beebe & Mottet, p. 5, 2010). Due to this, we need to be aware of our

communication in regards to verbal and nonverbal communication as we speak and listen to

others. The challenge is, this all occurs so quickly that these skills have to be in our nature

because we do not have time necessarily to think about every single thing when conversations

are moving so quickly. This is the importance of studying and refining our skills as

communicators. I especially see these principles as skills for an effective leader. A leader is able

to be successful with both verbal and nonverbal cues with the ability to listen and adapt messages

in response to their audience (Beebe & Mottet, p. 14, 2010). As a potential leader in the future, I

want to obtain each of these five principles in order to be a successful and effective leader no

matter my audience.

The art of Communication goes way back to the very beginning; God gave us the gift of

communication in order to fulfill his purpose. For example, God wanted to give us a way to

converse with others as well as himself. By being able to communicate with others we are able to

spread his word as well as strive to be the people that God desires us to be. Think about how we

would learn about God or experience God without communication. Church alone would be a

very different ideal considering how much we depend on communication. Church thrives on

individuals conversing in order to grow in Gods wisdom. Christianity as a whole would have
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never even survived without God being willing to communicate his Word to us and giving us the

ability to spread his Word. I think about how many times I have been able to help people through

Gods voice. Whether it has been through late night personal conversations or me standing in

front of a crowd of people, I have been able to tell others about God which I think is the whole

reason why God created communication; he wants us to spread hope through him. We are able to

use his messages to better ourselves and society.

Since I find communication to be so important for my life and faith, I want to continue to

grow as a communicator. In order to do such a thing, it is important to research, practice, and

reflect on who I want to be as a communicator. I think that being a major in communication is

important because communicating with others is inevitable; I cannot avoid communicating no

matter what I choose to do with my life. Considering this, I want to be good at understanding and

delivering messages. By studying communication, I am able to learn how to work with people

and how to effectively get my messages across. I think of communication as psychology where

the more we research and understand the mind, the more we can learn about others and

ourselves. Just majoring in communication alone will help to develop me as a communicator. I

also think the repetitious opportunities can fine tune the skills that I am learning. Whether it is in

class with speeches and activities or in the real world, I can apply what I am learning to people

every single day. I think that knowledge can only get you so far, but practicing those skills

learned can make all of us better communicators naturally. It is also important to reflect on what

kind of a communicator I want to be. Practice and knowledge can only get me so far if I do not

know who I am or who I want to be as a communicator; by reflecting my strengths and personal

desires, I can truly grow as a communicator. As stated before, I view myself as a communicator

with a purpose. When I speak, I want the message to have a meaning and purpose; I want to
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instill passion in people to develop themselves. Considering this, in order for me to grow, I need

to continue to learn how to effectively portray messages to others. Despite the culture, gender, or

education of a person, I want my messages to instill power within them. By learning about how

others think and perceive messages, I can become a great leader. Through my classes and the

opportunities presented in my life, I can become the communicator that I dream to be. By truly

understanding how to effectively communicate, I can change a life.

By knowing who I am as a communicator, Christian, and life learner, I can truly develop

into a communicator with meaning. Communication is all around us and so when people ask me

why I study communication, its easy for me to respond. We need to understand communication.

By learning how communication affects our lives, I am able to be a versatile person, worker, and

Christian because of the importance of this skill. Everyone communicates, but not everyone

communicates well. Being an effective communicator allows me to be important in any field,

any friendship, and any relationship. So yes, I study communication because it is important. I

study communication because it is inevitable. I study communication because it is necessary.

God gave us the ability to communicate with others in order to not only spread his love, but to

also give people the strength to find their purpose. As a communication major, I am fulfilling

Gods purpose for me to help others and to develop others to be the people God has intended

them to be.
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Resources

Beebe, S. A., & Mottet, T. P. (2010). Business and professional communication: Principles and

skills for leadership. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.