ORAL COMMUNICATION

Communication is a learned skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk,but we must learn to speak well and communicate effectively. Speaking, listening, and our ability to understand verbal and nonverbal meanings are skills we develop in variousways. We learn basic communication skills by observing other people and modeling our behaviors based on what we see. We also are taught some communication skills directly through education, and by practicing those skills and having them evaluated.

Communication as an academic discipline relates to all the ways we communicate, so it embraces a large body of study and knowledge. The communication discipline includes both verbal and nonverbal messages. A body of scholarship all about communication is presented and explained in textbooks, electronic publications, and academic journals. In the journals, researchers report the results of studies that are the basis for an ever- expanding understanding of how we all communicate. Communication teachers and scholars, in 1995, developed a definition of the field of
communication to clarify it as a discipline for the public. That definition is now used by
the U.S. Department of Education in its national publication, Classification of
Instructional Programs, 2000:

The field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate
meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The
field promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication.

Importance Of Communication

Oral communication has long been our main method for communicating with one
another. It is estimated that 75% of a person’s day is spent communicating in some way.
A majority of your communication time may be spent speaking and listening, while a
minority of that time is spent reading and writing. These communication actions reflect skills which foster personal, academic, and professional success.

The National Communication Association collected and annotated nearly 100 articles,
commentaries, and publications, which call attention to the importance of the study of
communication in contemporary society. Themes in the bibliography provide support for
the importance of communication education to: the development of the whole person;
the improvement of the educational enterprise; being a responsible citizen of the world, both socially and culturally; and, succeeding in one’s career and in the business
enterprise.

A multitude of examples stem from these studies. The Wall Street Journal reported the findings of a survey of 480 companies that found that employers ranked communication abilities first among the desirable personal qualities of future employees (1998).3 In a report on fastest growing careers, the U.S. Department of Labor states that communication skills will be in demand across occupations well into the next century.In a national survey of 1000 human resource managers, oral communication skills are identified as valuable for both obtaining employment and successful job performance.Executives with Fortune 500 companies indicate that college students need better.