Flip Flops and Starbucks - The Art of Communication

Hi everyone! My name is Emeka Balakumar, and I am in my 4th year of the Bachelor of Business Administration at the Schulich School of Business - York University. I had the fantastic opportunity to attend Sam Thiara's workshop on communication and learned so much about how communication and branding work together.

Sam Thiara is a "speaker, storyteller, author, coach, mentor, entrepreneur, educator and [someone who is] dedicated to community development". He has "mentored/coached , hundreds of individuals and worked with 45+ non-profits over the last 25 years". His experience and dedication to highlighting his learnings through his speaking sessions have impacted many, including me.

Communication comes in many forms - written, verbal, emails, texting, body language, etc. - and its importance comes with it. Some forms highlight the importance of word choice, while others highlight stance and pronunciation as more important. Regardless of the communication style, the end goal is to communicate a thought to a second person as effectively as possible. While communicating, we also experience noise, which stops us from communicating effectively. It can be as simple as someone not paying attention, but it can also be as complicated as a language barrier. We hope to minimize noise as much as possible to ensure effective communication.

The idea of networking came to mind during this session, and the importance of it. I always believe everyone can bring new perspectives and ideas to the table. Networking allows one to meet new people and expand their knowledge through others. As mentioned by Sam, LinkedIn is a great place to build relationships and find opportunities you may not have found otherwise. Sam's story about the two students he was able to connect to opportunities that would not be possible with networking truly encapsulates how powerful communication and networking can be.

Thank you, Sam and Illuminate Universe, for the amazing session.