Let's communicate!

Hi Everyone! My name is Ananya; I’m a McMaster University student and an intern at Illuminate Universe. Last week, I got the opportunity to attend a training session with Sam Thiara! The workshop discussed communication skills and how we could enhance workplace communication. So - Here’s a quick run down of what I learned.

There is no doubt that the concept of communication is essential in every aspect of our lives. It is the way we spread information and understand ideas and other emotions. We use it in our daily lives by posting what we are listening to on our Instagram story or emailing a professor regarding an assignment. Even right now - as you are reading this - I’m communicating with you. The usage of communication in the workplace is no different. It is essential to understand and develop a robust set of communication skills because it promotes confidence in the workplace along with recognition.

So, here is what I learned from Sam Thiara’s training in communication skills. The two most concepts that Sam goes through are the importance of communication skills and relationships.

Sam states that communication skills are about relaying information or a message to someone else. However, it is also about connecting with people, networking or relationship building which is also essential.

Communication is a way to express your opinions through emails, conversations or even PowerPoint. The objective of communication is to relay information or send a message. It is important how you do it. Hence, Sam provided a short list of things we should do when communicating. People should be passionate about what they share, be knowledgeable, and make it interactive so they enjoy the conversation. These are ‘do’s’ people should consider when communicating because it allows them to be taken seriously, seem more confident and also validate their capabilities.

The second important concept discussed in training was Networking. As mentioned before, Sam said that influences the relationships you build. It’s about the connections you make. Humans are always drawn to what is known to them because it provides comfort. Hence, we seek what we have in common when talking or attempting to build a relationship.

The interconnection is that a person cannot network or build a workplace relationship without being a strong communicator. Therefore I found these two concepts to be the most important.