CCA2

Communications is not simple. Take a look at our southern neighbor’s presidential speech, and you would have know what not to do when conducting a public speech. Most people assume that communication skills are developed naturally without the need for training. This is true in some sense as almost everyone is able to communicate, and the few who do it better usually had no more training than the rest. However, while basic communication skills can be naturally learned through interpersonal contacts, superior communication skills usually need to be taught and developed.
Infants that not socialized properly will not possess the necessary skills to communicate. Occasionally, I have read news reports discovering infants raised with zero or little human contact who are unable to communicate in our society. (Think Tarzan). It is only through extensive teachings of our languages and cultures, were they able to gain the supposedly “natural ability” to speak and understand. I think this is a sufficient proof that although we may not have been specifically taught communication skills in a formal classroom, we learn to communicate skillfully because of our exposure to others in our surrounding environment.
In addition, even the better communicators are far from being perfect. I have found that on occasions, good communicators often are unable get the message across effectively as well. As stated in the textbook, communication skills are rather like athletic ability, and can be improved with consistent training and practice. The most incompetent of us can learn to communicate effectively with proper training. Taking this course would be as good as a start as any.