Succeeding in the World of WorkChapter 15:
Professional Communication SkillsPersonal Academic and Career Portfolio HelpDeveloping Professional Communication Skills
Add information on all of the four key communication skills to your Personal Academic and Career Portfolio—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Include both your areas of strength and areas where you would like to improve. When analyzing your speaking and listening skills, consider how you communicate one on one, in small groups, and in front of a larger group. Also list specific strategies you can use to improve each of these skills. For suggested reading strategies, see the "Reading Skills Handbook" on pages xxviii–1.
Your communication skills will grow as you mature. Revisit your Personal Academic and Career Portfolio to write scenes from your life as you begin a new job and as you advance in your career. Describe scenes that require listening and speaking skills in your job. Describe each scene in two or three sentences. Next, explain how you used speaking and listening skills. Then write a sentence that describes ways you could have been a better speaker or listener. For example, could you make more effective eye contact? Could you write clearer, more organized sentences and paragraphs? Write a second sentence that describes ways you demonstrated good listening and speaking skills. As you progress, pay attention to others of positive communication and make notes on tips you can incorporate into your own communication.  | 
