Key Skill: Communication
I know people in Babson are working in many different sectors and jobs. However, one of the most important skills in the work environment, I believe is communication skills. Communication serves as a method of conveying information to another person whether it is verbally, written or virtually.
During the course of your work, you will always be communicating with people. You may be talking to someone right next to you asking for help, writing letters to clients, or e-mailing your boss about your progress. No matter how analytical or “isolated” your work may be, there is always a need for you to communicate. Without good communication skills, there may be misunderstanding and mis-match in terms of understanding between two parties, ruin the team environment, and many more. On the other hand, a good communication can help you in significant ways: Become productive, clear work assignments, stronger decision-making, stronger relationship, and increase in professionalism.
Improving my communication skill was one of the goals I had going into my internship. It was my first time working at a Corporate environment in the U.S and I wanted to really experience the culture and how people communicated in the work environment. As expected, the way people communicate was much different than it was in Japan. People talked much more direct and freely. Although it was a little difficult for me to communicate effectively, and ask questions whenever I was stuck in the beginning, I started to get accustomed to the environment and started asking questions and discussing with my boss much often. It was then that my output in the internship started to get better. Although communication is not a direct influencer to the work output, it makes the process more efficient, and it also clarifies the goals. Due to these reasons, I strongly believe communication is one of the most important skills.