Reflection On What I Have Learned In Communication

In this essay I will reflect on what I have learned in communication. I will use passages from the text as well as use information from the class discussions and activities. I will talk about face-to-face communication VS computer mediated communication, the different types of listening, what I think is the most important thing that I have learned this year, my group dinner, non-verbal communication VS verbal communication, and my group service learning project.

“The communication age is an age in which communication, technology, and media converge and deeply permeate daily life” (The Communication Age). The way we communicate has changed immensely over the years. “Today we can communicate through text messages, social media, and other forms

We communicate with our parents, teachers, friend, and peers. Talking is the easy part of communication, listening is much harder. There is a difference between hearing, and listening. According to the book, “Hearing is the physical process in which the ear and the brain receive sound waves, listening however is the active process of receiving and understanding spoken or written messages (The Communication Age). We hear things all the time, but we don’t always listen. We learned in class that hearing is involuntary. We don’t have to do anything to hear, but we do have to do something to listen. For example, we hear what our parents say all of the time, but we don’t listen to what they are

I use critical listening when talking to my boss and teachers. I need to listen to them and then develop an opinion based on what information they gave me so I can do my job, and schoolwork correctly. “Comprehensive listening is trying to understand and make meaning of the message” (The Communication Age). I use this type of listening when talking to my boss as well, because if I don’t understand and make meaning of the message I will not be able to do the job that they asked me to do. “Appreciative listening is listening for pleasure, and empathic listening is listening to another person by responding nonjudgmentally to his or her physical and emotional needs” (The Communication Age). I use both of these kinds of listening while talking to my friends. I listen for pleasure because I care about what my friends have to tell me, and respond without judging them on what they have told