Essentials of Communication Skill and Skill Enhancement

6Designing Communication-Skill Training Programs

Communication skills can be improved. That idea was introduced at the outset of this book as one of the “four things everybody already knows about communication skills.” In fact, commitment to that basic premise is so pervasive that we can see evidence of it at every turn. In colleges and universities, courses in public speaking, interviewing, group discussion, and intercultural communication (among numerous other examples), are predicated on the fundamental assumption that those classes will lead to enhanced performance. In the business world, companies routinely provide training in leadership, customer service, collaborative teamwork, and so on. Professional trainers deliver programs on topics ...