Cash Hunsaker
Interpersonal Communications 122
3/23/15
How do you communicate?
We live in a world of changing communication. Everyone communicates something in every moment of everyday. It can be confusing at times to know how you are communicating, or what you are really communicating to others. Improved communication skills will bring more happiness into our lives.
We communicate through words, actions, and even the way we dress. However, I did not realize there are many things out there that impede our communication. One of these being how much we use technology to communicate with one another. There are great blessings that come from good communication and actually listening to others when they speak.
Technology is a big trend in the way we communicate in today’s world. There are people we feel they could not possibly leave their house without their phone because without it they would be “lost.”
Studies have shown that we love to be online and connected through social media because we can modify who we are. However, what do we communicate to others around when we are only looking at our phones instead of holding a conversation with them? It causes them to withdraw and not have the desire to speak with us.
When I first got back from my mission that is when I noticed the huge change in communication between people. I was with some friends that I hadn’t seen in two years and we were all sitting together but no one was talking. I felt strange as everyone was checking different things on their phones. And I realized that that is how the trend in communication is going. People would rather text and look at pictures of each other than really spend time with each other. There are times when I feel like not being

up on all the social media is a bad thing, that I miss out on fun things. But I feel like I gain more than I lose. Maybe I don’t hear all of the newest gossip but I have no problem what so ever just leaving my phone in the car. I would much rather talk to a person and be free from the phone addiction than text them and follow the poor communication standard set by others.
I think one thing I can do to develop my communication is to not put up barriers whenever I have a chance to talk to someone, be it on a train, in the street, at school. When we take down those personal bubbles then we can really see who people are and make a difference in their lives. When we put up barriers we tell other people that they are not important to us or we tell them we are “too busy.”
President Uchtdorf said “I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished. I can’t see it” (Uchtdorf, Of Regrets and Resolutions). I am making a goal to make time for other people thus I will stop bringing my phone into church, I will try to limit my distractions so I can focus on the people around me and things that are most important. I know that this will be a blessing to me and others because I will be able to help them receive revelation also.
As you focus on what others are communicating to you is when you truly begin listening. When we are in a conversation the majority of the time we communicate through listening. Listening is not only listening to what is being said. True listening is when you hear what is being said verbally and bodily, then you think about it and internalize it, and formulate a response. Listening is a skill that requires practices. And when you start improving you will start to see the great benefits it brings into your life. In my life listening helps me when I am using my strength of relator to build relationships with other people. If I can’t listen to what they are communicating to me then there is no way for me to create connections.

Listening applies to our work environment with our bosses, our co-workers, and our customers.
We listen and follow directions from our boss, with co-workers we read their body language, and the customers communicate a bit of both. Each one of us has to deal with these situations daily, so I am improving my listening with my boss. When he says thing put them in an order that I won’t forget so I can follow through with the plans. If I do this then I communicate that what he says really does matter to me and that I am a competent employee that can follow directions.
In conclusion interpersonal communication is the key to many doors. We can full fill our great potential if we control ourselves with technology and learn to truly listen to one another. When we do we will put a whole new meaning into the word charity and every person we come into contact with will feel appreciated.