Why communication skills are important

Posted by Dean Shareski on in fun, Video

Every high school English teacher should show this to their class and they’ll never have to justify why students need to learn to write, read and give speeches. Yikes!

[tags]missusa,speech[/tags]

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9 thoughts on “Why communication skills are important”

  3. Jim Strom

    “I didn’t do anything wrong. I wasn’t expecting [the question]. I lost my train of thought.”

    Miss South Carolina Teen USA says she graduated with a 3.5 grade-point average from Lexington High School in June, and was a varsity athlete and student leader.

    “Things happen for a reason,” she said. “That’s the way life goes.”

    “I just want people to know that I’m an average teenage girl, living life to the fullest, learning from my mistakes and living life in a positive way, and that is all I can ask for.” http://www.worldnetdaily.com

    So, she messed up. People mess up all the time.

  4. Dean Shareski Post author

    Okay Jim….now I feel bad. I agree. She’s a victim our age. 10 years ago, no one would have even known about this or least very few and it would have been pretty easy to live down.

    So the lesson here is two fold maybe. One, mistakes happen and perhaps we ought to consider that we’ll all had these kind of moments and two remember, someone’s always watching.

    I’m just glad everything I say isn’t videotaped and posted to youtube 😉

  6. Frank S. Adamo

    First, perhaps the Miss USA host should ask the question twice. IMHO, Miss Teen So. Carolina didn’t understand the question initially. I have replayed the question several times and I’m still not too clear of the question. Did Aimee say “effective Americans can’t locate…” Who are “effective” Americans anyway — if that is what Aimee said. I’m still not sure.

    In Toastmasters Table Topics contests we always state the question twice — to give time for the contestant to formulate an answer and to be sure that he/she understands the question. Even then, some contestants do not answer the actual question and these are seasoned Toastmasters. Miss So. Carolina is only a teenager.

    Second, most high school and college students are not educated or are not knowledgable in effective communication skills. English, speech and drama classes really do not teach communication skills. One of my students, a civil engineer, took a speech class which, in her words, was absolutely useless. She learned much more in my classes (effective communications) because I specifically teach about communications, not necessary speeches. That’s why so many adults join Toastmasters — to get the training and practice they didn’t learn in school.

    We really need to teach our youth effective communication skills. Employers are seeking not only the technical skills but also the “soft” skills — a term I don’t like but it is a common phrase. One really great thing about Miss Teen So. Carolina, she used only one or two filler words, i.e. ah, um, etc.

  8. Brian Nenson

    This is truly shocking. I know nerves would sometimes get the better of you, but holy cow. The funniest thing about this video is she probably won.

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