Communication – KensView

Business: Lingua franca

With the economy being more globalized than ever and the constant need to address competition through innovation, one important aspect of education has not received enough attention: the study of foreign languages.

There are the obvious advantages of learning a foreign language, such as enhancing the appreciation of other people and cultures, finding employment in businesses and organization with international exposure, and improving travel experience and dating opportunities.

However, as to improving business climate and opportunity, learning a foreign language offers several significant advantages to individuals and businesses. It can:

Increase memory power and lengthen one’s span of attention

Demonstrate perseverance and ability to do challenging work

Enhance decision-making abilities and problem-solving skills

Demonstrate ability to tolerate risk and criticism

Enhance general communication skills

Improve self-confidence

Boost creativity

Suggestion:

To improve their pool of innovative prospective employees, ask employers to add “Two years of college-level foreign language education required” as a required qualification.

Poisoning the Well

Words, sharp as broken glass,
scattered across the floor of every conversation,
we step on them, not noticing
until the bleeding starts.
Every silence speaks louder than the last,
its weight pressing against the chest,
like a promise that was never meant to be kept.

We don’t yell, we simmer—
a slow boil,
a low hum of discontent.
A question asked with the edge of a blade,
but wrapped in the velvet of a smile,
and passive like smoke,
it slips under the door and stains the air.

We say “fine,”
but our eyes betray us.
Their language is raw;
their truth is a widening chasm
we pretend we don’t see.

There are no answers, only echoes—
words that come back hollow,
bouncing off the walls of resentment.
We speak in riddles,
fingers pointing in every direction but our own,
hearts locked behind walls
built from miscommunications
and unspoken hurts.

We wear the armor of defensiveness
like a second skin.
Every attempt to reach
is met with an invisible barrier.
We love, we fight, we withdraw;
but we don’t listen.

And still we ask:
Why does it feel like we’re speaking in a language
neither understands?
Why does love sound like a war,
and kindness feel like a question
that cannot be answered?

In this quiet storm of words unspoken,
we forget
that sometimes the loudest thing in the room
is the silence between us—
the toxic quiet,
growing louder every time
we don’t say what we mean.

Vocational Education: Communication

Applied Communication (1988) teaches strategies and techniques for communicating in business settings and every day workplace situations. The modules cover: communicating in the workplace; gathering and using information in the workplace; using problem solving strategies; starting a new job; communicating with coworkers; participating in groups; following and giving directions; communicating with supervisors; presenting one’s point of view; communicating with clients and customers; making and responding to requests; communicating to solve interpersonal conflict; evaluating performance; upgrading, retraining, and changing jobs; and improving the quality of communication.

Applied Communication videos