The continuing significance of reading
As much as the visual media has made inroads into our personal lives over the past couple of decades, the written word continues to play an extremely critical role in the academic world and our workplaces. There is no room to underestimate the importance of reading skills in our personal and professional growth. Reading also continues to play an essential role in cementing our personal development skills. It certainly enhances our writing and listening skills, especially helpful in the practice of effective business communication.
Let us quickly look at how a good reading habit ensures excellent communication skills vital to our careers.
- Reading improves our vocabulary.
Whether it is a routine business report, a review presentation, a strategy document, or even a simple motivational message to our teams, a good grasp of vocabulary is an advantageous strength to possess. While reading is an excellent source of information and knowledge, it also helps us build word power. Words provide a more potent and more effective way to express ourselves. Some of the world’s most outstanding business leaders possess the strength of powerful words. And what they invariably have in common is they are all usually voracious readers as well. - Reading gives us an edge.
It is an accepted fact that command over information is crucial to our professional development. And reading is the best source of continuous learning. Sitting at our desks or in our living rooms, with a book in our hands, or an article on our screen, we gain varied opinions, fresh ideas, concepts, and insights into the culture and human emotions. As a result, we expand our sphere of exposure, helping us develop a broader range of perspectives and the ability to stand out in discussions and debates, vital to success in our careers. - Reading sharpens our senses.
Perseverance and assimilation are invaluable in professional communication. Reading improves our ability to be attentive and strengthens concentration power. Unlike sitting back and watching a video, or a film, reading is an active form of assimilating information. Regular reading gets us tuned to ignore distractions and instead focus on the subject at hand. It makes us immerse ourselves in the content, improving concentration and memory of what we read. Reading also enhances our powers of comprehension and patience, and as a result, sharpens our listening skills. - Reading develops networking skills.
The phrase “a well-read person” connotes someone intelligent and engaging. People are usually drawn to someone who not only exhibits a wide range of perspectives and opinions but is also highly articulate, anecdotal, and illustrative. These are traits that can only be displayed by someone who is well-read on a wide variety of topics and subjects. In addition, the habit of reading engenders in us a sense of curiosity and an innate ability to pose intelligent questions. Even when faced with an unfamiliar topic of discussion, reading would have taught us the art of listening and posing thoughtful questions, making us excellent conversationalists, a remarkable aspect of being a good communicator. - Reading helps us empathize.
Empathy is a critical element of good communication. Through empathy, we learn how to fully engage with others and make the connections necessary to be persuasive and compelling. In addition, reading provides us the ability to be open to fresh ideas and opinions, allowing us to adapt ourselves to another’s way of thinking. Which naturally means that we tend to avoid conflict and hurdles in the process of communication.
IN CONCLUSION
A good way to acquire an organized habit of reading is to take a reading course. Reading opens us to the power of language in ways that the verbal and visual media can never do. It teaches us a structured method of not only expressing ourselves but also learning new things. Moreover, it develops our capabilities of inference, deduction, and comprehension- intrinsic to good listening and writing, making us well-rounded in the art of communication.