Introduction
Studying in the Bachelor of Science in social work program was a deliberate decision that I came to during my previous education. The opportunity to acquire professional skills that not only contribute to my personal development but also provide an opportunity to contribute to society. The current learning process allows us to develop effective communication within the field of study, as well as among those social subjects which will be important in our career.
As part of this educational program, students study a wide range of scientific disciplines, both exact and humanitarian. Among the main subjects of the course are sociology, cross-cultural communication, psychology, rhetoric, mathematics, and foreign language. The assimilation of new knowledge and skills in the listed areas directly contributes to effective communication within the field of study. For a social worker, the ability to find a common language with a variety of people is critical, since it is through well-established communication that a specialist acquires a complete picture of what is happening in a particular community. The ability to identify the necessary changes for a certain group of people is key for a professional in my field. Accordingly, it is possible to identify a directly proportional relationship between the successful assimilation of the course knowledge and the qualifications of a social worker.
While the acquisition of professional skills is crucial for being a successful specialist, there is another aspect that is essential to the job. I mean emotional intelligence – the ability to understand and empathize with your interlocutor, to catch their mood, and respond to them promptly. It seems to me that my soft skills in this area will allow me to be an effective employee being able to help people. It is important to note that this field of study involves working with people in difficult life situations. Therefore, in addition to using pre-written scenarios of behavior in a given situation, it is important to understand who is asking for help. According to my feelings, as well as my personal life experience, I have a fairly high level of empathy, which I consider an important quality for this specialty. For me, being a social worker is, first of all, not a job to grow up the career ladder, but an opportunity to help communities and thereby make people’s lives better. In this, I see my strength in the context of communication in this work.
The social worker profession provides a wide range of development opportunities. First of all, the areas of personal growth are associated with communication skills, the improvement of which will allow us to solve increasingly complex problems and participate in larger projects. By developing communication skills, the social worker has the opportunity to work not only at the local level but also to participate in national projects. In the future, such experience can be extremely useful for international forums and projects. Today, there are a big number of foundations like UNICEF, which help different groups of the population in difficult situations. Consequently, improving communication skills will allow us to achieve new goals and develop.
Areas of Opportunity and Improvement
As a social worker, I feel that I must communicate effectively since the goal of my work is to help others. To identify how I can help, I have to be able to understand how to talk to people from different backgrounds and understand their viewpoints. Hence, an opportunity for improvement for me is gaining better comprehension of how culture affects communication and what I as a social worker can do to be more assertive. Culture includes values and norms that are integral to a person’s self, as they are reinforced by a community where this individual grows up (“Cross-cultural communication,” n.d.). Hence, understanding the difference between varied cultural groups and their perceptions of life, their values, and their beliefs can improve my ability to communicate with these groups.
Another aspect of improvement is not only listening when someone talks by assessing other elements of a conversation. As Zeiger (2018) notes, a lack of such understanding and proper communication skills results in one’s inability to “obtain or convey that information, thereby causing detrimental effects to clients.” (para. 1). Part of the ability to get information is understanding the non-verbal cues that can communicate more than words, in some cases. For me, the ability to understand nonverbal communication means being able to identify if the client is feeling comfortable or if I should work on building trust to make sure that I can help them. Overall, for me, the opportunity to achieve a more solid understanding of communication and ways of improving my communication skills is essential since, as a social worker, I will rely greatly on the ability to gather and interpret information.
Reference
Cross-cultural communication. (n.d.). Web.
Zeiger, S. (2018). Effective communication skills for social workers. Chron. Web.