How is communication different between the past and now?

Letters became emails, telephones became smartphones and newspapers became the internet over the
last few decades, with technology evolving at an increased pace. Smart phones don't just let us call
people from anywhere, but also email, text, direct message and a thousand other methods of
communication.

Why is communication such an important 21st-century skill?

Learning communication skills is SO important in school because effective communication is essential for
success in both personal and professional life. It helps individuals express their thoughts and ideas
clearly and persuasively, and it enables them to understand and interpret the messages of others. Good
communication skills also enhance collaboration, foster better relationships, and improve decision-
making. Additionally, the ability to communicate well is highly valued by employers and is a key factor in
career advancement.

Teaching communication skills to underserved children is crucial because it can help close the
opportunity gap and empower them to succeed in life. Effective communication skills can enhance their
confidence, improve their relationships, and increase their ability to express their needs and ideas. This,
in turn, can lead to better academic performance and greater success in the workforce.

Underserved children may face additional challenges in developing communication skills, such as limited
exposure to language and limited opportunities for social interaction. However, there are various
strategies that can be used to support their growth in this area like storytelling, discussions and debates.
But more importantly, fostering a positive learning environment where children feel comfortable
expressing themselves.

But the best bet for developing communication skills for children of the 21st century would be to
integrate technology and media into the learning process, to help children develop media literacy and
digital communication skills.

Playing games can be a fun and effective way for children to improve their communication skills.
Storytelling games like the Atlas Mission encourage children to use their imagination and develop
storytelling skills.
The Evolution of Communication through the Centuries
Communication is very important. It is a key to understanding between people. Through the years,
communication has evolved. The way people communicate with each other today is entirely different
from the prehistoric era. Before, communicating is limited to interpersonal interaction – person to
person. Until it evolved to alphabets, signs and symbols, letters, and telephone. Today, the Internet era
has paved the way to innumerable means of communication.

Technology has indeed redefined communication. People no longer have to wait for years, months,
weeks, and days to receive an information or message. Today, texts, e-mails, tweets, and personal
messages can reach the recipient in just a matter of seconds.

Cave Paintings

The oldest form of symbols used for communication is cave paintings. According to theorists, cave
paintings were created to mark a territory or to record events.

Symbols

Our early ancestors have used different variations of signs and symbols to communicate. Around 10,000
B.C., petroglyphs were created. They were carvings in the rock surface, usually referred to as a rock art.
In 9,000 B.C., pictograms were developed in which ancient people logographic images to tell a story.
Later on, ancient cultures developed ideograms. Egyptians had their hieroglyphs. Chinese created
characters. Lastly, the alphabet, which redefined language and communication was developed around
2,000 B.C.

Smoke Signals

Apart from letters and symbols, ancient people also rely on elements to communicate. Smoke signals
were primarily used in sending messages in China. In 200 B.C., guards execute smoke signals to send
messages along The Great Wall of China.

Carrier Pigeons

As we all know, pigeons are naturally great with directions. Over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans
used pigeons as primary messengers between military men. In the 12th century, messenger pigeons
were widely used. According to Naval chaplain Henry Teonge, merchants used pigeons as a “postal”
service. They also played a vital role in World Wars I and II.
Newspaper

In 1440, German Johannes Gutenberg developed the printing press system which radically changed
communication forever. With this, the newspaper began to flourish in the 16th century. The German-
language publication of Johann Carolus in Strasbourg in 1605 was the first newspaper. The first English-
language newspaper was published in Amsterdam in 1620.

Radio

After print media flourished, radio followed. In the 1830s, various scientists, such as Maxwell and
Hughes studied on wireless telegraphy which developed the theory of electromagnetism. In 1888,
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz discovered “Hertzian waves”, named after him. In 1893, Tesla started using
wireless power as a form of transmitting content. In the early 20th century, radio broadcasting began.

Telegraph

Telegraph communication started after Samuel Morse invented the Morse code which encoded the ISO
basic Latin alphabet. The Morse code transmitted messages through series of clicks, tones, and lights. In
1830, Morse integrated the Morse code in telegraphy technology that revolutionized the long-distance
communication. In 1844, Morse sent his first telegraph message.

Telephone

The telegraphy was immediately replaced by the telephone. It was invented by Scottish Alexander
Graham Bell in 1876. The telephone acts is a telecommunication device that converts human audio
signals to electronic signals which are transmitted via cables. It was further developed to commercially
cater to local and long distant calls. In the 1900s, landline telephone service began. Up until now, the
telephone remained one of the most reliable telecommunication devices.

Television

Along with telephones, television started to become a mode of indirect communication to the mass
audience. The television was not just invented by a single person, but developed through the efforts of
various brilliant people. The earliest records of TV broadcasting occurred after the World War II, in
which the display was still black and white. Now, more than 1.5 billion households in the world own a
television.
Internet

After the creation of computers in the 1950s, the ARPANET, which was the early predecessor of the
internet was developed. The ARPANET was designed to manage communication between ARPA
computer terminals in the 1960s. The term “internet” first emerged in 1973. The first internet service
provider was the Telenet. In 1983, the domain system started. In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at
CERN, introduced the World Wide Web (www) which definitely started the modern internet.

E-mail

With the onset of the internet, electronic mails started to become popular. Although emails came
before the ARPANET, however, it was “offline”. In 1975, John Vittal developed a software to organize
emails. From that time, 75% of ARPANET traffic was email. In 1994, Yahoo! was born. It was followed by
other mailing platforms, including Hotmail and Google Mail.

Text Message

The first official SMS messaging took place on December 3, 1992, when Neil Papworth, an engineer from
Sema Group (now Airwide Solutions) used a computer to send “Merry Christmas” through the Vodafone
network. In 1994, the Radiolinja was the first network service provider to carry out person-to-person
text messaging. Now, SMS has evolved in which over 9 trillion SMS are sent every year.

Social Media

The latest mode of communication in the digital era is the use of social media platforms. It has become
more available because of the proliferation of smartphones where social media apps can easily be
installed. In 2004, Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg. Today, the Messenger is one of the most
widely used messaging apps. There are more than two billion Facebook users worldwide. In 2005,
YouTube became the first-ever popular video hosting social media site. In 2006, Twitter began to
dominate the social media scene. Other social media platforms have followed.

Indeed, communication has gone through a lot of stages before it became so convenient and efficient
today. Thus, our role is to use these communication tools responsibly and in the right way.

Technology enables instant communication, eliminating the need for time-consuming physical meetings
or written correspondence. Email, messaging apps, and video conferencing facilitate quick and efficient
communication, regardless of geographic location.
Why is technology important for communication?
Instant Communication: Technology has made communication faster than ever. With tools like email,
messaging apps, and social media, people can communicate with each other in real time, regardless of
their location

Interpersonal Skills: Definitions, Examples and

Interpersonal communication involves the face-to-face exchange of thoughts, ideas, feelings and
emotions between two or more people. This includes both verbal and nonverbal elements of personal
interaction. Employers seek candidates with interpersonal skills as they contribute to the efficiency of
teamwork and business communications.

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills are traits you rely on when you interact and communicate with others. They cover a
variety of scenarios where communication and cooperation are essential. Interpersonal skills are often
referred to as people skills, social skills, or social intelligence. They involve reading the signals that
others send and interpreting them accurately in order to form effective responses.

These skills involve the ability to communicate and build relationships with others. Often called people
skills, they tend to incorporate both your innate personality traits and how you’ve learned to handle
certain social situations. Effective interpersonal skills can help you during the job interview process and
can have a positive impact on your career advancement.
Some examples of interpersonal skills include:

Active listening

Teamwork

Responsibility

Dependability

Leadership

Motivation

Flexibility

Patience

Empathy

In a work environment, strong interpersonal skills are an asset that can help you navigate complexity,
change and day-to-day tasks.

Why are interpersonal skills important?

Strong interpersonal skills can help you during the job interview process as interviewers look for
applicants who can work well with others. They will also help you succeed in almost any job by helping
you understand other people and adjusting your approach to work together effectively. For example,
while a software engineer may spend the majority of her time working on code independently, she may
need to collaborate with other programmers to effectively bring a product to market.

This is especially true as more companies implement collaborative agile frameworks for getting work
done. Employers will be looking for workers who can both perform technical tasks with excellence and
communicate well with colleagues.

Interpersonal skills examples

Unlike technical or “hard” skills, interpersonal skills are “soft” skills that are easily transferable across
industries and positions. Employers value interpersonal skills because they contribute to positive work
environments and help maintain an efficient workflow.
Here is a list of interpersonal skills for you to identify interpersonal skills you may possess that are
valuable to employers:

Active listening

Active listening means listening to others with the purpose of gathering information and engaging with
the speaker. Active listeners avoid distracting behaviors while in conversation with others. This can
mean putting away or closing laptops or mobile devices while listening, and asking and answering
questions when prompted.

Dependability

Dependable people can be relied on in any given situation. This can include anything from being
punctual to keeping promises. Employers highly value dependable workers and trust them with
important tasks and duties.

Empathy

A worker’s emotional intelligence is how well they understand the needs and feelings of others.
Employers may hire empathetic or compassionate employees to create a positive, high-functioning
workplace.

Leadership

Leadership is an important interpersonal skill that involves effective decision-making. Effective leaders
incorporate many other interpersonal skills, like empathy and patience, to make decisions. Leadership
skills can be used by both managers and individual contributors. In any role, employers value people
who take ownership to reach common goals.

Teamwork

The ability to work together as a team is extremely valuable in every workplace. Teamwork involves
many other interpersonal skills like communication, active listening, flexibility and responsibility. Those
who are good team players are often given important tasks in the workplace and may be seen as good
candidates for promotions.
Jobs that require interpersonal skills

Any job you apply for will require interpersonal skills of some kind. Some jobs that rely on strong
interpersonal skills more than others include:

Teachers

Teachers need strong interpersonal skills in order to work collaboratively with each other,
administrators, students and parents. An empathic and patient teacher can help students learn and
grow effectively in their education.

Administrative assistants

Administrative assistants need to be highly dependable, among other interpersonal skills. Administrative
assistants also come in contact with customers or clients on a regular basis, making interpersonal skills a
necessary function of the job.

Nurses

Comfort and care for patients is a key skill for nurses. Interpersonal skills of all kinds are integral for the
industry, especially empathy and patience.

Marketing managers

Marketing requires several technical and soft skills. Interpersonal communication skills are an important
part of marketing and marketing management, as marketing professionals not only work collaboratively
in developing marketing campaigns but also with clients and sales teams.

Customer service agents

Customer service requires a high level of people skills. Those employed in customer service spend most
of their work hours engaged with customers who may be frustrated, confused, or angry. Communication
skills are necessary, especially patience, empathy and active listening.
In the 21st century, communication skills need to be adaptable to local, national, and global contexts
due to the interconnected nature of our world. Here's how each orientation is important:

1. *Local Orientedness*: Effective communication at the local level involves understanding and
respecting the cultural norms, language nuances, and communication styles of the community you are
interacting with. This could include communicating with colleagues, students, parents, or community
members within your immediate geographic area. Local orientedness ensures that communication is
relevant, relatable, and culturally sensitive, fostering stronger connections and relationships within the
local community.

2. *National Orientedness*: Communication skills with a national orientation involve being able to
effectively navigate the diverse cultural, linguistic, and social landscapes within a country. This includes
communicating with individuals from different regions, backgrounds, and demographics across the
country. National orientedness emphasizes the importance of understanding national issues, trends, and
perspectives, as well as being able to engage in dialogue and collaboration with people from various
parts of the country.

3. *Global Orientedness*: In today's interconnected world, global orientedness in communication skills

Overall, developing communication skills with local, national, and global orientedness empowers
individuals to effectively navigate and contribute to the increasingly interconnected and diverse world of
the 21st century.

Many forms of communication previously though one-way, like books and television, have become
interactive with the rise of computers, the internet and digital and mobile devices .
These developing collaborative technologies, or new media, have rapidly increased the opportunities for
interactive communication across mediums, disciplines, culture, social classes, location, and even time.