I feel that my biggest downfall is my communication skills.Ironic since I have a weekly blog right? (Disclaimer - this blog is to help those who are just starting out and for my friends and family to read about my random adventures)Yeah, I can be articulate and I am able to speak well and be charming when the occasion calls for it, but the transition from college life to professional life is bit bigger than I originally though.
In college I could shoot off an email and not worry too much about the content. Most professors didn't care if there were mistakes in the email and if they did, most of them just rolled their eyes if they thought that the public education system had further failed us.
In the work force, your email, even a simple one, needs to be looked over a few times. Even a single typo is obvious in a work email that is sent.
Then there's the phone. The almighty help me, I have the hardest time picking up the phone and calling someone. Even close friends I have a hard time calling. Then once I do call, I forget half the things I wanted to talk about. It can lead to some unproductive phone calls.
It's no wonder my generation has become dependent on text messaging and social media.
So how to overcome my communication anxiety? Well when I need to make an important phone call, I make lists and the occasional power point. When it comes to emails, I don't put the people receiving the email in to the address bar until I have made sure to go over everything (and attach all attachments - I tend to forget those). It's important to proof read and to err on the side of formal over informal (i.e. be polite).
Practice also makes perfect and the more I'm forced to pick up the phone and write emails the better at them I get. So I can't be totally hopeless.
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