Business Skills -- Personal Evaluation Demonstrate Effective

Business Skills -- Personal Evaluation

Demonstrate effective communication skills

• I have expanded my vocabulary to include standard practical and theoretical business concepts and I have increased my proficiency with digital technology communications media. I have learned how to coordinate my vocabulary, language, and persuasion efforts to specific audiences depending on whether they are laypeople, professionals, colleagues, or strangers. This skill is extremely important within the military, in particular, because communications that are standard among service members are often incomprehensible to civilians and because civilian communications may be too imprecise to convey the minimum necessary information and distinctions typically communicated best through highly specialized terminology.

• I have improved my ability to use email and other forms of technology to communicate in a professional manner. That also includes a greater understanding of the manner in which different communications media typically require the communicator to consider how various communications efforts might be interpreted depending on the type of communications media involved. This skill is important because the vehicle by which communications are intended to be delivered determines what language and vocabulary is most appropriate for that given vehicle.

• I have expanded my vocabulary to allow me to understand, express, and communicate business-related concepts on both a practical and theoretical level. That has enabled me to process complex information in reading materials, to summarize them accurately to make use of them in subsequent discussions, and to write about them intelligently. This is important because much of the value of our conceptual understanding is lost unless we are able to communicate those concepts effectively to others. As a result, I am now better able to express in written form what I can express comfortably in verbal communications.

• I have learned how to tailor my language and persuasive strategies to different audiences (lay vs. professional, colleagues vs. strangers). That now allows me to discuss the same concepts, including complex or highly-technical ideas with very different audiences without confusing laypeople or wasting the time of more sophisticated audiences. This is an important skill because communicating in the wrong tone can undermine our ability to convey our understanding to others. For example, using an overly technical or sophisticated communication style can make it difficult for others to understand us if they lack our level of knowledge. Meanwhile, communicating too informally with superiors and others who are more knowledgeable could cause them to be unsure of our qualifications and knowledge. That includes learning how to use the outline process to improve my public speaking and my written assignments. In that respect, I have learned to compose different types of outlines depending on how well my audience knows the subject of the communications. Typically, lay audiences require more extensive introductory sections than expert audiences.

• The objective evidence available to support these conclusions includes my successful completion of Tab C-1, English 101 Essay and of Tab C-2, U.S. Army Contracting Recommendation Slides.

Outcome 2 -- Demonstrate introductory college-level proficiency in one or more of the subject areas in mathematics and/or natural sciences.

• I have learned how to use the scientific method to engage in problem-solving in a process that can deduce logical answers to questions about the natural world. For example, in the scientific disciplines, I have learned how to apply the scientific method to formulate testable hypotheses consisting of multiple variables in a systematic problem-solving process. That includes understanding the difference between independent and dependent variables. I have learned how to distinguish testable hypotheses from un-testable (i.e. non-scientific) hypotheses and to use the process of scientific experimentation to construct relevant experiments using dependant and independent variables for the purpose of testing to confirm or to disprove specific hypotheses. This skill has proven useful in non-academic areas as well, because the scientific method actually provides an effective means of answering questions and of excluding illogical conclusions from any given set of factual circumstances.

• I have learned to search online databases to identify relevant literature within legitimate, peer-reviewed journal articles with relevant information to scientific inquiries. That includes learning fundamentally different ways of communicating about scientific subjects depending on whether my audience consists of laypeople or scientific colleagues. When communicating with expert audiences, I know that I can delve into the details and finer points of the topic, whereas with less-knowledgeable audiences, I know that I must present a much more gradual transition from the forest to the leaves. That is important because I have discovered that preparing to deliver communications to audiences of different levels of understanding requires an entirely different process of information gathering, organizing, and presenting.