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Communication

Effective communication involves understanding your audience, being clear and concise, practicing active listening, and aligning verbal and non-verbal cues to convey your message confidently.

Activities where you could develop your communication skills 

  • Participate in group work. Try not to be a passive member of the group; try to join in. Pre-reading a topic before a session is an effective way to increase your confidence and engagement. 
  • Become part of the PALs scheme. 
  • Ask tutors, friends, work colleagues or family members for feedback on your communication skill. 
  • Look out for scenarios where you can use your communication skills, i.e. talks and presentations or mock interviews that you can attend with careers. 
  • Become a volunteer and improve your communication skills working within the wider community. 
  • Become a student Welcome hero, a role where you can communicate positively about the University of Derby to prospective or new students. You will improve your empathetic listening skills when greeting new students. You will remember how you felt when you first started and how daunting and overwhelming it was. 

All these example activities are great for not only improving your communication skills but also to use as good examples in your future job application and job interviews.