Michalyn Traywick

Communication Day Speech

Good Afternoon Everyone! I am Frank Trimble, the Chair of the Communications Department here at UNCW. I would like to welcome all of you, professors, alumni, faculty and invited guests. I would also like to welcome all of the students that are here. I am especially excited that you decided to attend this event. I realize that the majority of you are probably communication majors. I also realize that a lot of you students are here because you are interested in choosing Communications as your major. I am excited that I will have a chance to tell you about our program, and that you have decided to come and be apart of our day. We have all of the members of our department here today. Dr. James Lutze our Chancellor is also present. Jo Ann Seiple the dean of the college of arts and sciences is also here today. We have many other honored guests today including members of other departments on our campus, members of the community, and business representatives. Everyone is excited about this day dedicated to communication studies.

Very often I have heard that our program is not a serious one. I understand that some people believe that biology, physics, and business are more realistic programs of study. They are very practical and affect important areas in our lives. We are lucky to have such great programs here at UNCW, such as a wonderful marine science division, and a well-recognized school of business. But I believe that Communication Studies is being overlooked in its worth. Our ever-changing world depends on effective communication to succeed. Each individual depends on effective communication. Scientists, nurses’ accountants and ceo’s depend on effective communication to succeed. I would like to illustrate some of the principals Communication Studies includes.

A person that ventures out of their home is approached numerous times by situations and people that cause them to have to communicate. In the workplace communication might be with a boss. How do you if the message you are delivering is reaching your boss? There are some key principals to situations such as these. One of these includes body language. How is your boss reacting to you and what you are saying? Is he just nodding, or is he actually commenting on your issue leaning forward with interest, making eye contact? I hope he acts like he is interested, by doing the later. If you know a little about body language you will know if your message is being received or if the message has gotten lost. If the message has gotten lost then you will have to try again in another approach. Now this could be a scenario for any business situation. But, what if this was a teacher trying to tell her principal about a problem in the school that could in the future be hazardous to the students. If the teacher failed to send the correct message to the principal then the problem could become a more devastating problem in the future. If the situation was a scientist trying to receive sponsorship from a company, to do research on cancer, and the scientist was really brilliant and on the verge of a breakthrough. He might not be an effective communicator. He might not be able to put his ideas and intentions into the right words to send a message and get the sponsors to accept his proposal. That research might never have a chance at becoming reality because of the lack of effective communication. In today’s society communication is found in every discipline. Even the students, who are currently working, have to provide effective communication to balance their jobs and school.

In Dr. Commeaux’s Organizational Communications Class, the students learn that effective communication is necessary in the workplace. In order to get ahead in any business a person must be able to communicate well with the people that they are interacting with every day. In order for the business to succeed they have to have employees that are good communicators. This is something that is seen all over the professional world and it is important for our students to leave our campus with the knowledge they need to succeed in their careers. That is why I believe that our Communications Program is so important. We are sending out young well-educated professionals that can relay this important information to their coworkers, employees, and customers. I hope to see in the future the communications department growing and some of our courses reaching out into other departments. This I feel could produce a group of well-rounded professionals to go out into the world.

I would like to thank you all for coming. I would also like to thank all of the other speakers for their presentations.

Thank You