Sharpen Your Communications Skills While in High School

Summary:

Being a talented communicator, for many, is a learned skill. Discover how you can sharpen your communications abilities while in high school with extracurriculars and online prep programs.

Key Points:

• Even in high school, good communication skills will help you gain traction and maneuver the world a little bit more effectively.
• Practicing public speaking, leveraging extracurriculars, getting published, and developing your people skills are all important soft skills to hone. 
• Communications studies can help you develop skills that are valuable in many areas of life.
• Relevant career paths include jobs in public relations, copywriting, marketing, and politics.
• There are numerous ways high school students can start honing their communications skills in high school including debate club and online immersion courses. 

“Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.”

– Gerald R. Ford, former United States president

Being a skilled communicator, for many, is a learned skill. Books on the subject, like “Super Communicator,” and “Talk Like Ted” abound. But communication skills are a learned practice. Even in high school, good communication skills will help you gain traction and maneuver the world a little bit more effectively.

Previously, we pointed out the six soft skills that any high school student can adopt to hone their communication abilities. These include practicing public speaking, leveraging extracurriculars, getting published, and developing your people skills.

But studying — and cultivating — good communication will shape your ability to sharpen a plethora of skills. 

Skills associated with good communication

Communications studies can help you develop skills that are valuable in many areas of life, including: 

• Communication: Learn to communicate effectively in a variety of ways, including writing, speaking, nonverbal, and visual communication. 
• Critical thinking: Learn to analyze complex situations, identify key issues, and clearly articulate solutions. 
• Leadership: Communication is important to work well in teams and develop leadership skills. 
• Interpersonal relationships: Good communication is the cornerstone to being a relied-upon member of your community, family, and school. 
• Understanding culture: Develop an understanding of how power and culture shape how people view the world and interact with each other. 
• Preparation for college and beyond: Strong communication skills will be increasingly important as you work your way toward your career. 

But what career paths are associated with communications studies?

Careers that benefit from studying communications

Communication studies can lead to a variety of career paths, including: 

• Social media manager: A common position for communications majors, this role involves learning about a company and creating a consistent online identity. 
• Human resources: Good communication skills are essential for human resources specialists, who interact with employees, write handbooks, and help recruit candidates. 
• Copywriting: Copywriters use their writing skills to effectively and accurately convey information about the brands and people for which they write. 
• Political communication: This is important in the production and impact of persuasive political messages, campaigns, and advertising, often in mass media.
• Public relations: Communication skills are vital when representing a business or brand, such as by writing news releases or managing social media campaigns. 
• Marketing: Marketing communications, also known as marcom, is the process of creating messages and content that appeal to a target audience and promote a product or service.

Do these skills and potential careers interest you? How would you like getting started in high school?

How to sharpen communications skills in high school

Other ways to sharpen your skills and test out communications courses include high school enrichment programs. Prelum, Powered by Kaplan partners with renowned universities across the country, including Georgetown University. Georgetown offers a number of relevant courses, such as leadership, marketing, and journalism. 

Their pre-college journalism program is designed for motivated high school students who seek a future in the world of communications. You’ll practice crafting stories, learn how to interview subject matter experts, and hear from prize-winning journalists, reporters, and editors from renowned media outlets. 

Another important course for those interested in communications is Georgetown's leadership course. In this course, you’ll identify various leadership styles — including your own — and explore the circumstances that call for each type of leadership. You’ll also practice effective leadership tools, and uncover ways to motivate others using your own unique strengths.

Still another communications option available to high school students is marketing. Focusing on both traditional methods and digital channels, this course introduces you to the vital role marketing plays in promoting and selling products or services. Explore marketing basics, how to build a brand, ways marketers strategically target consumers, and catch a glimpse into the future of this innovative field.

Best of all, all courses provide a flexible online format that lets you study anywhere, anytime that works for you.

Don’t forget more traditional methods of honing your communications skills in high school, such as Toastmasters, debate club, and working on the school paper. 

Communications studies are truly vital to anyone invested in successful interpersonal relationships. Whether it's business or personal relationships, high school communications programs are available to help you to get started today.