Academic Services

The Importance of Effective Communication

To succeed in graduate school and beyond, good skills in all areas of communication are mandatory. Here are some tips on how you can acquire these skills in graduate school.

Seek to become the best writer and public speaker you can

No matter what your intended career, clear, effective writing and speaking will be instrumental in ensuring success.

There are countless resources across campus, including your professor, peer groups, organized classes, etc. that can help you sharpen your writing or presentation skills. As discussed below, seek opportunities to present yourself and your thoughts whenever possible.

Take advantage of opportunities to improve your teaching skills

If your goal is to teach, there is a wealth of resources to help you become a more effective teacher; take advantage of departmental evaluation processes to secure constructive input. Instructional Consultation, a component of Instructional Development, runs the TA Development Program , whose services include but are not limited to the following: classroom videotaping, consultations on teaching and on instructional technology, TA instructional grants, TA training seminars, instructional videos, and evaluation services for course instruction.

Strive to present your research findings in any format you can, whether it is professional conferences or departmental colloquia

This can have numerous benefits ranging from making yourself more visible to the academic community, to giving you practice in public speaking, to gaining critical feedback, and establishing a presence with potential employers.

Collaborate with other students on research and writing (including grant proposals)

Studies show that students in engineering and the sciences benefit from the peer group influence of working as part of a laboratory group – students pull each other along, become bonded, etc. Students in the social sciences and humanities can achieve similar benefits by agreeing to collaborate on research that possibly leads to joint presentations at conferences or co-authorship of articles.

Seek grants and develop grant writing skills

Whenever possible, seek research and scholarship funds and become proficient in grant writing. Seek faculty help in learning how to compete for both campus and extramural funding, but also be willing to take the initiative on your own or with the help of other students. Read successful and unsuccessful proposals along with the review and become involved with proposal writing. Possibly your department will allow you to write your thesis or dissertation proposal as though it were to be submitted to a funding agency.