Running head: PERSONAL COMMUNICATION PHILOSOPHY

Personal Communication Philosophy

Heather A. Vander Wyst
Gonzaga University

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PERSONAL COMMUNICATION PHILOSOPHY
Communication as a Social Contract
Every action individuals accomplish throughout the day is a mode of communication.
Communication is a social contract that has enabled the human species to survive and adapt to an
ever-changing world. Communication is essential for ones wellbeing, effective through different
media and essential for individual and societal self-awareness to guarantee the survivability of
societies and people within them.
Communication as an Essential Part of Personal Wellbeing
Communication is healthy and necessary for personal wellbeing. Communication allows
the human species to connect ideas, express beliefs, and process emotions. Traditionally, humans
have utilized language to communicate needs, knowledge and emotion. It is an important
physical need to ensure the health of a system or body (i.e. a baby crying to signify he or she
must eat or a grown man telling his doctor about a strange bump discovered on his arm).
Communication also is necessary for emotional health and maintenance. Expressing emotion is a
necessity for mental wellbeing. Whether emotion is transcribed through a one-on-one with a
counselor, sharing and laughing about lifes crazy occurrences when having lunch with friends,
or quietly transliterating ones own personal thoughts on paper to be kept in a journal.
Personally, I find great consolation in journaling. Journaling sanctions the conscience and
conscious to coexist. Documenting the activities of the day and associated emotions or penning
future dreams, authenticates personal beliefs, values and aspirations. Furthermore, journaling
historically documents changes, triumphs and growth. Communication plays a vital role in
helping individuals process the world around them and contributes greatly to personal wellbeing.
Communication is Versatile through Different Media

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PERSONAL COMMUNICATION PHILOSOPHY
Communication is versatile allowing the human species to thrive in their environments where
messages are pushed through multiple forms of media. Communication in different medium let
individuals adapt to a changing the world by making information accessible and digestible.
These modes of communication are ever present in todays society. Today, the human race is
constantly bombarded with advertisements, social media, and related venues to express verbal
communication. This includes smartphones that have the ability text, email, make telephone
calls, and access the Internet. These different media for communication even have ways to
communicate with and train their owners, making information readily accessible in real time.
Examples of this include a small ding ones smartphone sounds to signify a text or through
pop-up notifications on social media that announce when a friend liked a comment you placed
on their social media website profile. I know I promptly check my iPhone when I hear the
respective ding notifications for iMessages, Facebook notifications and messenger, and
Snapchats. This shows that communication is even versatile multiple ways within a singular
communication device! These methods of communication are all derived from the human
species need to connect, adapt and the desire to thrive in their environment.
Communication as a Way for Society to Survive
Communication develops an individuals and communitys self-awareness that
contributes to the survivability of a society. Values and beliefs are developed through
communication with community, society and world around the individual. Communicating,
introspectively and outwardly, defines who someone is and what he or she stands for.
Communication allows for people in societies and different communities to share ideas and be
aware of the ever-changing world around them. That sharing cinches the growth and survival of
the community and allows for the passing on of values, traditions, knowledge and information

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PERSONAL COMMUNICATION PHILOSOPHY
that allow for the human race to continually excel. When a community of people know their
purpose and understand who they are, both individually and as a community, communication
grows into a positive aspect or a goal that will guarantee survival of themselves and their cultural
values. These shared values will be reflected in the multiple forms of communication and the
survivability of these cultural values will have greater sustainment.
Conclusion
Communication spans beyond the simplistic idea of one person speaking to another in an
attempt to relay a thought. Communication is also cornerstone that has allowed the human race
to be successful in survival and growth. Communication, when seen as necessary for personal
wellbeing, versatile and effective through different medium and a lynchpin for individual and
societal self-awareness, allow for the human race to prosper as a people.

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References:
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