As a communication major whose friends are entirely STEM majors, you can imagine the kinds of good-humored, yet, initially discouraging, teasing I received. To my friends reading this, you know who you are. "You're studying communication? Why are you studying...talking?" For starters, communication is so much more than just talking. It encompasses all of the motivations and logic behind our verbal and nonverbal behavior by harnessing results from behavioral and evolutionary research. People tend to overlook the complexities of communication because it's something we do so often and they take for granted how much goes into even the simplest of exchanges. The mere fact that you communicate often does not mean you're an effective communicator.

If I'm being completely honest, the communication major isn't, in any sense of the word, difficult. If you just need an easy major to gain a degree, the communication major without specialization could definitely be your go-to. However, like anything else, it's what you make of it that determines how impactful it is on your life and your acquired knowledge. When taken seriously, there is a lot to learn from studying communication. It allows you to delve deeper into understanding why people act certain ways and helps you to anticipate their behavior. If nothing else, studying communication teaches you self-awareness and strengthens your ability to remove yourself from a situation and think meta-semantically. You can never control your surroundings or external situations, you can only control how you approach and perceive them. By learning how to communicate effectively, you can strengthen your self-confidence as well as your skills of understanding people. The most dangerous person in any room is the person who's most observant of their surroundings. You wouldn't believe how much you can tell about a person just by taking a few moments and observing them.

One of the perks of being highly observant is that by being able to learn about people you can tailor your communication skills to amplify the resonance of each exchange. People will always remember how you make them feel and we see instances of this all the time. Years may pass yet we will still remember how awful someone made us feel in the past and avoid them because of it, regardless of how different they may now be. The same goes for positive emotions. It's in our nature to be more inclined to do more for people who make us feel important.

By being an effective communicator, you understand that everyone's communicating style is different and you account for these discrepancies by paying attention and altering your behavior and speech to accommodate it. You are able to engage the other person in a conversation that is meaningful despite the superficiality of the topic. The other person feels listened to and understood and, in turn, is more likely to trust you. Most importantly, be genuine. Nothing looks worse than when your actions don't match your words. By understanding how to effectively communicate, you can use this newfound sense of self-awareness to make sure you're consistent with yourself as well as with others.

As much as we hate to admit it, presentation is everything. OK, maybe not everything, but it definitely accounts for a fair amount. When we meet someone for the first time we try and gain as much insight as we possibly can about them to begin the cycle of uncertainty reduction. What's the first, and in most cases, the only thing we can draw such information from? One's appearance. We take into account how a person carries themselves because it's often an indication of some part of who they are. How they dress, how they walk, how they speak, how assertive they are and how comfortable expressing themselves we are are all important characteristics we take into account.

Those who can communicate well are taken more seriously and looked upon more favorably, especially in terms of career opportunities. If one has good communication skills, they are assumed to have a slew of other positive characteristics as well. That may not always be the case, but that's just how the world works. You can spend all your time complaining and fighting it, but that doesn't make it untrue. You can either play the game or get beat up by it.

Cultures and physical surroundings may change and technology will continue to advance and become more integrated into our daily lives but at the end of the day, unless we turn into some dystopian AI horror story, people are here to stay. Each communication exchange is a performance and like watching any performance, it's much more beneficial when you understand and can appreciate the complexities of what's unraveling in front of you.

Being an effective communicator in a world where you are assessed based on how you present yourself and where communicating with people is unavoidable is the key to limitless success both in your personal and professional life. As a public relations major, I've realized that everything requires PR, even how we present ourselves. You could be the smartest person in the world but if you can't properly communicate your knowledge and sage wisdom, is it really worth anything to other people?