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ErinNorton
Ms.Futhey
English250SD
FinalExamEssay
December14,2015
LookingAhead:aVowtoLearn
Effectivecommunicationisanecessityinanycareer.Whetherthroughverbal
instructionsinacorporateworld,emailstoclients,orpresentationswiththepurposeof
persuadingapotentialbuyer,everypersonisexpectedtocommunicateandcommunicate
efficiently.Forme,lawismostappealing.Thismeansbriefsandargumentswillneedto
bemyspecialty.Themostimportantskillinthiscareerisoralcommunication.An
effectivelawyerstillmustargueonthebehalfofhisorherclientevenifeveryprepared
argumentisdefeatedintheopponentsopeningstatement.Thespontaneityoforal
argumentisanartinitself,althoughintheworldtoday,electroniccommunicationis
becomingmoreandmoreprevalent.Mygoalsforthefutureincludeimprovingbothoral
andelectroniccommunication,discoveringhowbesttoorganizeanargument,and
utilizingallopportunitiestoensureamasteryofthewrittenword.
Theartofspeakinghasalwaysappealedtome.Thespontaneityinthesportof
debatemakesitsothatanysortofoutcomeispossible.Themerefactthatoneisarguing
forandanotheragainstapointmeansthatthereisdisagreementintheworldandIfind
thatnecessaryandbeautiful.Ihaveconsideredoralcommunicationastrengthofmine
simplybecauseIenjoyit.Naturally,whatIenjoy,ItendtopracticemorealthoughI
shouldfocusmoreonweaknesses.WhatIwanttochange,however,isthewayinwhich
Ipresentmyselfinthepublicrealm.Itisinterestinghowtwopeoplecanusetheexact

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samewordsandhavecompletelydifferentlevelsofeffectiveness.Thewayinwhichone
presentshasalotofpowertopersuade.Confidenceandpreparednessgoalongwayin
oralcommunication.Beingabletoactinthespontaneouspublicworldwithout
becomingdiscouragedisalsoimportant.Iwanttobuildonthisspecificmodebecause
eventually,Imightwanttoenterthepubicrealmandactasapublicofficial.Thishigh
goalmayormaynotberealizedinmycareer;however,Iwanttocontinuallybuildupon
askillthatIenjoyandconsidertobemymosteffectivemodeofcommunication.
AsmuchasIenjoyoralcommunication,IknowthatImustimproveonhowIgo
aboutelectronicallypresentinganargument.Itisincredibletomehowmuchthevisual
hasthepowertopersuade.Somanymoreelementscanbeincludedusingthetechnology
presenttoday.Theaudial,visual,andwrittencanallbecombinedusingtechnologyand
thishastheabilitytoappealtomultipleindividualsinmultipleways.However,Ifully
understandmylimitationsinthisareathewebsitecreatorwasabitdifficultforme
becauseIwantedtokeepthingssimplereventhoughthatmayhavedecreasedmy
potentialtoreachtheaudienceinthemostpowerfulmanner.Mygoalistomasterwork
processinganddesign(asboringasthatsounds).Myfatherhasbeenpushingmetotake
classesinthisareaforyearsyetIdneverreallyseenthepointsinceIdstereotyped
techiesasbeingthemathandsciencemastersoftheworldandIwasfarfromamaster
ineitherofthesesubjects.However,theabilitytoquicklylearnnewprogramscomes
fromfirstmasteringthepresentones.Ialsowanttoachievecompletelyproficiencyin
statisticalsoftwarebecauseIthinkthatrealdatahasauniqueabilitytopersuadeandis
extremelyeffectiveincraftingarguments(althoughCharlesSiefe,authorofProofiness,

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woulddisagreeandsayitleadstoanunnecessarymanipulationofstatistics.)Througha
masteryofelectroniccommunication,Ishouldbeabletocatchuptoacontinually
technologicalworld.
Organizationhasalwaysbeenanissueforme.IknowthatItendtorambleonand
onwithoutacleardirectionattimes.However,inordertobeagoodlawyerandwrite
informative,clearbriefs,Imustmasterorganization.Thisisaveryeffectiverhetorical
strategybecauseitcanleadanaudiencetounderstandthelogicbehindeverypointthatis
made.IthinkthatthiswillbecomeeasierformeasIbegintoworkwithalawfirmasan
internthisnextsemesterandsummer.Beingexposedtothestyleoflegalpapersmore
willhelpinthisareabecauseItendtowriteasIread.Unfortunately,myfavoritetypeof
bookhasbeeneverysingleoneeverwrittenbymyfavoriteauthorMaeveBinchy,a
gossipyIrishstoryteller.Exposurewillbegoodforme.Furthermore,Ihopetoworkasa
CommunityOutreachOrganizerforanonprofitinDenvernextyearthatfocuseson
helpingvictimsofsexualassault.Thiswillrequireagreatdealoforganizationand
planningofevents.Hopefully,IllhaveopportunitiestosemimasterthisartbeforeI
beginbothjobsthatIwanttohave.
Thisrequiresutilizingallopportunitiestoimprovemyskillsatcommunicationto
thefullest.Ilovetoreadyetshouldfocusmyeffortsonmoreprofessional,academic
typesofworks.Atriptothelibraryismuchneededformeespeciallyatthispointin
thesemesterwhenfreetimeisfinallyopeningupforreading.Ithinkthattheanalysisof
greatworksisimportantforimprovingpersonalliteraryskills.ThisalsomeansthatI
shouldnotshyawayfromanyopportunitytotakechargewhenaleaderisneededto

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communicatesomethingtoagroup.Takingachanceandrunningforaleadershiprole
willautomaticallyplacemeinapositionwhereIneedtolearnfastthebestmethodin
reachingalargegroupofpeople.Furthermore,practicingbeforepresentationsshould
becomeahabit.Thiswouldrequiremaybeoneortwopeopletobeapracticeaudience
butIthinkthatthemorepracticeIhave,thebetterIwillbecomeatcommunicatingorally
orwithanelectronicpresentation.Afterall,bothcareersthatappealtomelawand
politicsrequireflawlesscommunication.
ThesefourgoalsreflecteverythingthatIvediscoveredneedsimprovement
throughthisclass.IthinkthatIcaneasilyworkonthesefourareas:oralandelectronic
communication,organization,andthefullutilizationofopportunitiestocommunicate.
Bydoingso,myeffectivenessshouldincreasesubstantially.Everyimprovementmust
first,however,startwiththemindsetthateducationisagift.Opportunitiestolearnmust
notbetakenforgranted.Afterall,universityeducationisnottheendofthelifelong
processoflearning.Thisclasswasonlyonestepinmypersonalprocesstobecomeas
closeaspossibletoreachingmyfullpotentialasascholar.