I am gaining a lot of communication skills each day as the 2016 Indium Corporation Marketing Communications college intern. It’s a good feeling knowing that this will benefit every area of my life immensely.
The projects I’m working on that have advanced my communications skills are:
- interviewing employees for IndiumTV and for "Inside Indium" (one of the company's intranet columns)
- coaching interns on their blogs
- the experience I had with the Observer Dispatch (OD) coming to Indium Corporation to interview select interns.
Interviewing someone face-to-face and one-on-one may not sound like a hard task, but doing it for the first time and having no prior experience makes it much more difficult than expected. In communications, it’s valuable to know what the person you’re interviewing is thinking at all times - and preparing yourself for this beforehand. You must consider these thoughts:
- How will I start the interview in order to break the ice?
- Will they feel uncomfortable with this question?
- How can I re-word this question in order to make it easier for the interviewee to respond?
- What can I say to get them to open up?
Being prepared and ready to deal with what will be thrown at you is the fundamental key in interviewing. If you are not prepared, you will not get the turnout expected and be left with several questions unanswered.
Each of the projects that I listed have taught me new ways to communicate in the work environment. In marketing communications (marcom), we know that you can't use the same form of communications for every person. You must modify how you speak to each group, how you'd interview each group, and how you'd coach these groups when interviewing for the media/press. The ways I communicate with Indium Corporation employees, other inters, and the media/press all are modified to meet the overall goal.
More learning is ahead...