Most people have a fear of public speaking.

People like to hide in their little corner and hope nobody is paying attention to them. But why is that? Perhaps it’s because they don’t have the proper communication skills to make them more confident in their everyday life.

The Communication program here at ACC offers those type of skills to make every student a successful speaker. It’s a growing department happy to open its doors to new students every year who to want to come and learn.

Head of the program, professor Terri Scrima, works hard to provide her students with “a real-world view of communication.”  Scrima graduated from the University of Denver with an Applied Communication degree. She then went on to the corporate world, where she did training and development to teach IT people the communication side of the business. Now, she resides here at ACC, with twelve years of teaching experience under her belt.

So, why is a degree in communications so beneficial?

Besides the fact that a communication degree is excellent when transferring to a university, Scrima believes that communication touches every aspect of your life. The best relationships we have are with those we communicate best with. That’s why learning to effectively communicate with everyone is essential; it forges and maintains relationships. To do so, you’ll need to develop good speaking techniques as well as your body language.

Nowadays, employers want people who communicate well, by both written and spoken means. If a student is a business major, having a minor in communications will make you stand out. After all, business requires a lot of talking, and you need to have good body language and voice.

The Communication program is growing. Last year there was only one communication major; now there are 60. There’s even a communications club to refine these skills outside of the classroom.

To learn more about the Communication department, click here.