Why is effective communication important?

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Communication, whether you like it or not, is present in every setting be it in business, in our workplace, in our class, at home or in our social life. Practicing both your communicating and listening skills is essential in getting your idea across and receiving the speaker’s idea.

Despite knowing the importance of communication and listening, I must admit that I do not practice them effectively. Whenever I enter a new environment , I would often feel out of place because I have a problem  interacting with people whom I barely know. Sometimes I felt small and incompetent because of my command of language. I am afraid that I will be judged upon the way I communicate, thus at times I choose the keep my thoughts to myself. In a day-to-day conversation, I realize that I am always running out of topics to talk to my friends. Silence is golden while too much silence between friends will lead to awkwardness. Hence I always envy those who has lots to say even to a stranger. Why is that so? How did they do it? I figured that it is time that I step out of my comfort zone and learn some of these communication skills from this module as it will be even more important in future in my workplace.