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HOW COLLEGE IS

Leandro Figueiredo
COM 122 section 05, sister Richards
March 18, 2016

How college is helping me manage my confidence

My interpersonal communication goal is to manage my lack of self-confidence when I
need to speak in public. The journey I have initiated attending LDS Business College has been an
important part of this experience. In this last two months I have been studying and learning about
how we see and feel about ourselves can interfere with how we communicate to others and how
they receive that information about us. I also had the opportunity to experience how LDS
Business College academically prepares their students how to develop soft skills.
Based on this recent experience I saw my self-engaged on how I could improve my
communication skills, and for that Im going to present two articles I found in my research to
achieve my goal, and support the idea that I need more than learn new principles. I need to put
them into action. Those articles are: Practically Speaking, an article about how Business Schools
add programs to ensure grads have communication skills, and the other is Presentation SelfEfficacy: Increasing Communication Skills Through Service-Learning, a study that demonstrates
the effectiveness of service-learning to develop the communication skills of business students.
So, how can Business Colleges like LDSBC help me, and others like me to develop soft
skills?
Soft Skills are the interpersonal proficiencies that enable students to communicate well
with prospective employers and, once employed, succeed in a workplace.

HOW COLLEGE IS

Leandro Figueiredo
COM 122 section 05, sister Richards
March 18, 2016

In this recent article from February 2016 is explained how some business degree
programs have initiated non-classroom graduation requirements in order to prepare students for
the job world. Here are examples from the Cal State University, San Marcos Business
Professional Development Program: have a professional headshot taken; create a profile for the
job posting database; attend a resume workshop; develop a professional resume; attending an
interviewing workshop; complete a mock interview; attend a networking workshop; attend a
professional networking event off campus; attend a career fair; create business cards and create
an informational interview with a professional who is working in the industry or field of your
interest.
Soft skills, such as knowing how to tactfully approach a prospective employer during a
networking event or how to respond in writing to a formal letter arent always part of standard
curriculums. To address this issue, the university has started a professional development
program, Hamerly said. Students learn how to remain composed when being asked questions
about their qualifications and career goals, how to start a conversation with strangers and how to
politely break away from conversations.
I have experienced here in LDSBC most of what this program offers to their students and
I can say it makes a huge difference on how my confidence as grown since then. I feel better
prepared to the challenges I will be facing in my near future looking for a new job.
Another point of my research is how I may increase my communications skills through
service-learning. First, Im going to explain what service-learning is. Service-learning is a form

HOW COLLEGE IS

Leandro Figueiredo
COM 122 section 05, sister Richards
March 18, 2016

of experiential education in which students perform a project for a non-profit agency. It is

essential that the content of the project be related to the learning objectives of the course and not
just a requirement to do work in the community (Bringle and Hatcher, 1996). Thus, in addition to
papers and exams service-learning provides an opportunity for students to practice the skills that
they are learning in class and, therefore, allows for different ways of knowing and learning
(Belenky et al, 1986; Gilligan, 1993). By participating in service-learning, students strengthen
their learning of traditional curriculum, experience personal growth, develop civic responsibility,
and contribute to the community. In terms of personal growth outcomes, service-learning
research has confirmed specific benefits to students, such as enhancing their cognitive and moral
development (Boss, 1994; Giles and Eyler, 1994) and improving leadership skills (Friedman,
1996).
Along with service-learning I need to explain the role of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is
ones estimate of ones ability to perform a specific task (Gist and Mitchell, 1992). Self-efficacy
plays an integral role in scholastic achievement, because peoples beliefs in their efficacy
influence the courses of action they choose to pursue as well as how much effort they will
expend in given situations (Bandura, 1997; Lent et al., 1987; Stumpf et al., 1987).
Pajares (1996) argues that the impact of knowledge, skill, and prior performance on
future performance can be attenuated by low self-efficacy, because the beliefs individuals hold
about their abilities and about the outcome of their efforts powerfully influence how they will
behave. Thus, prior performance is not necessarily a good indicator of potential performance

HOW COLLEGE IS

Leandro Figueiredo
COM 122 section 05, sister Richards
March 18, 2016

when self-efficacy is low. However, people who avoid what they fear or stop a task prematurely
retain their low self-efficacy (Bandura and Adams, 1977). Yet people who continue to participate
in challenging activities will eventually overcome their inhibitions. This implies that selfefficacy can be changed through learning, experience, and feedback (Gist and Miutchell, 1992).
Service-learning projects provide a combination of the two most effective methods for
improving self-efficacy: mastery experiences and modeling. By having students present to
audiences outside the classroom, service-learning provides challenging mastery experiences that
involve application of skills/concepts being learned in class.
This kind of project associated with all the soft skills Im learning is all I need to boost
my confidence, here in LDSBC we dont have it, but we have something that has the same
potential and where I can achieve similar results. We have DECA. Im still learning what DECA
is all about, but I can say I already join DECA and I hope to learn and improve my selfconfidence to the point I can make a presentation of a project in the fullness of my capacities and
potential. Work and persistence, passing from the words to acts, from learning into action,
experiencing everything in the first person is without doubt the best way to conquer our fears. As
the Ted talk given by Amy Cuddy we watched in class this week, fake it until you make it, or
even better, fake it until become it!

HOW COLLEGE IS

Leandro Figueiredo
COM 122 section 05, sister Richards
March 18, 2016

Tucker, Mary L.McCarthy, Anne M., (2001). Presentation Self-Efficacy: Increasing

Communication Skills Through Service-Learning, Journal of Managerial Issues 13, (2),
227, English. Retrieved from https://library.ldsbc.edu/
Pierce, Emmet. (2016) Practically Speaking. San Diego Journal,37, (5), 11, English. Retrieved
from https://library.ldsbc.edu/