When it comes to effective communication, good reading and writing skills are just as important as speaking and listening skills. Reading and writing skills are integral in our daily lives as we use it to express our ideas and to learn of others’ ideas. In schools, reading and writing are fundamental to our curricula and learning; in the workplace reading and writing are fundamental to conducting business. And they are a significant component of the application for schools overseas — crucial for the personal essays and the critical reading and writing section of the SAT.
Reading and writing can be quite difficult at times. You may have experienced those situations where you’ve spent days agonizing over a reading, then writing an analytical paper in response. Difficult as it can be, reading and writing cannot be ignored and rather than procrastinate, the best way to get better at reading and writing is simply to practice more. Yes, read and write more even if you don’t want to. Why are they important?
Reading is the foundation for writing. Effective reading skills help us to learn new information. We use it to read books and newspapers, to surf the web, and even to understand people when we read their body language. Reading enriches our vocabulary and refines our language and grammar. It can improve our empathy skills as we learn to understand how people think and feel differently. Reading opens our minds as we become exposed to more information; the more we read the better we train our brains to process and dissect information more efficiently and even to connect seemingly unrelated ideas. As a result reading is essential to critical thinking, a core skill that’s needed for learners and in the workplace.
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This post first appeared on Prep Beijing! on September 23, 2013 and was written by Alicia Lui.
Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago
Photo courtesy of Abbe5 (Flickr)
