Communication Competence

Brian H. Spitzberg

10The composition of competence: Communication skills

“Some glory in their birth, some in their skill”William Shakespeare (Sonnet 91, circa 1609)

Abstract: The importance of communication skills and competence to the quality of life is reviewed. Given the importance of communication, distinctions are delineated among the concepts of communication skills and communication competence. Three general approaches to identification and typology of communication skills are reviewed. Bricolage enumeration approaches extract and list skills based on available literature and research. Empirical derivation approaches use data-based approaches to extract higher-order factors or dimensions of skills. A priori approaches employ theories or ...