Stand and deliver is still in demand. And will be forever.

Posted On March 29, 2017

Many names have been coined for millennials – most of which are unflattering – but one that may come closer to hitting the mark than most is the Emoji Generation.

With more and more communication being done on screens small enough to fit into a pants pocket, this has become the age of speaking with pictures and acronyms instead of words. Instead of offering a completely formed sentence or phrase with proper grammar and punctuation, it’s now the norm to use abbreviations like idk and omg, emojis and shorthand slang that lends itself to expressing thoughts in hastily typed texts or 140-character tweets.

Not even Grammar Nazis bother correcting it anymore.

But “idk” is not a valid response when a prospective employer asks you a question in a job interview. And you can’t draw a smiley-face with your fingers when a potential client asks how your business can help him.

Interpersonal communication is still essential. What’s more, Forbes contributor Kaytie Zimmerman notes that public speaking skills are still important too.

Many people of all ages have difficulty speaking with confidence in front of a crowd. In an increasingly tech-driven world, millennials may think they don’t particularly need to.

Zimmerman notes, however, that developing public speaking skills is a simple way to stand out in the crowd. By mastering what seems like a lost art, you can create your personal brand as being one that’s as at ease in front of roomful of people as on Facebook or Twitter.

Don’t dress for the job you have, the old adage goes, but for the job you want. The same goes for your communication skills. If you want to be a plumber, you learn the lingo and jargon of plumbing. If you want to be a manager or a CEO, you’d better learn how to give a presentation in front of the employees or the stockholders.

If you want to win the day, you still need to be able to win the room. And it’s not a chat room.

Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Workplace