Introduction

For purposes of this course I am The Answer is: 42. For those of you familiar with the work of Douglas Adams you’ll understand the reference. I am a former Marine who was born and raised in Hawaii. After ending my military career I moved to the Sacramento area where I have spent the last 9 years as a field service technician. I live in Antelope with my wife, two Siberian huskies, and three cats. I have been going to school at Sierra College trying to get my computer science degree for the past three years.

I have always been fascinated by the way people interact and communicate with each other, whether by verbal or non-verbal cues. In high school, I participated in speech and was on the debate team. I have been really lucky in that the way we communicate has evolved so much during my lifetime. From face to face conversations, to a bias towards the phone (both land line and mobile) to the extensive use of e-mail, instant messages and text messages. While this will be my first formal class communication studies since high school, I pride myself on being able to clearly and effectively communicate using many different methods.

                My main goal for this class is to become a better evaluator of the way others communicate. While it’s important that I communicate in ways that ensure that my message isn’t misunderstood, I also want to be able to make sure that I am not misunderstanding the message that others are giving to me. I hope that after this class I will be better able to understand cultural differences in the way people speak as well as be able to more effectively understand and use communication techniques myself.