Better Understanding Oral Communication Skills: The Impact of Perceived Personality Traits

Oral communication skills are greatly valued by employers and the greater workforce community. This study used the theory of dispositional attribution and an adapted version of Brunswik's lens model to assesses college students' oral communication skills through innovative, video-based tasks and explores the extent to which perceived personality traits contribute to these skills. Better understanding the individual difference antecedents of oral communication skills can aid key stakeholders (e.g., educators, students, job applicants) in improving these skills more effectively and with greater ease. Findings showed both perceived extraversion and perceived conscientiousness were associated with higher oral communication scores. Consequently, students that are perceived as being on the low end of these traits may benefit from feedback providing information about how they are perceived when they present and suggesting behaviors associated with the higher ends of these traits.