TLC - The Leadership Channel

       No matter what type of communicator you are, it helps to surround yourself with people who think the same way you do.  You want people to bounce ideas off of, and not somebody like your grandpa who will tell you "good job, Sonny, you make us very proud".  While that comment is always nice to hear, to get along in a communicative way, joining a group or organization based on your interest.  A few that are worth mentioning include:

American Communication Association (ACA): The American Communication Association fosters scholarships in all areas of human communication behavior,
promotes excellence communication, provides a voice in communication law and policy, and provides evaluation and certification services for academic programs in communication study. They are committed to enabling the effective use of new and evolving communication technologies to facilitate instruction, research, and criticism.

International Communication Association (ICA): ICA is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. They have more than 4,200 members in over 80 countries. ICA’s know-how and expertise are available to everyone, and its diverse structure ensures the association’s relevance to a multitude of interests. ICA includes 24 divisions and interest groups, each representing a special subfield in the study of communication.

National Communication Association (NCA): NCA is the largest national organization dedicated to communication. Researchers, educators, and professionals, work to understand and better all forms of human communication. They advance communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific and aesthetic inquiry. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, the NCA promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems.

 

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): PRSA is the world’s largest and foremost organization of public relations professionals. PRSA provides professional development, sets standards of excellence, and upholds principles of ethics for its members. They are a community of more than 21,000 public relations and communications professionals across the United States, from recent college graduates to the leaders of the world’s largest multinational firms, as well as more than 10,000 students who are members at colleges.

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC): IABC provides a network of over 15,000 business communication professionals in over 80 countries. This network allows you to tap into thousands of years of collective experience of your peers for new ideas, fresh insights, and problem solving assistance. Their web site contains a library of how-to articles and case studies of successful communication in the real world.

I feel I would most benefit from the IABC for networking purposes. The ability to communicate (go figure!) with professionals in my field and bounce ideas off them and gain valuable insight can be professionally rewarding. I just joined the ACA because of their purpose of helping those in this field to further their studies and provide future certification. Additionally, it was free (and it doesn’t get any better than that!).

References

American Communication Association (ACA): http://www.americancomm.org/

International Communication Association (ICA): http://www.icahdq.org/

National Communication Association (NCA): http://www.natcom.org/

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): http://www.prsa.org/

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC): http://www.iabc.com/