What’s so “comfortable” about Communication?

“Mas komportable, kaya Comm ang course ko.”
It’s a line often tossed around by those who barely grasp the complexities of a discipline that has long been stereotyped as the refuge of people who love to talk and hate math. But anyone who has truly immersed themselves in the study of Communication knows this: the field is anything but comfortable.

I learned clearly in college, just how essential communicators are in maintaining societal interconnectivity—and how journalism, as they say, is literature written in a hurry.

As explicitly put by one of my professors:
“You will be the non-doctors explaining the doctors.
The non-engineers interpreting the engineers.
The non-lawyers unpacking the lawyers.”

And that, plainly, is the truth.

We rely on journalists to dissect complex, jargon-heavy realities into clear, compelling narratives about events that shape our everyday lives. They bridge knowledge gaps with a discipline grounded in language, ethics, cultural literacy, and an unwavering commitment to truth. Their work is not simply “talking”—it is translation, interpretation, contextualization, and often, courage.

But to say that Communication students are only trained for journalism is to view the field through the narrowest possible lens—like seeing only the tip of an iceberg. Yes, many communication majors learn the foundations of print, broadcast, and digital journalism, but those are just a few of the numerous competencies they are expected to master.

The old saying that communicators are “jack of all trades and master of one”—that one being communication itself—is another understated truth. In three or four years, communication students develop wide-ranging abilities: interpersonal communication, media production, research, strategic communication, public relations, crisis and knowledge management, persuasion, content development, design fundamentals, and even basic organizational culture, to name a few.

They find themselves analyzing audience behavior one term, producing a documentary the next, and developing a crisis communication plan after that. They are trained to function across media platforms, industries, and communities. They learn how organizations speak, how cultures collide, and how stories shape public consciousness.

 

And yet, learning how to communicate is only one part of the journey. Learning what to communicate is entirely another story.

In a world drowning in information, communicators must choose what matters. They must understand issues deeply, hold power to account, recognize the weight of their words, and navigate ethical minefields with care. They must be culturally fluent, historically aware, and future-oriented—all while knowing that one misstep can shape public perception in irreversible ways.

So, what is so “comfortable” about Communication?
Perhaps only the misconception. The reality is that communication is a discipline of responsibility—demanding not just skill, but depth of insight, foresight, restraint, empathy, creativity and intellect. Its practitioners are expected to be both compelling storytellers and guardians of truth. That is a task far from comfortable.

Communication majors don’t just learn to talk.
They learn to deal with people, conflict, data, technology, messages, culture, perception, and influence.

Communication isn’t for the comfortable—it’s for the courageous.

Communication isn’t the course for those who want comfort.
It’s the course for those who seek for impact.