Big Five Personality Traits and Assertiveness do not Affect Mastery of Communication Skills

Background: Mastering communicationskills is often emphasized as an important aspect of job or academic performance. However, research into the relationships between personality factors and these skills is scarce.Purpose: This study investigated whether the big-five personality factors and assertiveness predict mastery of communicationskills before and after following communication skills training.Method: The skills level of 143 psychology students was assessed after two communication skills courses, namely a basic and anadvanced communication skills training. Personality factors were assessed with the Five Factor Personality Inventory and theScale for Interpersonal Behavior.Results: Participants showed substantial progress in their mastery of the communication skills after both courses. Surprisingly,none of the personality factors predicted the level of mastery of these skills.Discussion: This seems to imply that trainees can become professional communicators, regardless of their scores on thesepersonality factors.