Communication is key. This saying goes a long way. I have seen communication save, but also break, relationships. The importance of communication is critical in all aspects of everyday life.

New York City residents had the chance to elect the public advocate of New York City. Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government’s Vice President of Legislative Affairs Navjot Kaur made it her mission to inform everyone to vote. She handed out voter registration forms and made sure students knew what this election was for and provided them with ample resources on who was running.

After the elections were over, the elected official had over 100,000 votes. Now that is one impressive statistic. There is power in numbers, but you can’t reach that number if you don’t effectively communicate your ideas and opinions on important issues.

The other day, a friend of mine was trying to get a famous celebrity on campus for his club’s event. The singer said that he charges $2,000 for his performance. This number wasn’t within our budget, and I wanted to accept that this was the best offer that we were going to receive.

However, my friend urged the performer that the performance was extremely important and also explained that as a public institution, we don’t have that much funding for one performance alone. At the end, the performer did bring his price down. Diction plays a huge role in the way conversations pan out, and when it comes to event planning, speaking clearly and communicating effectively can change the course of events.

On a more personal note, it is important to speak the truth in all that you do. I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine about relationships. Whether this is a platonic or romantic relationship, communication builds the foundation for the rest of the journey.

A connection is formed through consistent communication, but if all the conversations are based on lies, this would only be speaking to someone’s fake persona. If there is also a lack of communication, relationships will falter. Speaking the truth and being completely honest will take you far; lies, on the other hand, won’t.

Communication is key to succeeding in all areas of life. Make sure to communicate your heart’s desires, how you feel about someone putting you down and being open and honest with your loved ones.

Radhika Kalani is the president of USG. She can be reached at radhika.kalani@usgbaruch.com. Her office is located at 3-272 in the Newman Vertical Campus.