After the ES2007S lesson on last Thursday, I realized that effective communication skills are really important in our daily life such as in the context of building relationships and maintain quality relationships with your family members, friends, employers, employees and others. Without effective communication skills, we can hardly convey the messages that we wish to deliver across to the targeted audience. Also, we might encounter misunderstanding and confusion without effective communication.
If you ever thought that communication is an easy task by just speaking out what you want to say, then you would be wrong. Communication is not only comprised of verbal communication but also non-verbal components which are the body language, gestures, eyes contact and others. It is not as simple as you think it is. For example, during a conversation, the effectiveness of message to be received by the listener also takes into account the tone of the speaker deliver the message, the emotions of the speaker, the feedback from the listener and etc.
In my opinion, to master communication skills, it requires life-long learning and experience in interacting with the people. From there, you can put your communication skills in practical and at the same time do refinement to it if you found that the skills can be further improved to communicate with people. Besides, it is always good that you think before saying something and being thoughtful when you communicate with people in order to achieve a more effective communication so that it would not hurt people’s feeling and deteriorate the relationship.
In a conclusion, to achieve effective communication, it’s good that we always think critically and rationally before we speak. In addition to it, we must not be afraid to make mistake, must not be afraid to speak out and be open-minded to accept the weaknesses and mistakes that made. Later on, make improvement from the mistakes and weaknesses.
Hi Xin Ying! Yes, communication is truly not a simple task. In today’s society, I feel that we can no longer speak our mind freely. We have to be extra careful in the usage of words and even expressions, in order not to create any misinterpretation and discontent. Communication is viewed as an academic discipline, sometimes called the human science of "communicology," Thus, there are so much for every individual to learn and consequently have been various communication trainings available to impart the knowledge of RIGHT communication advices and techniques.
ReplyDeleteGreat essay on the importance of effective verbal communication!I couldn't agree more with you on this issue. I believe most of us have awkward situations due to miscommunication which leads directly to misunderstanding of the other party. I consistently confront such circumstances with my parents. I guess it's because we feel painful when similar things happen to our loved ones and how successful people tell stories about the crucial role of communication in their successes that we so eagerly want to master the skills. Besides verbal communication, written forms of communication, like resumes and these blog posts, also have critical influence on our lifes.
ReplyDeleteI think that to even communicate properly for some people is always a problem. Some do not even tell you what they want and that usually left us guessing what is happening.
ReplyDeleteI guess some of us, if do not try to learn the proper techniques to communicate properly, we might not get a chance anymore. The next step after university will be in the workforce. This is always a better place for us to practice and learn the right skills before we plunge into the workforce in future. Think advantage. :D
effective communication is really a difficult task when it envolves critical thinking. Not everyone can think enough before speaking,especially in an informal situation.we really need lots of practice.^^
ReplyDeleteI agree that effective communication requires a lot of practice. I, for one, needed to practise it a lot before I could stand in front of a group of people (a class, for example) and just speak. In the past, I couldn't get a proper word out.
ReplyDeleteBut then again, that is a different situation compared to everyday face-to-face communication. When preparing for a presentation, you'd have time to, at the very least, run through what you are going to say and do in your head, and at most, rehearse the presentation.
I think it is sooo much more challenging to communicate effectively impromptu, face-to-face, dealing with situations as they arise, having to watch our language, tone, body language, conciseness, clarity, etc. all the time.
That is not to say I am confident already in other forms of communication like letter writing, presentations, and many others. I think I have a lot to improve on, still. I agree with Kenneth; better we make fools of ourselves here in this course than in the working world!
Agree with what Izen and Kenneth said.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to be taken care of while communicating. Guess that's why we need to do a lot fo group work together to learn up our group mate's strength as well as getting feedback from our groupmates to improve ourselves. :)
Thanks for the sharing, Xin Ying! Glad that our discussion session in class jogged your appreciation of the importance of effective communication. Possessing the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently is certainly an essential part of our everyday lives. Glad you have taken the first step towards finding out more about, and understanding this process!
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed your discussion on the need to master the verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication, I would have liked for you to share with us why effective communication skills are important for you. Come the last blog post when you reflect on your development through the course, it would have made for a more meaningful retrospection.