Effective communication is an essential skill to have in today’s society as it not only affect the first impression of you by others, but also foster the relationship between you and others, be it on a personal or business note. By having good communication skills, ideas can be effectively understood by the listener and a good rapport can also be built.
I believe that everyone will remember the childhood game whereby kids gather in a circle and one starts the game by whispering a simple message to the person beside him. Very often, the final message is of minimal resemblance to the original. In this game, the more distorted the final message becomes, the funnier it is. However, in reality, the results aren’t so amusing. Miscommunication often brings about confusion and in some serious cases, conflict among people.
Thus, as can be seen, effective communication is needed in all parts of our lives, for both good human relations and successful businesses. Human relation is not possible without communication. Communication is the basic function needed in the management of any organization and the ability to communicate effectively will enable one to thrive in this competitive world. Such is even more important now that globalization has brought about a more diverse environment. People of different race and religion now work together and effective communication is definitely needed to bring ideas across efficiently, regardless of whether the message is communicated verbally and in written form such as emails or letters.
Communication is often a two way process and the exchange between the targeted audience is the key to effective communication. It is amazing to discover that others can deliver a presentation with ease while others struggle to capture the attention of the audience. It is inevitable that when one step into the working world, he needs to be able to present and communicate effectively to his business partners, clients or his superiors in order to sell his ideas or market the product. The ultimate goal of communication is to connect with another person so that he can understand you perfectly, conveying the information required when necessary and thus reducing the hassle of explaining oneself over and over again.
I believe that communication skills must be developed and good communication skills stem from experience. Be it whether you are a speaker or the receiver, such experience will aid one in developing more effective communication techniques. Personally, I‘m not a good speaker and I definitely hope that with the help of ES2007S, I will be able to improve my communication skills, particularly in the area of presentation.
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Hi Wei Xi,
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree with you more that effective communication can indeed build a good rapport between two parties, thus minimizing tendencies for miscommunication.
You indeed brought out a very interesting point about the need for effective communication among the different races and religion. This is indeed very true in today’s context, especially in a plural society like that of Singapore’s. Understanding one another’s culture and practices can indeed minimize potential conflicts that can take place.
I also agree with you that effective communication is very important in the workplace, not only in maintaining a good relationship with your superiors and fellow colleagues but also deliver good presentations.
Thank you once again for this thoughtful piece and I’m very sure that ES2007s can help us learn to be effective communicators too! =)
Bryan
Dear Weixi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts and views on communication and its importance. You've provided a good overview of why effective communication is essential on a societal and individual level, looking at it from the context of race and religion. I'd like to hear more about this, Weixi, particularly in the context of societies when we explore intercultural communication - why is it especially important in today's globalised world?
I noted some errors in your writing, so you may like to talk to me or your blogging buddy about these:
1. "...as it not only affect the first impression of you by others..."
2. "...regardless of whether the message is communicated verbally and in written form such as emails or letters."
3. "Communication is often a two way process and the exchange between the targeted audience is the key to effective communication."
I am sharing these so that you can be more aware of the language of your written communication.
Thanks again for the good effort!
Cheers,
Ms. Lim
Hey Weixi,
ReplyDeleteYup, effective communication sure does help us become better presenters! I realised that the more aware we are of the communication tools at our disposal, the more confident we become at using them in our presentations. And that confidence will aid us in communicating more accurately our message. I'm sure you'll improve over the next 12 weeks. Jia You! =)
Cheers
Benedict
Hey bro was reading through your blog and i notice this.
ReplyDelete"The ultimate goal of communication is to connect with another person so that he can understand you perfectly, conveying the information required when necessary and thus reducing the hassle of explaining oneself over and over again."
Yup i totally agree with you. I often face this problem and i can totally understand this point. However i would like to add on further. To let others understand what you are saying is only part of the 'battle' won. More often then not speakers also need to understand what the listener is trying to express- verbally or non verbally. The listener may understand you fully but are you telling the listener what he/she wants to know? I personally feel this is the one thing that can't be taught and only through practice and observation can one learn how to interpret the listener. Like what you have mentioned, communication is a 2 way thing as such we should also work to understand what the listener is trying express... agree? =)
Hello Weixi
ReplyDeleteYour point about intercultural communication is really poignant, especially in a melting pot society like Singapore. One must constantly be aware of the other party's cultural background so as not to offend. And such things come only with experience and speaking with a diverse range of people. Can't believe I used to take such things for granted!
Regards,
Jayanthi