We live in a world where we are reliant on one another, and day-to-day interactions with others are unavoidable. Whether at one’s workplace, school, or just with friends and family, communication plays an important role in one’s everyday life.
Communication happens everyday everywhere. Consider a typical school day – from checking emails/IVLE, to sharing of ideas for projects, to attending lectures, simultaneously texting friends, to discussing where to have lunch, to ordering food etc – every situation involves communication with others. Effective communication skills are thus essential, as it helps me convey my thoughts and feelings in a clear and concise manner. It helps me to get what I want. Communication isn’t just about me being able to express myself, but also others receiving the correct message.
As communication is a two-way process, it is important to note that we play both the sender and the receiver role. Misinterpretation of messages can often lead to dire consequences such as conflict between individuals. In the working world, not understanding what your clients want may result in the loss of a business deal. Effective communication reduces confusion and misunderstandings. Furthermore, I wish to work in the psychology/counseling field in the future. It is thus especially important for me to be able to understand my clients and the problems they might present. I therefore hope to not only be an effective sender, but receiver too.
We live in a technologically advanced world where there is a vast array of communication methods, e.g. facebook, text messages, emails etc. Albeit the increased convenience they bring about, they also create more ambiguity and room for misinterpretation – hence the need for even more effective communication skills.
Humans are innately social animals. Our live depends on others. We build organizations, cooperate with one another to achieve goals, interact with one another to from social networks. I see myself depending a lot on others everyday. Effective communication is hence vital in helping me build meaningful relationships with others and maintain social ties.
To sum up, I believe that possessing effective communication skills helps me to:
1) Be understood
2) Understand others
3) Build and maintain social ties
Hi Valerie, very valid points there, just like to add on a couple of other points..
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the ambiguity and misinterpretation arising from the advent of electronic communication, we know that it is the lack of the non-verbal aspect of communications which makes it hard to decipher the intended emotions/message of the communicator. Also, the word constraints in electronic communications (word limit on texts, or the need to keep electronic communications short) has led to a shift in communication styles, and a different skill set required. In todays world, where face-to-face communications are being quickly replaced by electronic means, it stands to reason that we may be applying some of our electronic communication skills to face-to-face communications, making us less adept at that.
With that as a basis, I would think that the key to effective communications in today's context would be the ability to switch between code switches. Code switching creates social domains that are unique, and may not be understood by other domains, or may not be appropriate in others. As such it is important to be able to switch to stay relevant and easily understood, especially so in electronic communications where we already face the handicap of not having non-verbal cues to complete the whole communication experience.
Hi Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI concur with your point on listening and your relation towards counselling is a good example. Indeed it is important for a counsellor and a leader to be able to listen. This aspect of empathy is crucial in getting people to speak to you with an open mind and reduce the fear of being judged. Communication to me, is not only about communicating the good, but also one's vulnerable aspects as well (such as fear, shame) etc. Such vulnerability based trust is essential to develop a long lasting relationship with peers and co-workers.
Hope that I have offered a different perspective which you can apply in your future job.
Finally, GONG XI FA CAI. HUAT AH!
Lim Jun Han
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DeleteIn view of your major and prospective careers, it has to be said that effective communication is indeed an important tool for you. More often than not, as a psychologist/counseller, your clients may be bothered by some kind of problem, whether big or small. Therefore, it is crucial that whatever that is being communicated takes into consideration the little sensitivities in light of their troubles. Meanwhile, active listening, as we have already been introduced to, also plays an important role, albeit an underrated one. We would be amazed at how a simple "uh-huh" during a conversation makes the other party feel so much more comforted that he is actually being heard!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am inclined to disagree with your point that new-age means of communication are more susceptible to misunderstandings and confusions. My personal viewpoint is that SMSs and the like are just new types of communication channels and are no different from traditional ones such as face-to-face communication. If sufficient methods are put into communicating effectively (such as understanding the context etc.), I believe they actually offer another alternative for us to communicate our messages. No offence ok! Haha :)
Hi Valeria,
ReplyDeleteI feel that i have something to add on. After reading through your post, especially on the part regarding your interest in being a psychologist, I had several thoughts about being an "effective" sender. Being an effective sender requires not just efficient "output/signals" but also for the other party to be able to receive the signals in the correct "frequency" (as in not misunderstand your points), he/she must understand your frame of mind/perspective. The same applies to the sender. In short, there is a need for empathy in the circumstances of the psychologist.
The additional dimension of empathy is also application to other fields, just that it is repackaged as "mutual understanding". I believe this added dimension of understanding will improve a communicator's ability to effectively send his "signals" across to the other party.
happy wkends~~
Valerie,
ReplyDeleteIt's important to note a recurring theme in your post: our success *is* contigent on having relationships with others. In the past, I have experienced first-hand that trying to find success independently is just impractical, and that I must accept the partnerships of others. For instance, I've tried to take on an engineering group project largely by myself in order to assure a quality output, but have learned to relent that tendency and find trust in others.
When parsing through the second paragraph, your example of communication scenarios on a typical day at NUS really stood out as an effective demonstration of how embedded communication is in our lives. But more profoundly, it made me realize how much of that communication rides on a digital platform. Providing a similar succession of examples for your statement in paragraph five--'our [life] depends on others'--would add further tangibility to your prose. You might explain how a friend loaned you a few coins when you were short at a canteen. Or how your friend invited you to a fun campus event that you didn't know about otherwise.
In any case, your thoughts are spot on, and you shared them in a straightforward manner.
~ Alec