In the simplest terms, effective communication is about conveying messages to others in a succinct and unequivocal manner. As such, some may think that communications is all about speaking, listening and writing well. However, I have learnt this week in class that communications actually involves much knowledge about non-verbal cues, cross-cultural differences and interpersonal relations. Hence, I find that effective communications is important for me in the process of understanding others better and being understood well, in the improvement of productivity, as well as in building good interpersonal relationships.
As a student, I have come across several professors who are no doubt brilliant in their field, but rather dismal at making others understand the concepts involved. I think that this is quite the pity, for the value of their work is greatly diminished when only a select few may be able to understand it. Hence, I value the ability to understand others well, as well as being able to be understood.
It is also of my opinion that effective communications is invaluable at work, as it would more often than not, lead to expeditious work. In a project last term, I have had to build upon the work done by another team member. In the course of putting my work together, I found myself tied up in a seemingly endless exchange of emails with the said team mate. This is largely due to the fact that we were unclear about what is required of his portion of the work. In retrospect, I feel that the project could have been completed much faster had we discussed the scope clearly at an early stage.
Finally, I find that effective communications is also important as a bridge for fostering good relations with others, especially if they are from different cultures. During my exchange to Australia recently, I have had the opportunity to interact with several Australians. As is the norm for Singaporeans, I usually get directly to the point of our exchange (for example, to open a bank account) and expected swift action. However, I soon realized that most Australians tend to exchange pleasantries before getting down to business. Initially, I felt that it was a waste of time, but later came to realize that it is their culture to do so, and it was deemed not quite polite to do otherwise. Had I not realized that and carried on with the norm for me, it is possible that I would offend a fair number of the locals, and make life more difficult for myself. Hence, it is clear that understanding the local culture is important in communications and would lead to better relations with others.
Clement,
ReplyDeleteI am seriously impressed. You have a brilliant structure in this first blog post. For each paragraph you discussed an important feature of use of effective communication, and you backed them up by a personal lived experience that you could connect them to. This is undisputably a wonderful blog post that satisfies both objectives of informing and inspiring your readers.
Keep it up Clement!
I resonate with the Australia pleasantry example. One of the most basic barriers to effective communication is the lack of sensitivity to surroundings and learning to listen carefully to the non-verbal cues.
ReplyDeleteBeing Indian, and given to talking too much more often than not, I've always found myself wanting in that area. Good one!
Wow, one word i have for your first post,AWESOME! I think it is really important to capture your readers' attention and interest, especially in long and wordy blogs, and you have did it! For every point that you have made, an example was given to further elaborate on it so that readers can understand your message thoroughly. Well, I think all of us have understood pretty well the message you are trying to bring across,and the examples given caught our attention too. Good job Clement!
ReplyDeleteI think your overseas exchange programme has definitely enriched you with many experiences of the culture and lifestyle of the Australians. As we get more exposure to the world, we pick up more ways of effective communications which people around the world are practising. I feel that such experience is really enriching and may help in personal development as well.
I agree with you that communications actually involve much knowledge about non-verbal cues as well. From the first session, we learnt that communication is two way and at any point of time during a conversation, message is being relayed even if I am the listening party. This made me realised how important it is to respond and express ourselves while someone is talking. Our body lagguage and non-verbal cues actually contribute a lot to effective communication,be it in a group or in pair. Good point!
To Diana (both of you) and Rohan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
To Rohan in particular: I do not think that being vocal is a problem at all. I feel that as long as you speak with a point to make, no one could fault you. And through your participation in class, I think that you have always been able to manage that. So, I guess what I am saying is: keep talking!
To Diana: Yes, indeed the exchange has been a very enriching experience for me, which is why I am currently encouraging all of those who I know to go on exchange if they have the chance! So Diana, have you gone for exchange yet?
Thanks Clement. Let's see if I can develop both sides of the game well enough.
ReplyDeleteYes Clement! I seized my last minute opportunity and went for the Wuhan Winter Programme last term break. Although it only lasted for three weeks, it was definitely an unforgettable and enriching experience. Not only did I have the chance to make new friends from Wuhan, I had also a whole new bunch of NUS friends from different faculty whom I gone for the exchange with. Together, we experience the different culture and lifestyle our Wuhan friends and the people there have.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, from the trip I further realised how our command of language can post as a great barrier to effective communication. Due to our lower proficiency in Chinese with a little mix of Singlish, people there may not understand what we are trying to say. Even though we understand each other among ourselves.
An example, whenever we want to order drinks we will say "yao4 jao4 shui3 ma1?" but over there they will asked "yao4 ying3 liao4 ma1?". Same goes for the word Taxi, as they use "tati" instead of taxi.
So, I will definitely go for another exchange programme if I could make time in my next term break!
Dear Clement,
ReplyDeleteI find your writing very well-organised and clear. All your arguments were well-supported with short personal experiences that captures the readers' attention. The introduction was clear in stating what your main points would be and the following paragraphs effectively explained and elaborated your main points.
I share the exact sentiment as you regarding the issue of professors who were not able to communicate effectively to put their ideas across to the students. Personally, I have come across many teachers and mentors who are very knowledgable in their field of expertise but sadly, fail to be able to pass down their knowledge and skills to their students. Students find it frustrating to learn from them and they find it frustrating that the students do not understand them. This does not mean that the teachers and mentors have poor knowledge in their area of study, but rather boils down to the lack of effective communication skills. Being able to be understood is equally important as being able to understand others. In order to be a good mentor and a good teacher, I strongly believe that effective communication skills are highly essential for one's success.
In addition, I cannot agree more with you that the lack of effective communication may result in a longer time and more effort spent on group projects. I have had the same experience, where one of my group mates mistakenly interpreted the tasks that was allocated to her and ended up doing irrelevant research and writing. After realising that she has not been doing what was relevant to our report, the whole group had to spend a lot of time researching and writing on the parts that she was supposed to do, which she has mistakenly thought it was something else. In the end, more effort and time was spent on the report than what could have been achieved without this misunderstanding, if all of us in the group ensured that we understood what we were supposed to do.
Nice job Clement. Looks like effective communication skills are really important in the life of an undergraduate, judging from the fact that all the live examples mentioned by you come from your life in university. As a year one junior, I feel like I can learn alot from your past experiences. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes I agree with you and peirong that the lack of effective communication skills in some of the lecturers is a major problem. Most of the time in lectures my peers and I have a hard time trying to understand the ideas the lecturers are trying to bring across.
I look forward to reading your next post.
As your other readers have mentioned, Clement, this is a very fine post. You do an excellent job of organizing your ideas and presenting them clearly and concisely with an eye for detail. I really appreciate your way with words.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few minor problems, and here I'm nitpicking because I sense that you're a perfectionist who wants to improve.
1) effective communications is invaluable >>> effective communication is invaluable ("communications" most often refers to "messages" or to "systems of information exchange"
2) During my exchange to Australia recently, I have had ... >>> During my exchange to Australia recently, I had ...
3) repeated action: I usually get directly to the point of our exchange (for example, to open a bank account) and expected ... >>> I usually get directly to the point of our exchange (for example, to open a bank account) and expect...
4) past hypothetical: Had I not realized that and carried on with the norm for me, it is possible that I would offend a fair number of the locals... >>> Had I not realized that and carried on with the norm for me, it is possible that I would HAVE offendED a fair number of the locals
5) understanding the local culture is important in communications >>> understanding the local culture is important in communication (or : in communicating)
Thanks for the effort. I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Hi Peirong, Jasper and Brad,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments.
To Brad specifically: It would seem that you could read my mind. Indeed, I do see myself as a bit of a perfectionist. As such, I very much appreciate your nitpicking, and would try my best to produce something perfect for the next post.