The course begins with the fundamentals such as identifying appropriate channels and barriers of communication, followed by moving into the practical aspects of professional communication, such as resume writing and mock interviews. Throughout the module, there will be peer teaching, which could be challenging among other practical learning. Overall, it appears the module focuses on the context of job and work related communication.
Communicating effectively in my opinion is one of the most important things we do every day, apart from breathing or eating. Moreover, I am not the only Homo sapien on Earth and I need to communicate effectively so that I know what goes on around me.
Personally, communicating effectively allows me to share ideas and learn from constructive criticisms, both of which I recognize as important traits in the working world. I see communication as a bridge and effective communication as a bridge with appropriate traffic signals. If we overlook the need to put in appropriate signals, we are essentially compromising the information transmitted. The type of bridge built is just as important as it represents the communication channel used. For instance, an e-mail to ask a girl out will always be short of sincerity; wrong channel, no signals and no date. So, apart from work-related contexts, effective communication also holds importance in personal activities!
I'll end my post with another example: Correct channel, inappropriate signals and confusion.
Great picture and example, Kian Leong!
ReplyDeleteI agree about how communication helps building bridges and successfully giving and receiving feedback.
In my case, for example, I tend to be expressive to the point that my face reveals too much about what I am thinking. As a result, if I am receiving feedback, the resulting frown on my face tends to build a bridge and ruins the moment. Feedback is a gift and we should know how to take it as well..
And hence, it is as important to be a listener as a communicator.
I like your analogy relating communication with bridges. To build on your idea, I feel that the communication channel a person chooses also tells a lot about him. Your example on dating a girl is a perfect example! I realise in today Singapore society, there are people who prefer to hide behind their computer screen, sending out e-mails for the sake of convenience or perhaps even fear to meet with the listener. Personally, I don’t like the lack of “human touch”. This also brings me to the point that I feel that communication isn’t just merely making your listener understand the point you are trying to make. There is also a human feeling aspect to it, differentiating humans from non-living things. That’s why sometimes I insist on meeting a person face-to-face to discuss formally even though I know it is more difficult to arrange a suitable time to meet. Anyone face this same scenario as me?
ReplyDeleteHello Kian Leong,
ReplyDeleteI love the sense of humour in your post. It certainly spiced up the whole process of reading.
Another point i would like to comment on will be the use of analogy. I felt that it was rather refreshing to link our understanding of what communication is to bridges and traffic signals. It does help your readers better visualize the structure of an effective communication. Moreover, by using analogy, you have managed to highlight the importance of choosing the correct channels of communication and expressing the appropriate body language for effective communication.
The use of the example of a guy asking a girl out also further elaborate your point. And I do agree with Godwin that what kind of communication channel a person chooses does reflect on his/her personality. Therefore, I felt that as an effective communicator, perhaps we should not let our personality, temperament or mental awareness affects the appropriate type of communication channel and body language to use. What do you think?
Lastly, I thought it was awesome to include a picture at the end of your post to further elaborate your point once more. As I read, I analyze, envisage and finally see the message which you were trying to bring across. The message definitely got clearer as you used different ways to explain, interesting and precise enough to engage your readers. Good job! Perhaps I can start using analogy as well.
Hi Kian Leong,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I, too, love your analogy of effective communication as a bridge with appropriate traffic signals. Good one! I also agree with your point that in order to get our message across, it not only involves using the correct channels, but also the right signals, such as the right posture, body languages, etc.
However, I wish to add that much as we need to use the appropriate signals, we, as humans, are not always in control of the signals we send. And that is where I think part of the complexity of effective communication lies. For example, when we talk to someone and do not agree with what he/she says, we may unconsciously furrow our eyebrows, and these will be part of the signals that our speaking-partners are going to receive. We may not have intended to send that message across, but these signals would still be received. Therefore I think being able to communicate well is a very challenging task because it not only includes knowing how to put the correct message across verbally and nonverbally, we also have to try to be aware other things like the signals we send out consciously and unconsciously.
Godwin: Hi Godwin! I think it is really courageous of you to prefer meeting a person face-to-face to discuss things than via other means that lack the human touch (email, etc) - this is something I also hope to achieve. A learning point for me! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDiana: Hi Diana! I do understand your point of view that "as an effective communicator, perhaps we should not let our personality, temperament or mental awareness affect the appropriate type of communication channel and body language to use", but I feel it is something that is very hard to achieve. Much as we would want to prevent them from affecting our communication, I feel that our personalities, temperament, etc would somehow be revealed through our body language, our posture, etc unconsciously. So I guess the best we could do, is try our very best to know what our personalities and temperaments are like, so that when we find ourselves in a situation where these are put to the test, the conscious awareness of them may allow us to control their effects on our communication to a greater extent.
Hi Kian Leong,
ReplyDeleteInteresting analogy and picture! I agree with your point that specific situations demand specific channels of communications, and unfortunate results would be often achieved if the wrong channel is chosen.
I also think that you have made a good point in your second paragraph that no man is an island, and effective communications are essential bridges between people. I feel that this makes it very clear why effective communications is important.
Hi Kian Leong!
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to everyone who have commented on your blog, I love your concluding picture and the analogy linking bridges with communication. It had never occurred to me. It is indeed true that effective communication involves using the correct communication channels, body language and many other factors, that contribute to the clarity of the message to be sent over to the audience. If one of the factors is misused, the receiver will get the wrong message and the whole conversation will be meaningless.
However, being able to choose the correct communication channels and other factors that contribute to being able to communicate effectively is not an easy task. i guess it will take years of practice and determination before we can truly acquire the “perfect” communication skills.
Hi Godwin,
I do face the same problem as you. Miscommunications and misunderstands tend to occur more often when I am communicating through emails or sms. I would also prefer to hold a conversation face-to-face or through a phone call. I think one of the factors may be due to my inefficiency in language as well, I guess. However, it tends to be better through face-to-face conversation as factors like tone of the speaker and/or body language can help make the conversation clearer.
Hey Kian Leong,
ReplyDeleteGreat picture and analogy! I think it really brings out the esscence of effective communication with regards to the message and channel.
I agree with you regarding the point that effective communication not only encompasses being able to bring about your message clearly to the other party, but it also requires the use of apporiate channels to do so.
With regards to the signals we send out during our conversation, I had always thought it would be interesting if we could somehow hide our emotions, and put on an expressionless face when having a conversation. In that way, the conversation would focus totally on the verbal part, and there would not be any non-verbal conversation. Perhaps in that situation, the ture meaning of the message could be sent across, and the chance of a misunderstanding occuring be reduced.
Thanks, Kian Leong. This is a very good post for a number of reasons. For one, it fulfills the 7Cs that we just discussed. It's clear and concise, when I finish reading it I have a sense of completeness, your ideas are developed coherently, and your language use is correct. You also entertain (with your examples and even wit the photo!), and by doing so, you've elicited lots of interesting feedback from classmates.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that I might register surprise about is the heightened focus on ES2007S. Did I over-stress that somehow in talking about the assignment? Or did you feel the need to connect effective comm skills to the course simply because of the context of the discussion.
In any case, this is a fine effort and I look forward to reading your next post.
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ReplyDeleteDear Brad,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I believe you have clarified with us in class regarding the post about ES2007S. Indeed the "culprit" was the word "survey". I will be editing and refining this post. Although I should have done this earlier.
Regards,
Kian Leong
To everyone,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comments! I hope that my writing improves through this course.
One thing I have to highlight in my post is that in one paragraph, I had stated the obvious, which I felt wasn't essential. I believe Brad had covered the importance of removing what is already known from our writing as it tends to do more bad than good. I hope my edited post will be much better than the original.
I have to admit my writing lacks style and focus at times, so I hope to develop it here within these few months. I appreciate any feedback given to me.
Thank you once again!
Best Regards,
Kian Leong