As an engineering major, project work plays an integral role in the course curriculum. More often than not, a project group comprises of members who come from different backgrounds and disciplines. This is where effective communication plays an important role in fostering an efficient and streamlined work process. During project discussions, one personal mistake is that I assume the context of my point of discussion is known by everyone. The resultant confusion is often a frustrating and time-wasting process.
In tertiary education, where reports and oral presentations are the order of the day, applying effective communication in these forms will no doubt ensure that all the hard work that have been put in can be conveyed and translated successfully to the target audience. Also, unbeknownst to many, listening is a crucial part of effective communication as well. By making an effort to listen actively rather than passively during lectures/tutorials, it will actually help us to stay focused and capture more information!
Throughout our undergraduate life, many of us will no doubt seek internships or temporary jobs to broaden our horizons. In this endeavour, the first and most important step is no doubt the application. Considering that companies often have numerous portfolios and interviews to go through, an application that practices effective communication will definitely stand out among the rest.
We must of course,
not forget the importance that effective communication has in our personal lives.
One must have experienced conflicts with your loved ones that arise because of
misunderstandings or breakdowns in communication. Thus, by maintaining an
efficient communication process with everyone, fulfilling relationships can be
created. By communicating clearly and effectively, it is as much a benefit to us
as it is a form of respect to the other party.
As is evident, effective communication has a key role to play in the many facets of our lives. Embracing this process will go a long way in us experiencing a fulfilling life.
As is evident, effective communication has a key role to play in the many facets of our lives. Embracing this process will go a long way in us experiencing a fulfilling life.
Hi Wee Pin, I like your point about assuming your point is clear to everyone else. I think this is something that many of us are guilty of, especially since thoughts formulated in our own minds will always be crystal clear to ourselves, and we take for granted that everyone else will see the same thing when we share it. No matter, that is no excuse for committing that mistake.
ReplyDeleteOne way to avoid this misunderstanding is for the communicator to ask if the receiver has understood the message, and/or to repeat the message to the communicator. But I'm curious to know if you have any other means of achieving the same? I'm sure that'd be a useful skill for us to know.
I have an alternative suggestion to reduce the chances of miscommunication between a sender and a receiver. When I have to convey a series of messages to someone, I first formulate them in bullet point form on a piece of paper. Next, I explain the message to the receiver verbally while letting the receiver view the hard copy of the points which I have written down.
ReplyDeleteThere are 2 advantages to this system.
1 – With the piece of paper serving as a prompter, the sender is able run through his/her thought process more smoothly which results in a clearer delivery of message.
2. The receiver is able to understand the message better as he/she receives the messages both visually and verbally.
I agree that we often take for granted that everyone else naturally understands what we are trying to convey. As a result, we speak without giving much thought about what we want to convey. In addition to the useful suggestions by Ka Shing and Jun Yuan, I feel that there are a few things one can practice to communicate more effectively.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it may be helpful to revise the message in our heads and organize our thoughts in the simplest way possible, before conveying them to someone else. This will perhaps help to increase the clarity of our message. Also, I think just being constantly aware that everyone else do not possess the same thought processes as oneself will help ensure that one consciously makes the effort to clearly convey a message. Lastly, I think that it is important to always keep one's audience in mind so that we, to the best of our ability, frame our message in a way that is understandable to the receiver.