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| Courteousy of http://www.personal-development-secrets.net/effective-communication.html |
So, why are effective communication skills important for me? This is because by communicating effectively, message signals can be brought across to the receiver by the sender without any loss during the transmission or even in the case of signal lost during the transmission, a negative feedback system is introduced. This will result in the message being sent clearly without causing or minimizing any unnecessary confusion which can lead to undesirable outcomes.
By equipping with effective communication skills, I will be able to become a good communicator and enjoy the fruits of labour. Firstly, I will be able to seek for jobs without much difficulty. This is because employers nowadays are not just employing for employees who have strong knowledge and/or technical skill in that particular industry but also the X factor, i.e. Is the employee a good communicator? This is also evident in the Sunday Times news article, which reports “Employers are demanding more… looking for good communication skills in a candidate”. This is so especially in the field of engineering where there are many team projects, thus team members have to grasp effective communication skills in order to build teamwork and succeed.
Another is that I can resolve problems more effectively and place myself in the person's position whom I am talking to, through the use of appropriate choice of channel (for instance, email is a richer media while instant messaging is a leaner media), appropriate analysis of content (for example, when I am writing an email to a lecturer, the email should not just be in perfect grammar but also follow the social context between the student and teacher) and more. One incident that I encountered was when I feedback to my Town Council about the fault lighting at my block by email, the Town Council replied that they have rectified the problem the next following day. However, the fault lighting still exists. Thus, I telephoned the Town Council to clarify the problem and realized that they replaced another coincident faulty lighting instead of the one that I reported. So if I have called them directly instead, the problem would have been fast resolved.
Lastly, it is the essentials of public speaking skills which will aid in widening my network through making new friends and building and/or establishing strong ties with existing friends. In short, the saying goes "If you just communicate you can get by. But if you skillfully communicate, you can work miracles." – Jim Rohn
Hi Kent,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you that possessing good communication skills would definitely be an added advantage when we are seeking a job. As the labour market becomes more competitive, effective communication is required to reinforce and complement our knowledge that we have learnt in school.
Lastly, I agree with you that the use of appropriate channels in communication is important. In today’s society, people will tend to rely on the more convenient channels of communication like email and sms. However due to inadequate usage, the receiver may misunderstand the message and lead to undesirable consequences. Thus, I agree with you that different approaches should be practised for different channels in order to deliver a message across effectively.
With regards,
Kar Liang
Hi Kent,
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was an informative and a good read, especially the part on what employers are looking out for. But as you had mentioned, the success of a team, or even for the matter, the company, would depend very much on the effectiveness of communication within the teams. I did some research online on communication within teams, and I learned that an effective team player should not only be able to communicate constructively, but also possess some other soft skills such as “treating others in a respectful and supportive manner”, or “demonstrate reliability”. They complement the skills in communication that we are learning in class, and enhance their effectiveness. Maybe we could bear them in mind whilst delving deeper into the subject on communication.
The link to one of the websites is as follows: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/ten-qualities-of-an-effective-team-player.html
Best regards,
Ho Zong
Hi Kent,
ReplyDeleteIt is in interesting that you differentiated between the different types of communication channels and how selecting the right tone is dependent on the channel used. Furthermore, contextualizing the conversation (like the student-teacher relationship) is important so as to convey a sense of mutual respect and propriety.
Perhaps this is something that has unfortunately been lost with the ages. While it is important to have an analytical mind and not accept authority blindly in today's contemporary society, I think humans have veered to the other extreme where respect between each other has slowly faded away.
@ Kar Liang: Thanks for your valuable comments.
ReplyDelete@ Ho Zong: Thanks for sharing the informative link. I always have the thought that soft skills include communication skill.
@ Halim: Thanks for your thought. I do agree that it is a great challenge for humans to be respectful to one another.
Hi Kent,
ReplyDeleteIt is a very good post though it is a little long. Do aim for conciseness.
Regards,
Happy
Hi Ms Happy Goh,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. I have indeed overlooked on the word count and will be improve on this the next post.
Regards
Kent