Communication is a part and parcel to everyone’s life. But are all of those communications considered as effective communication? I doubt so.
So, what exactly is effective communication? Before the first lesson, my interpretation of effective communication would be being able to speak my mind clearly and expecting the other party to get the message. It seems that I was mistaken about it. Effective communication is an art. It is about sending out your message across to the recipients and them, receiving it correctly and accurately. Simple as it sounded, it is actually a very complicated life skill with many components to learn.
There are verbal, written and non-verbal communications. In verbal communication, the tone of the message plays a part in determining the actual meaning. In written communication, the wording of the message is important. In non-verbal communication, trivial actions will give tell tale signs of the other person is actually feeling. Each type of communication comes with its own drawbacks and should be used appropriately. For each type, they also have their own sets of guidelines to watch out for.
Personally, I feel that this skill is worth a lot, especially in future where we had to keep an active social network in order to facilitate our advancement in our own field of expertise. Every profession will have uses for it. A lecturer needs it to teach the concept his/her students. A salesman needs it to be able to persuade customers to buy from him. A researcher needs it to generate clear and concise research reports. By being able to communicate with our colleagues and managers, it also minimizes misunderstandings and improves work efficiency.
When it comes to our own personal relationships, it helps us to communicate and control the tense situation. Through communication, I also learn that emotions can tweak the meaning of the message that we want to send. A simple question such as “WHY DID YOU DO THIS?” compared to “Why did you do this?” will convey a different message. The former suggested anger and some form of blame whereas the latter shows more of an enquiry type of question. It is important to know the best way to express oneself such that one can avoid giving off the wrong idea while communicating.
To end off, below is joke about communication breakdown.
• The Army will put guards around the place.
• The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.
• The Air Force will take out a 5-year lease with an option to buy.
• The Marines will kill everybody inside and make it a command post.
Communication Breakdown
The reason the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines squabble among themselves is that they don’t speak the same language. For example, take a simple phrase like, “Secure the building.”• The Army will put guards around the place.
• The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.
• The Air Force will take out a 5-year lease with an option to buy.
• The Marines will kill everybody inside and make it a command post.
I like your Army example of a communication breakdown- it;s hilarious:))
ReplyDeleteAs for effective communication, it is true that "Effective communication is an art. It is about sending out your message across to the recipients and them, receiving it correctly and accurately", but when we initiate a message, the onus is on us to ensure that it is understood in excatly the same way that we intended it. By that same token when you are in the listener's seat, the onus is on you to pay attention, check your own understanding by asking questions and seeking clarification when in doubt. So you see, it's really a two-way process. Braekdowns can happen at any stage.
I don't really understand your joke... =X
ReplyDeleteBut that aside, you have a good point about how the same message can be interpretated differently just using different tone of voice. Often it is this usage of the appropriate tone that can lead to different consequences, determining whether you bring across goodwill or offense. =D
Indeed emotions play a very big role in communication. Sometimes, we are just so unaware of how the use of our tones can cause people to interprete our messages differently.
ReplyDeletePersonally, even in the midst of my girl-friends, we still have misunderstanding amongst ourselves sometimes because of how overly sensitive we can be about reading between the lines and interpreting each other opinions base on the tone of our voices.
Effective communication is really a skill that we all need to work upon!