Communication skills are the skills needed to use as a kind of language, regardless of verbally, non verbally or written, to interact with one another. Language employs symbols - words, gestures, or spoken sounds to represent objects and ideas. Communication of language begins with spoken sounds combined with gestures. For example, the earliest form of communications we have is the first cry we made when we came into this world. And as we grow older as a child, we first get hold of the skills to receive communications, that is, the ability to listen and understand what we hear, and sometimes supported by accompanying gestures from the adults. Next, we will begin experimenting with expressing ourselves through speaking and gesturing. Speaking will begin as repetitive syllables, followed by words, phrases, and sentences. Gradually, we will acquire the skills of reading and writing - the written forms of communication.
Nowadays, communication becomes a requirement in life but how many of us actually practice effective communication skills and be more sensitive towards the other party’s feelings? In any communication, at least some of the "meaning” was lost in simple transmission of a message from the sender to the receiver. Moreover, in many situations a lot of the true message is lost and the message that is heard is often far different than the one intended. This is most obvious in cross-cultural situations where language is an issue. But it can be also common among people of the same culture. For example, in one family, if one appears to be in a bad mood of something (regardless is work matters or school stuffs), his/her family ought to know or else they will be worried for you and start to wonder what actually happened. On the other hand, this can also strengthen family ties and he/she will feel the love, care and concern from the family.
People tend to overlook the fact that communicating effectively actually needs the participation of both parties, or else it will lead to many conflicts or misunderstandings due to this very reason.
Hence, I believe that it's not sufficient, though, simply to communicate. The person you're communicating with has to understand what you're trying to say; in other words, you have to learn to communicate clearly and effectively. Developing effective communication skills takes effort, but they can be learned, and the results more than warrant the effort.
7 comments:
hi Shaobin!
I like your post on the importance of effective communication skills. You have highlighted a number of good reasons why effective communication skills are important and your examples clearly illustrate what you meant.
Now you got me thinking along the line of whether communication is not a single thing, that it takes 2 hands to clap. I remember our tutor mentioned that in 2 persons, at least one must be a good communicator, why not let the person be you. Flawless in theory perhaps, but actually very difficult in application in real life. It is easiler in human nature to react negatively then positively when offended by another person's insenstive remarks, be it your boss, lover or friend.
It really takes a lot of effort to be a effective skill communicator.
Hi Shao Bin!
Since your entry mostly talked about communication between family members, I just wanted to share this abbreviation with you:
F-A-M-I-L-Y: Father and Mother I Love You. (Siblings included) Ha Ha!
Back to your entry, I really like your introductory paragraph. It was very well written and it captured my attention instantly to want to read on. Thumbs up!
How is communication skills is important for you then at work or in school?
One last note, I felt that it was a pretty heartfelt entry.
Cheers
Guang Yi
Hi Shaobin,
I think it is really true that in most, or if not all cases, the meaning of the final message is often relatively different from the intended message. Even before the message gets transmitted from the sender to the receiver, there could be a potential distortion of meaning while the sender chooses his words used to convey his thoughts to the receiver. Since it takes a conscious effort to ensure the accuracy of the intended message, some people would rather mask their thoughts and feelings, fearing that their words would inevitably hurt the receiver. By doing so it would then be even tougher to communicate effectively. Maybe quarrels and bickering are better forms of communication?
Hey girl,
You mentioned in the last paragraph that effective communication goes 2 ways, ie between the speaker and the receiver. I totally agree with this point. Most people always think that effective communication only means to be able to speak well, and they often neglected that the listener is also part of the communication process. Not only the speaker has to speak clearly, the listener must also be active in listening. The listener should try to pick out how the speaker is feeling through the speaker’s tone, language and body gesture. In this way, we can be more tactful and sensitive to the feeling of the speaker, preventing ourselves to make the situation worse. If everyone can do this, don’t you think we perhaps can achieve world peace?? :)
Hi Shaobin,
I find your mention of being sensitive to other’s feeling, rather meaningful. Effective communication is really both an art and a science. Not only do we have to ensure that the communicated message gets received clearly and precisely by the receiving party, we actually do have to be sensitive in the way we phrase and package the message! Effective communication is not solely about transmitting your thoughts to another individual and making sure that the intended meaning is totally retained and nothing is lost; but it is also about making sure that relationships are kept affable.
Of course, this leads to a dilemma. If the sender of the message is being too cautious and overtly sensitive when phrasing his message, although a good practice to avoid offending another person, this might lead to the sender being seen as being hypocritical or even phony. On the other hand, if the sender is too straightforward and blunt in his or her communication, although the message could be precise, will most probably lead to relational breakdown.
Effective communication skill is the basic yet very essential requirement in each segment of life and when it comes for the business owners it becomes much more important, and when it gets combined with such services as most of the business owners are using like 1300 numbers in Australia, then it can show much better results.
It's important to communicate in a proper manner so that the other individuals can understand the meaning of each of your words and I guess that is the reason why Australian 1800 number are so popular among the business owners in Australia for effective communication.
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