On the research projects I am part of now, I am working with a myriad of collaborators from various cultural and educational backgrounds. Liaising with them can be a challenge due to this. It is now that I have realized how much I have taken communication skills for granted – as something inherent. Effective communication is essential to ensure that the research takes a direction that is satisfactory to all persons involved and fulfills what we set out to do.
Much of the communication with said collaborators is done through correspondence and written reports. And this just so happens to be my weakness. Therefore, the written aspect of this module will be very useful. In both personal and professional aspects of life, it is important to consider the written word very carefully. Without non-verbal cues that accompany face-to-face or spoken communication, I feel there is a high chance that communication through writing can be interpreted / perceived wrongly. ES2007S gives us an opportunity to examine this form of communication and how to best utilize it.
Getting to know and understand people better is, however, the greater pull that this module has for me. I have always found interacting with people and learning about their lifestyles very interesting. There is much to learn and develop by building friendships and communication is fundamental to this. My hope is that the skills acquired through this module will help me communicate my thoughts to my peers beyond just academia.
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Thank you, Jay, for this very sincere post, and for sharing with us why developing effective communication skills is important to you.
ReplyDeleteYou have hit the nail on the head - too many people today neglect the importance of communicating effectively, focusing solely on academic achievement. It is a pity, really, because academic achievement alone will not get them to their destination - it needs to be combined with good communication skills as well!
I noted several language errors, and am highlighting a few here to help you be more aware of your written communication (and you'd discussed the importance of written communication in your post as well):
1. "It is now that I have realized how much I have taken communication skills for granted – as something inherent"
2. "...takes a direction that is satisfactory to all persons involved and fulfills what we set out to do"
Thanks again, Jay! Good effort!
Hi Jay,
ReplyDeleteI like the part you mentioned about how each word counts in a written report. I remember one of my lecturers who mentioned, 'In engineering, don't be afraid of using the same word over and over again if it is the one that best describes the message you wish to convey. It is better to be boring than inaccurate.' Of course it'll be best if we tried not to be boring in a report, but I guess he does make a point. Just some food for thought =)
Cheers
Benedict
Hey Jay,
ReplyDeleteI also hate writing formal written report, it is such a pain. Remembering last year when I was in the RAG’s marketing committee, I had to write proposal to a lot of companies to ask them for sponsorship for our RAG committee. It’s such a tedious job as the report has to be written perfectly, and we have to meet up with the heads numerous times to audit the proposal. It took several weeks and many meetings to finalize the proposal itself. But that’s not all, if the company is interested in our RAG, we have to write a longer full report to them, telling them our history, objectives, goals and what can they benefit if they sponsor us. Hopefully, we can learn how to write formal proposal with ease in this course and not such a pain, as I think when we enter the working world, we have to write formal proposal and written report all the time. All the best!
guoren
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ReplyDeleteHi Jay,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your saying that without non-verbal cues that accompany face-to-face communication, it is likely that communication through writing will lead to miscommunication. Sometimes, what you meant as a joke in an email to your friend might sound offending to him instead as a joke without facial expression might be interpreted differently by him.
I also agree with you that effective communications Is very much needed to understand each other people, hence establishing friendship. I’m sure you will be able to make many friends as well as improve your communication skills by the end of this course. Cheers.
Hey Jayanthi,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that most people take communication skills for granted. For instance, as we learnt in class last week, good listening skills involve a lot more than just pretending to be listening, while your mind might be somewhere else. So, yes, learning to communicate effectively is certainly worthwhile in all aspects of life.
As to written reports and even other forms of non face-to-face communication modes, I agree with you that there is a higher chance of your message being misinterpreted. But I have realized that when it comes to sending emails, text messages etc., people tend to bold out certain words, use italics, exclamation marks, smiley faces and so on. I think this is one way of trying to add some emotion into your message, to help convey the message better, and perhaps somewhat equivalent to non verbal communication (though you can't do anything like that in a formal report).
Anyway,I wish you all the best and will see you on Thursday at class.
Madhu