Communication and relationships are closely intertwined. Developing effective communication skills is paramount in order to foster and maintain healthy relationships with our families, friends and colleagues. By establishing good relationships, we are exposing ourselves to more opportunities, either socially or professionally. Socially, by having good relationships with friends, they would be more than happy to introduce you to his/her friends. This enables us to widen our circle of friends and networks. The same goes for our professional relationships. Having such relationships allows you to have more opportunities to employment and it also opens up a lot of business possibilities.
Communication also involves the way in which we express our thoughts, feelings and ideas to people. No matter what we actually say to other people in words, we send out other kinds of information such as what we think of them, what we think of ourselves, and whether we are being sincere and genuine in what we say. It is our nonverbal communication, our gestures, body language, facial expressions and attitude, which speak volumes about us. This directly shapes how other people experience us and how they communicate in return.
Moreover, another crucial aspect of effective communication is active listening. By being a good listener, we will be able to evaluate and examine the messages that are conveyed. It also allows us to sieve out important information and ideas from the speaker’s speech. Effective communication, thus really takes two hands to clap.
Hi Cass,
ReplyDeleteI agree that effective communication fosters good relationships, be it personal or professional. Knowing the importance of good communication skills in this aspect of our lives, we can begin applying the various lessons on verbal and nonverbal communication cues which we have been taught in this module thus far. Through practice, applying the appropriate language, tone of voice and body gestures may eventually come naturally to us and thus transform us into effective communicators.
Indeed, communication is an active process. While a sender takes effort to transmit his/her message with little distortion, the listener should also reciprocate by being attentive. Moreover, the listener should seek to clarify any doubts to prevent any misunderstandings which could snowball into a greater problems in the future.
Hi Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteCommunicational skills are indeed lifelong skills which will help us through in any situation. I agree that nonverbal cues are very crucial in conveying a message. There have been times that people misunderstand what I was saying based on my gestures. Hopefully, we try to master the communicational skills by the time we complete this module.:)
Cheers,
Rathi
Cass!
ReplyDeleteIn your first paragraph, you brought up your point that apt communication skills are required to foster relations; in your second paragraph you highlighted how nonverbal cues and the tone we use are more often than not a true interpretation of our sincerity by others.These 2 points struck me with a notion: subsequent impressions may be important but first impressions are crucial. Like the saying goes, "Opportunities don't knock twice". A failure to impress, or deliver the right impression through communication skills, may have detrimental outcomes on encounters. I am intrigued that you brought up the fact that professional relations beside social ones provide equal opportunities since many at our age have not been exposed to the corporate world due to country's emphasis on a rigourous education.
Active listening is what many lack, yet is a principal factor towards the effectiveness of a dialogue. Due to the many barriers present which people don't realise, the most severe of which I consider personally is listening with a superior attitude, I confess that i sometimes do not listen as i am too deeply rooted in my own beliefs. Your post has given me a new insight on the importance of not just listening, but to do so with the correct attitude.