With the semester coming to an end, I realized that I have learnt more about effective communication. It has been a valuable experience, and I am sure that the skills acquired will better prepare me as I step into the workplace. There have been several assignments to put our learning into use during the entire semester: the weekly blogging, in-class discussions, a survey report writing and not forgetting the oral presentation. It has been tough juggling this heavy workload that includes my Final Year Project, yet I am glad that I made this choice. It has certainly made me a more confident person!
In my first blog post, when I quoted Tom Peters, ‘if you’re confused, you’re paying attention,’ I thought that even if one is paying attention, effective communication can never take place due to the many barriers to effective communication. I was wrong! Effective communication, as I learnt, is a two-way exchange of information that occurs between the listener and speaker. After these weeks, I realized that he may be implying that if people only ‘hear’ the message, they would not digest the information and take the message as it is without thinking.
Figure: Effective Listening. Knowing the barriers and effective listening techniques.
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/listening_active.html
The road of a thousand miles has to start somewhere, sometime. I have already taken my first few steps during the registration of modules this July. But I know that my journey does not end here. What knowledge I have gained these weeks will seem insignificant if I continue on the never-ending path of learning. As Abraham Lincoln said, ‘I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.’ Effective communication is a life long journey of trial and error that requires constant effort, and my effort should not stop even after this semester. Grades will still open doors, but it really takes much more to walk through them and survive the path we choose. I believe that good communication skills would be an edge that allows me to succeed in whatever I do, be it in my career or personal life.
If we can all communicate effectively, we can all tear down the barriers and make the world a simple and pleasant one!
In my first blog post, when I quoted Tom Peters, ‘if you’re confused, you’re paying attention,’ I thought that even if one is paying attention, effective communication can never take place due to the many barriers to effective communication. I was wrong! Effective communication, as I learnt, is a two-way exchange of information that occurs between the listener and speaker. After these weeks, I realized that he may be implying that if people only ‘hear’ the message, they would not digest the information and take the message as it is without thinking.
Figure: SIER hierarchy of active listening. Useful information!
http://www.provenmodels.com/554/sier-hierarchy-of-active-listening/steil-barker-watson
http://www.provenmodels.com/554/sier-hierarchy-of-active-listening/steil-barker-watson
On the other hand, active listeners would be looking for details they would not be able to get if they were just ‘hearing’. Therefore, they would be able to sort out the correct message and response accordingly. This is the time when the listeners have to respond by asking questions and paragraphing the ideas to make sure that they have gotten the correct message, hence making the communication process more complicated. In addition, Tom Peters also mentioned that ‘communication is everyone's panacea for everything.’ How true indeed!
Figure: Effective Listening. Knowing the barriers and effective listening techniques.http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/listening_active.html
The road of a thousand miles has to start somewhere, sometime. I have already taken my first few steps during the registration of modules this July. But I know that my journey does not end here. What knowledge I have gained these weeks will seem insignificant if I continue on the never-ending path of learning. As Abraham Lincoln said, ‘I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.’ Effective communication is a life long journey of trial and error that requires constant effort, and my effort should not stop even after this semester. Grades will still open doors, but it really takes much more to walk through them and survive the path we choose. I believe that good communication skills would be an edge that allows me to succeed in whatever I do, be it in my career or personal life.
If we can all communicate effectively, we can all tear down the barriers and make the world a simple and pleasant one!
10 comments:
"Grades will still open doors, but it really takes much more to walk through them and survive the path we choose."
i think this is a great line....
Communication skills, EQ, luck, connections etc are all equally or even more important.
It was a pleasure getting to know you! All the best!
Hi Jimmy,
I’m certain that all our training received in writing minutes, survey reports, as well as interview and presentation skills, would be valuable especially since you will stepping in the working world soon. Indeed effective communication is two way. I agree that many people just do not process the information even after hearing it. The barrier to effective communication is often the inability to understand others before seeking to be understood. Finally, let us ponder over this quote by Katherine Whitehorn, "A good listener is not someone with nothing to say. A good listener is a good talker with a sore throat.”
Cheers
Ho Teck
Hey Jimmy,
It’s a very interesting last blog you have here. A lot of information and well summarised version of what you have learnt in the semester. It seems like you have learnt a lot from this course. I agree with you that communication skills we learn here will definitely benefits us in the future if we continue to practice them.
Hey there blogging buddy!
Having worked the most with you throughout this semester, it's quite clear to me that you fall into the active listening category! You paraphrase things so as to ensure you got the right message, bravo. It's something that I'm still working on...
I think many people tend to place more importance on grades than they should. I agree with you that grades can go so far as open the door to a good job, but whether or not you survive and succeed in that job is another matter!
This semester went by in a blink of an eye, and true as they say, time flies when you're having fun!
See you in class tomorrow!
Mei Ling
Hi jimmy,
This is really an informative post. One interesting point is that one of the techniques of effective listening is pretending ignorance. I agree with this as one will always switch off their mind when they thought they know what the speaker is going to say. As a result, the listeners may miss out some of the main points that are actually unaware of.
To Ho Teck,
With so many laboratory reports to be written in Chemical Engineering, I think that report writing should be a skill that I should have picked up earlier. It would have certainly saved me from much headache trying to write concise and clear reports! Nonetheless, I believe it is not too late for me to improve on this skill.
A good listener is not someone with nothing to say, but a good talker with a sore throat. I guess to be a good listener, sometimes you really do have to let others have the opportunity to speak and prevent yourself from speaking too much. Of course, that does not mean that a good listener should not share his opinions with others! It’s simply to strike a balance! Well that is food for thought Ho Teck!
Jimmy
ES2007S Group 2
To Mei Ling,
Thank you blogging buddy! I think that there is still room for improvement as I would have the tendency to anticipate what the others are saying and would start to formulate my reply before the speaker finishes his sentence. This prevents me from listening to the full message, and I would miss out vital details that the speaker conveys in the last part of the conversation. That is something I am working on too. Next time perhaps I should try writing down my thoughts while listening so that I can grasp the whole message first before I prepare my response!
I’m very glad to have you as my report group mate too. It has been a great time working with someone as dedicated and hardworking as you. All the best for your exams!
Jimmy
ES2007S Group 2
Hi Qiyuan,
I would have to admit that I am sometimes one of those guilty of pretending ignorance. During some meetings, I would just brush off the speaker or give a simple nod so that I can carry on with the conversations as I thought there were many details to be discussed. Well, according to the textbook, it turns out that if my group prepared our agenda before the meeting, we should not be worried about our time allocation for discussing each item! Now there is something useful that we can bring out of this module- plan all things in advance before a meeting and set aside some buffer time for any other business (AOB) that the group might bring up.
Jimmy
ES2007S Group 2
Dear Jimmy,
I am sure that this module has benefitted each and everyone of us tremendously. I took up this module as I wanted to improve my communication skills and hope that I will really put the theories learnt to good use in my daily interaction with people!
I agree that communication is a two way process, in which both the speaker and the listener play their roles well respectively.
I believe that report writing is part and parcel of our lives in NUS as an undergraduate, and this will carry on when we step out into the workforce! It is not too late to polish your report writing skills, and I hope that you can put the skills learnt in NUS to good use.
All the best and be sure to have a cup of coffee with me someday after this semester!
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