“Oh, you’ve finished what you wanted to say?" “So?”
These two replies often appear (in fact they appeared too often) in my conversations with others. This clearly shows that the other party did not get what I wanted to convey. Not being able to put across my messages concisely and precisely is one BIG problem I face when communicating with others. Sometimes, even my mum says that I should sign up for some communication classes to improve on the way I express myself. I guess this is one of the reasons why developing effective communication skills are important to me.
The existence of communication has been there in our daily lives knowing and unknowingly. It is through this channel that we are able to put across our messages, love, anger or even frustrations. Having good communication skills like the proper gestures, facial expressions, or even silence at appropriate times not only prevents misunderstandings but also embarrassment. It also shows a form of respect to parties in the conversations or situations. Hence, it is no doubt important for us to develop effective communication skills. As we all know, being misunderstood or embarrassed is never a pleasant experience.
Effective communication is much needed at home, at work, between friends or in a relationship. It is not only an essential tool that prevents us from getting into conflicts between family members or friends. It is also an indispensable weapon that we need to arm ourselves with to protect us from losing our jobs. Thus, effective communication is an important art that we need to learn and master.
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6 comments:
Thanks, Michelle, for this post. I'm sorry to hear that you feel that your communication skills are so weak. What exactly do you think is at the root of your inability to communicate clearly/effectively?
You write as follows: "Not being able to put across my messages concisely and precisely is one BIG problem I face when communicating with others."
If that's it, then I think a little tweaking and you'll be fine.
As far as writing goes, I see one small problem here: "Having good communication skills like the proper gestures, facial expressions, or even silence at appropriate times not only prevent misunderstanding...." What's the main subject and main verb here? Do you see the disagreement?
Don't worry: We'll have a chance to work on many skill areas.
“Oh, you’ve finished what you wanted to say?" “So?” --> It happened to me for many times!
I like how you started your post with a dialogue. Also, you have inserted several personal experiences which makes the post real-life.
If you want to articulate your points more, separate them into a few more paragraphs and give a deeper elaboration. Examples of misunderstandings or embarrassments may add some spice to your article.
Don't worry. You will definitely improve in communications, since you are already learning. =)
Hi Prof Brad,
I think it might be the way I speak. My friends have always commented that I don't go straight to the point in conversations. I either beat around the bush or put in too many additional details for them to get the gist of what I want to convey.
Er.. Prof Brad, I think I'm having some problems identifying the disagreement. :(
Hi Sea Ming,
you are right! I think I'm one of those who left out the detail required in this post. Maybe I can do some editing and re-post the entry. (: Thanks for the constructive comment! (:
Dear Michelle,
The disagreement is that the subject of your sentence is "having good com skills," which is singular because the gerund is the main subject. The verb form should be "prevents."
If that's not clear, ask me about it in class.
Thanks!
I think I got it. (:
Thanks a lot! (:
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