Twelve weeks have past and I have more or less completed this professional communication module. It was a fruitful journey, and I have to admit that I learned a lot from this module. However I digress, so let's get back to the topic at hand.
Have my views on the values of effective communication skills changed since the start of this course? Well it has and has not. Let me explain. I still believe that a key component of having effective communication skill is to get what you want as quickly as possible. This includes wanting to get your point across. It is indeed quite hard to run away from the fact that people learn to communicate effectively because they want to achieve their goal which might require the assistance or involvement of other people.
However, the change in my view is that there is another component that has become equally important. This component is understanding people. Allow me to elaborate. Through active listening, we can learn and gather further insights on certain issues from other people. We can unknowingly pick up new ideas or information that we never would have even dream about.
I personally feel that this is something truly invaluable that I have learned from this course. I am an aggressive person that likes to have people listening to me and agreeing with the points I made. However, from this course I learn that different people have different takes on a similar situation and some of which are indeed better than mine. I learn to listen to them and thus found new angles in approaching a given issue.
Hence, for me personally I learnt that effective communication skills does not always mean speaking appropriately, or giving the correct non-verbal cues or even giving a good first impression. It also involves understanding and listening, and it is only through these that one can truly communicate effectively.
Have my views on the values of effective communication skills changed since the start of this course? Well it has and has not. Let me explain. I still believe that a key component of having effective communication skill is to get what you want as quickly as possible. This includes wanting to get your point across. It is indeed quite hard to run away from the fact that people learn to communicate effectively because they want to achieve their goal which might require the assistance or involvement of other people.
However, the change in my view is that there is another component that has become equally important. This component is understanding people. Allow me to elaborate. Through active listening, we can learn and gather further insights on certain issues from other people. We can unknowingly pick up new ideas or information that we never would have even dream about.
I personally feel that this is something truly invaluable that I have learned from this course. I am an aggressive person that likes to have people listening to me and agreeing with the points I made. However, from this course I learn that different people have different takes on a similar situation and some of which are indeed better than mine. I learn to listen to them and thus found new angles in approaching a given issue.
Hence, for me personally I learnt that effective communication skills does not always mean speaking appropriately, or giving the correct non-verbal cues or even giving a good first impression. It also involves understanding and listening, and it is only through these that one can truly communicate effectively.
3 comments:
Hi Ryan,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I would say that you have improved in your writing over this semester.
I still believe in our common view at the start of this course that communication is about getting what you want. I have elaborated more about this in my own blog post though, so I won't go into it.
It was a very strong point that you brought up about being less aggressive and doing more listening. As one of your group members and your so called "democratically-elected" chairperson, I can boldly say that I’m one of those that you have to “no-choice” listen to. And yes, I do agree that you have improved on this aspect. It makes working with you much better.
I, on the other hand, have actually tried to be more aggressive and do less listening. I used to be more submissive and not trust my views that much. This is not to say that I have total disregard for other views now. Instead, I now put more trust in my own views but yet at the same time, I’ll try to listen up for better views to replace my idea or incorporate into it.
Nevertheless, I’m glad that both of us have learnt something from this course.
Regards,
Glenn
Hi Ryan,
How true. Speaking appropriately is not communication. Giving the correct non-verbal cues is not communication. Giving a good first impression is not communication. Simply put, communication is about one person speaking and the other person listening. Speaking AND listening. That was a very good point you raised in your conclusion.
Often we find ourselves trying to find the perfect words to use, trying to sound professional, trying to impress. But it would all come to naught if the other person does not catch our message. This is because sometimes we overwhelm our audience with so much information that the true message gets lost along the way.
Hence, I totally agree with you that for us to be able to truly communicate effectively, understanding and listening to the other party is the only way to go.
Regards,
Nicholas
Hi Ryan,
It was great reading your reflection as you reviewed the module well with your personal experiences. I totally agree with you that communication ultimately is important to get what you want in the quickest way possible. The fact about understanding people is also very true. By understanding onself we can better relate and communicate to get what we want. It was a pleasure having you as my course mate.
All the best for your exams.
cheerz,
Jay
Post a Comment