In my humble opinion, effective communication skills are probably as important for anyone else as it is for me. However, to put it in my context, I probably need them quite urgently as I am currently in my final year and before I know it, I would have graduated and (hopefully) joined Singapore's workforce. Then again, logically speaking, I will definitely need to exhibit my best communication skills to be able to succinctly and "vocally" prove my capabilities to my future employers. Surely, being confident at the interview would speak volumes about the worthiness of a candidate. This is just what I need to be some time later.
Having said the above, there are certainly also many other instances where effective communication would be put to worthy usages.
Imagine this: You are at a party and there is this sharing session on a recent piece of big news. You are very excited because you have a lot of information at the back of your mind. You started speaking excitedly, trying very hard to convey your ideas to some of your friends crowding around you. However, at the end of it, you saw many confused faces and heard someone says, "Sorry, I think we didn't really catch you. Would you mind repeating?” Others nod in agreement. How miserable would you feel?
Worse still, imagine this scenario: You are a Quality Assurance Engineering intern and you realised that there are some quality issues with the products of your company. You try to speak to your supervisor and he just brushes you aside. (Let's put the cause as pure miscommunication) After some time, the issue with the standard of the products resurfaces and as a result, injuries and casualties resulted. You would be regretting for not communicating more effectively previously.
Last one (the worst): Imagine you are going to approach a girl that you have admired for long, you finally mustered all the courage inside you and approached her...Then, all you got is one tight slap on your face! (You told her that she was not of the prettiest but at least, you two were a good fit.)
Okay. The above examples may seem a bit far-fetched and may not have necessarily happened to me. (I'm not admitting to anything!) However, what I am trying to say here is that communication is really the basis of all inter-personal relationships and being effective at it will certainly serve everyone well in any situation in the long run.
Effective Communication?
Hi Kenny,
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow soon-to-be graduate, I agree that having good communication skills is very important for us now, as we try to get through interviews and make a favourable impression on potential employers. Have you ever wondered how people who can speak eloquently and impressively often have an advantage over the rest of us? Most of the time, interviewers only have the chance to appraise an interviewee based on how well he or she performs at the interview. The interviewer can only try to access the capabilities of the person by what he or she says. Other aspects, such as diligence and attitude often do not materialise until the person has settled into the workplace. Thus, a person may be as bright, dedicated and hardworking as any other person, but is more likely to get overlooked if he/she cannot express himself/herself well! That probably explains why we choose to slog through this course, instead of having a nice and relaxing last semester.
As for the guy who said that the girl is not the prettiest, he lacks not only good communication skills, but also tact and common sense about communicating with girls...
Ronnie
Thanks, Kenny, for this creative approach to exploring the assigned topic. The scenarios paint a clear (imaginative!) picture of the importance of good comm skills. I agree with Ronnie, too. Tact might be lacking in at least one of the scenes.
ReplyDeleteA few language issues to consider:
1) skills are probably as important for anyone else as it is... >>> skills are probably as important for me as they are for anyone else...
2) This is just what I need to be some time later. >>> ???
3) Having said the above, there are certainly >>> (who said the above?) Having said the above, I....
4) usages >>> non-count noun!
5) in the 3rd, 4th and 5th paragraphs, inconsistent verb tense use!!!
Hi Brad, thanks for pointing out these language errors. I would certainly try to be more careful in my next post.
ReplyDelete@Ronnie: I can't help but to agree with you that eloquent people tend to have this slight advantage during interviews. Being able to speak and relate ideas clearly and fluently will definitely give the interviewer a good first impression of the candidate. However, I was thinking that perhaps less eloquent candidates can make up the gap with an impressive resume or even "touched" the interviewers with their eagerness and sincerity through non-verbal cues. Think about the eyes, expression, posture etc.
Hi Kenny,
ReplyDeleteI guess first appraisal during an interview is inevitable. Many would-be employers will take this opportunity to size up a candidate to see if he/she lives up to his/her resume. Moreover, they will want a candidate that will be a good fit in the corporation in terms of personality and habits. Thus an interviewee must not only show his prowess in communication, but also send other good signals, such as being on time and smartly dressed. And as you have also pointed out, non-verbal communication during the interview is also important to send the right signals.
Being able to carry a conversation also includes you being knowledgeable in that particular topic. Moreover, your audience should also be equally knowledgeable. Thus in the first scenario that you mentioned, could it be possible that your audience (your friends) do not posses the means to understand your idea? In that case could it be their problem instead for not understanding?
Jon