Human beings are one of the many different types of social
animals that exist in the world. Other species include wolf, dolphin, fishes,
etc. The way to communicate between different species vary largely, from the
loud chilling howl between a wolf pack to the inaudible ultrasonic wave by the
dolphins to the communicative chemical secreted by ants and bees in the insect
world. To remove the notion of communication is to render the breakdown of the
function of group living. Among the human race, communication comes in many
forms, verbal versus non-verbal communication or effective versus ineffective
communication. In my opinion, the important aspect of communication is not
about what information is being passed on but rather, how it is being passed on,
and how it is received by the recipient. That is what we define as effective
communication.
Communication is not just about verbally saying out
information to another person. It involves body language, tones, eye contact
and, most importantly, listening. Yes, you heard me right. Listening is an
important aspect of effective communication as well. To communicate effectively
is to impart information accurately and for that to happen, the first step is
to listen and make sure that we receive the information correctly. We are
living in a world where we are all connected in a large inter-connected web.
Rarely are there new information being generated. Most of the time, information
is passed from person to person, like how vibration occurs in a large web.
Without listening, we will just be passing on inaccurate information every time
we open out mouth, and if that is the case, are we not just wasting our and the
recipient’s time?
Personally, effective communication is important in
situations such as presentations. As a final year student, I am required to
work on my final year project, and present my research and findings to my examiner
at the end of the year. Hence, effective communication is extremely important
for me to convey the vast amount of information in the short period of time
given. Also, since I will be stepping into the corporate world soon, I will
expect myself to have to bring across and sell ideas to my colleagues or
clients often. Thus, good presentation skills, and hence effective
communication, are also needed.
These are just 2 examples of situations where I find
effective communication very important. I truly feel that communication is an
important skill, which is why I’ve chosen to take this module! (:
(sorry for the late post guys!)
