I must firstly admit that ES2007S was not my first choice of module to take in NUS. I was gently nudged by my friend to take up this module and ‘feed ourselves to the sharks’ as he put it. So I went to check up on the course description and outline. Some parts of the course immediately struck me as important and will come in useful in the very near future.
First would be the application letter and resume writing part, which I will need to know as this is my graduating semester and it won’t be long before I start to find a job. Another section that I am looking forward to albeit slightly rattled by the idea is the mock job interview. But I guess I have to go through it in the end so I might as well get some practice now.
I feel that the skills of effective communication are important as it allows me to bring across a point clearly and accurately. This will prevent misunderstandings, which could further lead to conflicts if the confusion is serious. I think the skills will come in handy when communicating with my future bosses and colleagues.
Having good communication skills also portrays a better image of you. Being able to articulate your arguments and points exudes an image of confidence and will be able to garner respect from your audience.
One point that I have been pondering about is the correlation between good communication skills and good command of language. Must a person have a good command of the language to be able to have good communication skills and vice versa? Any opinions?
Final reflections
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ES2007S has been an unforgettable experience. I still remember thinking
that the workload seemed really heavy when Jivs first suggested we take
this modu...
14 years ago
Hi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteI think that having a good command in language is important so that we can express ourselves better.It can only make our communication easier as we can express the things that we want to convey in the clearest way.This can prevent the arisen of misunderstanding.
However it is not a MUST as there are also many other factors that can contribute to good communication. For me I think that sincerity is a MUST so that we can communicate effectively. When we are sincere in doing a particular thing the outcome will always be the best. This can also be applied in communication. If we are sincere in talking to someone the person would be able to feel it and they would be more willing to listen. This result in effective communication!=)
Xian Rui
Hi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteI personally feel that being competent with a language can help to better portray our thoughts and feelings. However, that does not necessarily make us effective communicators.
For instance, when having casual conversations with our friends, we most probably do not speak in perfect English all the time. Sometimes, we'll even borrow terms from dialects to express ourselves, as these phrases may seem more apt.
Though the speaker did not use good English, the audience is able to understand what the speaker wants to convey. On the other hand, if one speaks in perfect English, but beats around the bush, the audience is unlikely to understand the speaker completely.
I guess the strength of correlation between good communication skills and good command of language also depends on the situation. In the context of professional communication, a good command of language is definitely essential. For communication in a more relaxed social setting, the correlation between these two factors may not be as strong.
Gwen
Hey Jonathan,
ReplyDeletethere is some truth to having good communication skills and good command of the language. For instance, I will never dare give a spontaneous presentation in my mother tongue as I'm admittedly pretty inadequate with the language. Also, when communicating with the older generation I feel lost for words and very very inefficient at making my points known because language stops me from moving further or even attempting to make conversation with anyone. I believe the same applies with English as well. Knowing that you have a good command of the language can boost one's confidence to speak up more spontaneously.
As Gwen mentioned, we do not always speak perfect english within our social circles but can still be effective communicators. Well i guess we have to put it in context. If we are looking at giving presentations and being interviewed we definitely need a decent command of the language as poor language skills may potentially put off future employers.
However, there is another side to communicating effectively and that would include the other aspects that we have learned which is being an active listener, being aware of personal filters as well as having good non-verbal cues!
Hope this helped. Cheers!
-Jivs
Hi Jon,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Gwen about how effective communication is dependent on the situation. True, when we are talking to our friends, using our own slang and dialects will definitely help us to bring across our points succinctly and accurately. On the other hand, if we use terms and expressions that is not used frequently, there is a greater risk of having misunderstandings.
I think that having good language skills, though, is an important part of being good communicators as well. If we have a poor command of English, it will be very hard for us to communicate with native English speakers, for instance. For example, I had to enunciate more accurately and form grammatically correct sentences when I spoke to Americans during my exchange, in other for them to understand me better. The same probably applies to any other languages. In this case, I also feel that fluency in the language that is most commonly used by the people you are addressing will also help them to relate better to you, and vice versa. We have seen how some of our politicians strive to learn Mandarin to achieve this purpose.
At the very least, I feel that being adequately fluent in the language will definitely help us to express ourselves better, no matter who we are speaking to.
Ronnie
Thanks for this interesting response to the assignment, Jon. You do take the post more along the lines of ES2007S than I might have expected, but there is certainly overlap. In any case, you do a god job of visiting the importance of effective comm skills for you. I appreciate your effort.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few minor language issues to consider:
1) ... I am looking forward to albeit slightly rattled... >>> ...I am looking forward to albeit being slightly rattled....
2) as it allows me... >>> as they might enable me...
3) This will prevent >>> This could prevent
4) portrays a better image of you. >>> will help me portray a better image of myself.
Hi Jon,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, cool blog! Thought you would have a more 'food-ish' template seeing that you like food and all its glory!
Well Jon, the correlation between good language and good communicator is there. But it definitely doesn't stop people from trying to communicate! So what if you're good in your english command, it's the non-verbal cues that counts in the end. The eye contact, the folding of the arms, the tapping of the foot etc. All these cues makes it an 'epic fail' for good communication.
But what can you do? When the person is not interested in your topic, it's either you make it more interesting, or you change the topic =p
Brad: HOLA BRAD!
Jon!
ReplyDeleteI liked the last part of your blog where you ended with a question. This is a nice way of interacting with the readers and getting their opinion.
I believe a good command of language would be more important in one’s professional life than personal life. I did however read this book (sorry, can’t recollect which one) once which said that communication is 70% body language, 20% tone and only 10% of what you actually say. Google this and you’ll see that various studies conducted shows that body language plays a more important role in communication, followed by the tone (surprise surprise!) and only then the content. Of course, having a good command of the language would definitely be useful. But without the non-verbal cues to reinforce what you are saying, don’t you think it will come across as just lip service?