Looking at the comic above, different people have different interpretations of what the others want to convey. This is also true in the workplace today. Whether it is verbal or non-verbal communications, the main aim is to bring your message across correctly. Hence, it is vital to develop effective communication skills to avoid misunderstandings.Today, communication in the workplace is more than just “talk”. In a constantly evolving working environment, things can become increasingly complicated. Sources of tension and friction can even arise from basic interactions with colleagues or team-mates.
This reminds me of my mother who, at times, came home complaining about how unhappy she was at work. Most of the misunderstandings arose from plain, normal conversations of her with her colleagues. These misunderstandings resulted in some negativity and could possibly hinder their productivity. The moral of the story that she told me was to “talk when necessary”.
Although some people may agree that “Silence is Gold”, and silence can save them from disputes, think again. Communication is not just about verbal but it involves non-verbal messages as well. E-mails, reports, letters, or even body languages are also forms of communication.
So, I believe that “Communication is Platinum”. It can be a way to build relationships with fellow colleagues and to be a good team player. I can also deliver my ideas more effectively to my team-mates and bosses. More importantly, I need effective communication skills to pass my job interview.
Since human beings were given the ability to think and speak, why not make good use of both to set you at the advantage of effective communication!
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ReplyDeleteYuan, this is really an interesting perspective and the comic really livens things up as well as giving more weight to your point that people may interpret the other party's meanings differently from what the other party wanna convey.
ReplyDeleteYour mom actually teaches you the same thing that my mom taught me too; talk only when necessary. They are not wrong. Though I would think that the outcomes would be different if people convey their feelings or meanings accurately in a way that the recipient interpretes in a way the speaker intended. For example,imagine a scenario in a fast food restaurant. During peak hours, instead of the counter staff saying "can you work faster?" to the cooks, the counter staff can say "I would appreciate it if the burgers can come out faster to feed the demand of an increasing crowd of hungry customers."
Or, if the counter staff is too busy or increasingly agitated, silence can be gold too. This is actually a very good point. Communication, if not effective or serve no purpose, shouldn't even be made in the first place. But the latter is just my perspectives. >_<
Hi Yuan!
ReplyDeleteI like the illustration you gave about "Silence is golden" but "Communication is Platinum". I was a zealot of the former, but reflecting upon the illustration. I may agree that communicating is probably more esteemed than silence.
But this is not without conditions! Communicating is better than silence only when we become effective communicators -- being able to use the right words, intonation and body language. Also, speaking at the right place and at the right time... which at the end, it seems so hard to achieve.
However, "Talk only when necessary" (quoting Kalene) may be the solution to this dilemma! What do you think?
Hi Yuan yuan,
ReplyDeleteI like the comic you have posted, especially the perspective on heights, because i am vertically-challenged and i view many as giants!
Indeed, in our society, many of us (especially many singaporeans) remain silent for fear of misunderstandings with colleagues and supervisors. But like you pointed out, communication can a way to improve our relationship with others and the benefits can be beyond our expectations!
I believe your philosophy of "Communication is Platinum" can benefit you in your future occupation!
Cheers!
I like the comic, it illustrates that people interpret things differently despite speaking the same language. It is a very good point. Human interprets things from their hearing and their own belief. Some people might just do selective listening, listen to just part of what the other party is talking about. Sometimes I did do that, maybe due to tiredness or other reasons. End up decoding the message not the way the speaker intended too.
ReplyDeleteCommunication is not just “talk”, I agree, it encompasses the body language too such as eye contact, gestures and tone of speech. One should not be blabbering away, irritating the audience, or keeping quiet when met disagreements. There is a fine line between speaking too much and speaking too little. Hence, come to the point of “talk when necessary”. It is a person self definitions or through experience on what is necessary.
Yes, think and speak are the fundamental guide to effective communication. As I feel that only speaking without thinking is as well as not speaking. One needs to have a thought process to work towards communicating effectively.
Overall, I feel this is a good write up! :)
Hi Yuan,
ReplyDeleteI agree that communication is an integral part of work. Both verbal and non-verbal communication is needed to perform optimally to work.
Kalene once wrote, "talk only if necessary". The meaning would be depending on the definition of 'necessary'. A person who talks about private life at work might defend his conversation saying that it is necessary to strengthen relationships with other colleagues.
Thank you people!! Personally I thought the comic was quite funny too. (:
ReplyDeleteTo Kalene, I would like comment on the point that you mentioned that "communication, if not effective or serve no purpose, shouldn't even be made in the first place". I believed that this might be true in the workplace but we can clarify during the communication process and eventually, communication still serves a purpose.
To Wai Pheng, I like your insight to effective communication. Basically, I think that "talking when necessary" can be a temporary solution but not a long term one. If one bellieves in "talk when necessary", then it would be relatively impossible to build any kind of relationship in the workplace. I would feel rather detached from the others.
For Johny, I absolutely agree that most Singaporeans tend to remain silent for the fear of misunderstanding and actually I'm one of them too, but depending on the situation. Let say if I just enter a new working environment, I tend to talk less because I am still not well oriented and I don't know the people there well enough to communicate freely.
And to Jane and Bernard, I believed that different people have different definitions of "necessary". So, from my perception of my mother's "necessary", she meant not to talk other personal stuff during work and not to complicate things by bringing personal feelings into work.