Consider a scenario where you are giving instructions to your teammates to complete a task. How do you ensure that the instructions are fully understood by your teammates? Any ambiguity in the instructions would lead to misinterpretation while a dominating tone might cause dissatisfaction among your teammates. I have experienced this scenario many times in my life. Often, the message was not conveyed to them accurately and so, more time was required to fulfill the task. Thus, it is very important for me to acquire effective communication skills, whether they are verbal or non-verbal, so that the message is conveyed in the right tone to the audience and they understand the message. In this way, tasks can be completed successfully.
In addition, effective communication skills are vital in building stronger relationships and reducing conflicts. Misinterpretation often causes conflicts especially when mental biases are present. There was once when I misunderstood what my friend said due to a mental bias (I felt that she tended to be suspicious of everything around her) and thus, I began to be defensive about myself. This eventually caused a breakdown in communication and the relationship between the both of us worsened. With good communication and listening skills, I could have avoided such scenarios and learned how to build trust and respect instead. These skills are important for me as I can build better relationships with my friends and colleagues.
Effective communication skills are important in our everyday life and applicable to everyone we speak to. Whether it is in the working environment or in school, we can understand better what is expected of us by communicating effectively. Moreover, these skills enable us to minimize conflicts that might arise due to misunderstanding. I hope to learn more communication skills to improve the way I interact with people and build stronger relationships with them.
I agree totally that the mental blocks that we impose on ourselves are what, sadly,bring about our own undoing. The sooner we become aware of the damage they are doing to our own progress, the sooner, we can move forward.
ReplyDeleteReferring to your point on mental biasness, I agree that consciously removing these preconceived assumptions will definitely help in understanding your friend better. Knowing how to communicate effectively involves recognizing possible areas of conflict when a misunderstanding has occurred. Feedback then becomes essential for the listener to achieve understanding, and for the speaker to know that he/she has been understood. Once both parties are on the same plane of thought, effective communication has been achieved.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to your experience! Misunderstanding between two parties occur frequently in our daily lives but this can be minimized with better understanding between each other. It takes two hands to clap, so both parties should work together to foster a better relationship. It should not only be one-sided. :)
ReplyDeleteYes misinterpretation in projects will lead to a lower in productivity, causing precious time to be wasted. Hence effective communication is definitely necessary. In addition, a leader should also be equipped with high emotional intelligence to ensure efficiency of work being done.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about the importance of effective communication in teamwork! I would also like to add that communication operates both ways, so other than working on how you give instructions to your groupmates, listening to them and obtaining their feedback is also crucial to the process. Corroborating what you meant and what they understood can minimise misunderstanding. Moreover, your groupmates may also have their own ideas about what to do and how to do it, and might not contend with simply following your instructions, no matter how clearly and how nicely you put it. Just a thought!
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