Well, how to explain that when a person has all his senses functioning normally but he is not able to convey a message or understand others? Is this communication an ability that people should really concern about? Sometimes the barrier of communication comes from the external factors such as language, whereas most of the time the reason that affects a person from communicating effectively is from internal. Such factors may be emotions, lack of subject knowledge or even stress. You may not possibly be able to listen to your mother’s words when you are under the stress of the examination.
How do we solve these problems during communication? A good way of starting this is to use simple words to convey message in order to avoid misunderstanding. Apart from that, one must learn effective listening, that is, listen attentively and proactively. Listening is actually a two-way communication. When two persons are communicating with each other, an effective process of interpersonal communication will require the use of asking questions while the other person is speaking. One last thing might be trying not to put your negative emotions into the communication while expressing yourself or listening to others.
Hey JK,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you JK that one of the key elements needed for effective communication is effective listening skills. It encourages the speaker to go on, thus facilitating a healthy conversation between the two.
Another valid point that I thought you brought out was that language can prove to be a hindrance when it comes to interpersonal communication, particularly inter-cultural, and thus should not be made a barrier.
In fact I can even relate a personal experience with it. I live in a hall and do participate in the hall activities like aca pella and hall publications. And one good thing that I have always observed is that whenever I am around for practices, the others always ensure that they speak in English so that I can also be included in the conversation. This really helped me bond with them.
Hey Jacky,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your mention of the barriers to communications. At many times, it might not be the encoder’s fault when the process of communication goes wrong; the decoder can be at fault too. Like what you have pointed out, most people will not be able to analyse anything they have heard accurately if they are under any erratic emotional behaviour (e.g. anger, fear). Hence, choosing the right time to say something can be as important as your choice of words, as saying the correct things at the wrong time can be as detrimental as saying the wrong things at an appropriate time.
I also agree that simple words can often be more effective than lines of fanciful phrases. Many times we confuse others with what we want to say when we could be easily understood with a simpler choice of words. We certainly do not need someone to display his poetic skills in a discussion where critical decisions have to be made. All in all, saying the right things at the right time is really the key to mastering the skill of interpersonal communication.
Cheers,
Yifan