Before pondering over the importance of effective communication, let us take a minute to think about what effective communication really is. In any conversation, apart from the content, our body language, facial expressions and vocal tone also have an impact on how well the message is conveyed. An ideal mix of all these factors is what makes communication effective.
What is the point of a conversation if the message is not conveyed properly? What is the value of a lecture or seminar which does not leave the audience captivated? It’s all about making the communication effective.
There are not many fields in life where you can succeed unless you can place your ideas effectively before your audience. Being a student pursuing a major in Computer Engineering, I realize this fact fully. In any of the firms I would put on a list of my dream places to work, more than a thorough repertoire of technical skills, the ability to communicate effectively is what is preached and practiced religiously. Having brilliant ideas means little, getting the world to believe in them is the real peak that needs to be scaled.
The impact of being able to communicate your thoughts, visions, ideals and dreams effectively permeates far beyond just work. Whether it's keeping your marriage from becoming just another file on that increasingly tall pile of divorce papers, or it's bridging distances with your friend from a different continent, effective communication isn't just something that's "good to have".
It's something we need.
Hi Akash,
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was brilliant and put across simply yet effectively. There is indeed no point in a continuing an existing conversation if the message is not brought across accurately and consistently- which is to say in short, effectively. In my humble opinion, this is something which most engineering students in NUS lack... which is also the very reason I am taking the module for. :S
Dear Akash,
ReplyDeleteI love the final paragraph of your post, regarding marriage. This is most unconventional. We seem to have only focus on the 'professional' side of communication and not the 'personal' side. For a proper marriage to sustain, couples need to be able to understand each other well, and if they can't communicate well, the marriage is bound to fail.
Nicholas
@Doris: Thank you for your feedback. Actually, its not really NUS' fault too. Effective communication skills are something which come only by making that extra effort, putting a greater input in learning it, and trying to practice it. I am sure we all can end up to be good communicators, after we put in the required amount of effort for this module.
ReplyDelete@Nick: Thank you for your comment. I guess we only focus on the professional side since that is what concerns us more presently. Probably, when we grow up, and are to take on family responsibilities, then we will appreciate the importance of effective communication in relationships and marriage. Effective communication, in fact, has its applications and importance in almost all spheres in life.