Communication, on its own, can be defined as the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs. There is always a desired outcome to communication; and reaching that outcome in the simplest way possible, is in my definition, effective communication.
Effective communication is important to me because first of all, I do not like being misunderstood. When misunderstandings occur, a lot of energy, time and emotions have to be invested to make matters clear. Often times, they even result in the end of a relationship, thus cutting of all further communication efforts to make the wrong a right.
Secondly, being able to effectively communicate to/with someone boosts my self-confidence. When people understand me easily, it doesn’t have to result in finding other avenues of bringing a point across.
Lastly, effective communication is vital because it makes me understand people and the point they are trying to bring across more easily. When I communicate with people who are not as effective in communication a point, being able to listen and understand well helps to ease the tension and make the conversation or exchange more fruitful and worthwhile.
Effective communication is therefore not just how well one brings a point across to the other party/parties, but also, how well the exchange of ideas and thoughts is carried out. It definitely does NOT boil down to one party, but to all parties in that exchange.
quite an emotional post there. hahaha. all your points make sense to me. (: the importance of communication is to interact with people. if the receiver do not even understand wad the sender is trying to say then wads the point of communicating. might as well just keep quiet. hahaha. therefore, professional communications is important because we will be dealing with huge funds and prolly human lifes in future when we work and we cannot afford to have counication breakdowns.
ReplyDeleteHello blogging buddy!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! I think effective communication is about finding the simplest way to convey a message/idea. Thus, the target audience and choice of language/lingo plays a part too. For example, to communicate effectively in Singapore to those middle-age, low literacy aunties and uncles, it might be through Singlish.
Example at a supermarket, if a specific brand of jam has run out, instead of saying in proper British English to the aunty, the salesperson will probably say, "No stock." Which is understood immediately by the aunty. Haha!
Therefore, like you said, effective communication is about all parties in that exchange. So we have to choose the appropriate tone/language for the different target audience.
Clearly the responsibility to understand and be understood rests in the hands of both parties or all parties to listen and respond appropriately.
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