I did not realize the seriousness of my communication problem until recently I arrived in Singapore to begin my exchange semester. In a foreign country and without friends, I need to explore all the things by myself. That involves a lot of communication with people, especially with strangers. As a result, expressing myself clearly and precisely becomes extremely important for me. That urges me to sharpen my communication skills. Effective communication may help me to communicate effectively with people and prepare me for the future work or study.
Whenever at a family party, I am the one speak the least. I only respond to others' questions and seldom start a new topic to talk with others. I took for granted that I was not an outgoing person and it was natural for me to talk less. I reflect myself recently and find out that my quietness may be resulted from my poor communication skills. It is high time for me to improve my communication skills.
In the future, either in my further study or in my work, I need to discuss with people and explain my idea to others. If I can communicate effectively, the effectiveness of my work may be highly increased.
Those are almost the reasons why I take ES2007S. Hope I can improve myself in the following study.
I think I can safely say that almost everyone conveniently dismisses the need for effective communication in our everyday life, until we find ourselves in some situation that highlights our poor communication skills! And it doesn't mean that if you're is less outspoken (or less outgoing), you can't be effective at communicating. After all, communication can be verbal and non-verbal.
ReplyDelete"Jia You" to us!
PS: Is it possible to change the language setting to English? I am not very good at reading chinese characters :/ Sorry!
ReplyDeleteMichael, I think it was a right choice taking this module. Just like I have commented on Chris’s blog that there are almost no other modules in NUS that we can engage in so much interaction; it is a great opportunity for all of us to learn :D
ReplyDeleteI think you can do it! :D
This is a great opportunity for you Michael! I used to think that I had nothing in common with people in gatherings like the one you mentioned, but later I realized there are people with topics you would like to discuss. You just have to find and engage them in conversation. I think this course is perfect to learn and understand such cues.
ReplyDeletehello!
ReplyDeletefirstly, welcome to NUS for your exchange semester! Don't worry, with ES2007S, you'll be able to communicate more effectively step by step:) Maybe you can start out small, and I do have some suggestions for you after reading the part about 'the family party'. Maybe to keep the conversation going (anytime, anywhere), you can try to answer with 'open answers', and not with just 'yes/no'. this way people can also continue to engage with you. Simple phrases such as 'How about you?'and 'Tell me more' allows the both of you to continue to interact, and maybe find out more about each other!
we (your classmates at es2007s) will be glad to help you and talk to you! lets communicate more :)there's really no other module that allows you to interact with your classmates on such a frequent basis!
jiayou and all the best! see you in class! :)
Thank you, Michael, for this open and self-critical reflection. You develop your ideas well, focusing on your own inhibitions, in particular the fear of communicating. You also explain well how the need to communicate more effectively has presented itself now that you are here for study. My only suggestion organization-wise would be for you to have included the info from the 3rd paragraph, where you explain your reticence at family parties, earlier in the text as you explain how your parents had encouraged you to talk more.
ReplyDeleteThere are also a few language problems:
1) I simply ignore their advice and left the problem there. >>> I simply ignored their advice and left the problem there.
2) Whenever at a family party, I am the one speak the least. >>> Whenever at a family party, I am the one who speaks the least.
In any case, this is a very fine post. Thank you!
Hello Micheal,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing an extremely important fishermen story with us in class that day. I was actually in need of being reminded to work together with someone rather than shouldering everything myself. The 'reminder' came just in time for me.
I think I understand what you go through during the parties and all that. Sometimes, I feel more comfortable listening to what others have to say too. However, it is important to be able to engage with others. I'd say it's a survival skill. It might help to talk about something that you're interested in. At least that way, you can make sure that you won't run out of things to say!
Cheers,
Have a wonderful Sunday :)