As I intend to work in different countries, being able to communicate well with others is important to me. This is especially so since I plan to work in the finance industry where proposals and negotiations are part and parcel of the job description. In such situations, any miscommunication might result in costly repercussions or put a kink in our clients’ confidence in us. This is a lesson that was drummed into my head last year while preparing for a law presentation. One of my group-mates had abruptly changed some points in the PowerPoint slides a mere day before the presentation and had neglected to inform me about it, assuming that I had already been notified of the change. As a result, I presented a redundant and out-dated law to the class, resulting in a ferocious tongue-lashing from the tutor and a loss of confidence in our group.
Effective communication is important to me not only in the business sector, but also in my friendships. I enjoy interacting with people from other races and nationalities, as I am fascinated in learning more about their unique cultures and their different backgrounds. As such, I have a variety of friends ranging from Malays to Caucasians and coming from Vietnam, Mauritius, Hungary, Hong Kong and Thailand. It is thus necessary to have good communication among ourselves as they have different customs and some of them may only have a rudimentary grasp of English. There is a higher chance that they may misinterpret my message and be offended. As I also plan to travel overseas in the future, effective communication would be essential in building good relationships with the locals. Meanwhile, I suppose practicing my communication skills on the unsuspecting citizens of the multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore would have to suffice for the moment.
Final Reflection
15 years ago
Hello! I had a similar experience as you with regards to your law presentation. (You had a law presentation?) You use clear and simple sentence structures which make the post easy to understand. =) I suggest having more paragraphs to improve organisation? =) bye!
ReplyDeleteThank you Abigail for the highlight of other factors that will affect effective communication. As mentioned by you, cultural differences do require good communication and interpersonal handling skills to prevent any misunderstandings. The understanding of different customs and taboos is important for us to note what is to be excluded from the context of the conversation. Sad to say, my interaction with other races or nationalities that are found beyond in Singapore is scarce. However, with the experience in conversing with the other ethnic groups such as Indians, Malays, or other minor races, I am a little conscientious about the contents in my speech. Sometimes I do commit some mistakes such as mentioning of sensitive religious topics or racist jokes, but at the end of the day, my goal is similar to yours. We hope to be able to communicate with others around the world according to their different customs and rudimentary grasp of the English language.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Ivan
Hi Abby,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar encounter where my project mates did not keep me updated on the database website that we were supposed to present. I was at a loss when trying to explain how it work during the presentation.
You have quite a collection of friends from different countries. It would be interesting to know how you usually communicate with them and how you first approach them.
Cheers,
Chee Siang
You cover a lot of territory in these two paragraphs, Abby, in showing how important effective comm skills are for you. By focusing on your problem in the law presentation and on your international group of friends, you convey the idea that serious repercussions lie ahead of you if you don't act wisely. In fact, that is true. However, it isn't only in such situations. I refer to your very apt final sentence mentioning Singapore. Yes indeed, even going out to order food at the nearby hawker centre can result in a comm breakdown, or discussing which film to watch with family on a Friday night. It all counts, I think.
ReplyDeleteThank you for inspiring such thoughts.