Reflections on ES2007S

As I look back on the past thirteen weeks or so, I see a marked improvement in my written and verbal communication skills. Before taking ES2007S, I always felt confident about my writing. However, through this course, I learnt that good communication does not necessarily end with good grammar, vocabulary and punctuation. In order to communicate effectively, one needs to understand and cater to one's audience and situation.

As we leave our university career behind in order to pursue our goals in the job market, the skills acquired in ES2007S will no doubt be of tremendous use, maybe even more so than our core modules. In today's job market, a huge importance is placed on handling interpersonal relationships well, resolving conflicts and emotional intelligence. Through the group project, I learnt to communicate effectively with my group members and resolve minor conflicts that arose due to differences in our schedules and manage time well when meeting deadlines. With the presentation, I managed to improve my public speaking and to hold the interest of the audience.

As science students cooped up in the laboratory most of our days, these talents are not easy to come by. Therefore, I feel that ES2007S is a must for science undergraduates in order to improve their marketability.

All about Yours Truly

A Chemistry Undergraduate in her last year of studies at the National University of Singapore, Anushangi's goal in life is to delve into the field of psychology eventually. She is especially fascinated in the study of abnormal psychology and hopes to specialise in this area. 

During her time as a student at the Colombo International School, Kandy, Sri Lanka, she headed the student editorial team of the school magazine and enjoyed this experience thoroughly. She was an active member of the school's Interact Club and led her House to victory at the annual sports meet as Captain. She also achieved an Edexcel Award for her Advanced Level results. 

More recently, she worked as a barista at the student run cafe, Red Dot, at NUS for three months before being promoted as Assistant Manager. While working there, she handled new barista training, quality control and customer relations. 

She is an avid reader who enjoys both classic and modern fiction immensely and has tried her hand at writing poetry and magazine articles. 

She believes her interest and experience in a wide range of fields will serve her well in any future career path. 

Does stereotyping hinder effective communication?

Stereotyping...

We have all done it, with or without conscious thought, at some point in our lives. Stereotypes are often misleading as they are generalizations or assumptions that we make about someone based on their race, background, gender, or even something as trivial as hair colour. Stereotyping smothers individuality and often clouds our view of people in a negative or positive way. 

For example, Sri Lankans are generally considered to be friendly and hospitable. However, if one ever goes to Sri Lanka expecting unreserved hospitality, they will undoubtedly be disappointed. East Asians are supposed to be quiet and reserved, but there are many who are outgoing and boisterous. Gender stereotyping has an even higher effect on communication. Women are often thought to be talkative. So, when communicating with a woman, one might try to be overly chatty when in fact the woman in question prefers the quiet. 

Apart from these, even one’s appearance may be the basis of a stereotype. Blond haired women are generalised as air heads, however, there are many blondes who are extremely intelligent and this negative image may affect their work and even personal relationships. 

When we try to conform our communication techniques according to stereotypes, I feel that effective communication is lost. Stereotyping breeds conflicts and puts a barrier on developing interpersonal relationships. In conflict situations, negative stereotypes come into play and each party responds in kind making the situation far worse as there is a total shut down in open minded communication.

 In order to break through this shell of stereotyping, let us try to erase all preconceived notions about races, genders, education background, social status and appearance and make a renewed effort to get to know people for their own individual selves. 

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

With the advancements in communication technology and the travel industry, interactions between persons of different cultural and social backgrounds are inevitable. Even within the same country, cultural differences may exist between different ethnicities and even cities. With varying cultural backgrounds, one’s values, behaviour patterns, mannerisms, gender relations and even speech patterns vary to vast degrees. When people from such contrasting views are put together, conflicts may arise in certain situations.

For example, in an article I read sometime back written by a Sri Lankan travel journalist who toured Japan, he had described such a situation which led to a humorous outcome. While attending a meal with his Japanese host, he was served a bowl of soup, which he emptied to the very bottom, since in Sri Lanka, it is considered rude to leave a half eaten plate of food. Each time he emptied the bowl, his host hastened to refill it and this went on until the journalist consumed about four servings of soup. Finally, he politely explained to the host that he was quite full and unable to have any more. At this point, the host graciously explained that in Japan, if a guest empties his plate, it is customary to refill it until he leaves some uneaten.

From this, what I gather is that the best way to tackle differences in intercultural behaviour is through understanding and tolerance. When a person is interacting with someone from a culture which is unfamiliar to them, many cultural offences may occur. However, if both parties are aware of their differences and respect them, conflicting situations can be avoided. In the case of the journalist, he showed respect and politeness and was responded to in kind by his host despite their lack of cultural common ground.

Critique of a Business Letter

J. H. Radeepan,

No. 18, Havelock Road,

Colombo 05

Mr Mohan Weerakoon,

22 A, Malwatta Road,

Matale

Invoice for 1 banner at SLCG 08

Dear Mr Weerakoon,

Attached is the invoice for the banner to be displayed at 'Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2008' on all three days of the event.

Looking forward to a reply regarding the awards sponsorship as well.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me.

Thank you,

J.H. Radeepan

Critique of the Letter

In this business letter received by my father regarding an invoice for an event sponsorship, the writer shows some lack of clarity. With regards to the 7Cs of effective writing, the sender could be more courteous since no appreciation for the banner sponsorship is expressed and the style of closing is too informal.

The letter is not grammatically incorrect as such, however the sentence structure could be less fragmented to achieve a better flow and cohesion in the overall content. Although concise, important information such as the dates the ‘SLCG’ will be held and details regarding the awards sponsorship should be briefly mentioned in order to improve clarity and completeness of the letter. Also, the affiliation of the sender with the ‘SLCG’ event should be specified to increase the credibility of the message.

The correct format of a business letter is adhered to with some small errors such as not utilising a complimentary close and not including the date of drafting of the letter. Overall, I feel that the lack of detail and courtesy interfere with the effectiveness of this business letter whereby the sender is requesting for further assistance from the recipient.

Run away and hide or face conflicts head on?

For this post, I will be focusing on a hypothetical workplace conflict that has risen from a miscommunication.

The GM appoints a group of people in charge of developing the new advertising campaign for the company. The team leader is Jane and the rest of the group comprises of Rachael, Allan, Mark and Jennifer. After many months of research, the team propose many effective ideas, with Jane putting together all the proposals. However, during the final presentation, Jane keeps on referring to the ideas as her own. She does not even acknowledge the efforts of the other four team members and is harping on about her part in the final outcome.

The rest of the team is feeling as though Jane had exploited their ideas for her own benefit. They decide to approach the GM and explain the situation to him so Jane does not end up with the credit for their hard work. When Jane finds out about this, she feels hurt and betrayed by her team, because her behaviour at the presentation was unintentional. She feels as though she should confront the team and discuss the issue. However, the others have been avoiding her since the presentation although they were on friendly terms before.

Do you think the team made the right decision in approaching the GM without confronting Jane? Is Jane justified in feeling betrayed when she unintentionally took the credit for other people’s hard work? How do you think each party should approach the issue and resolve the misunderstanding without hurt feelings?

My Thoughts on Developing Effective Communcation Skills

Although I have almost reached the end of my Undergraduate studies, I feel as though I’m still in kindergarten when it comes to interacting and socialising with others. I’m certain that most of you will be able to empathise with this feeling.

Bearing this in mind, one cannot underestimate the importance of interpersonal communication. Be it a formal meeting or an informal gathering among friends, one cannot escape communicating and interacting with others. In most cases, future employers, acquaintances and even your lifelong friends will judge you based on how you present yourself more than how learned or qualified you may be. Even a trip to the grocery store will test your communication skills.

When one thinks of communicating, speaking automatically springs to mind, however, listening effectively and attentively also plays a major role in communicating “effectively”. By learning to listen, speak and interact with others better, you can expand your personal and professional networks and get your ideas across without causing offense while not appearing like a pushover. It might even give you an edge over other similarly qualified individuals when job hunting or trying for a promotion or a raise.

Therefore, I feel that this is an essential life skill that any person hoping to succeed in life should master as well as or even better than their chosen profession.

Please feel free to tell me what “effective communication” means to each of you on a personal level.