“Man is by nature a social animal.” – Aristotle, a Greek philosopher.
This quotation means that human
cannot live alone and he must have interaction with and communicate to others
in the society. One of the most common problems in the society nowadays is
conflict and it is often originated from misunderstandings. Therefore, to solve
this problem, people should develop and practice effective communication.
Effective communication is the
communication that receivers understand messages from senders precisely and
clearly. The lack of such skill could lead to misunderstanding among one
another and, in the end, a conflict.
For example, there was once when
my friend argued with me because of an ambiguous message. We planned to go out on
Saturday, and she had sent a message which read “meet me at 3”. On Saturday, I
came to the meeting place at 3pm and found nobody. Later, I found out that she
was back at her home angrily saying that I was late for 6 hours. I was very
confused because she told me to meet at 3 but not at 9. After a few minutes, I
realized that she used Thai timing system which 7am, 8am and 9am are 1 o’clock,
2 o’clock and 3 o’clock respectively.
Supposed that I had asked “Does 3 mean 3pm or 9am?” and that she had not assumed that I understood her
perfectly we would have not misunderstood. Instead of becoming angry at each other at home, we would have had fun
traveling on Saturday, only if, we had communicated effectively.
From my own experience, I learnt
that effective communication is very important as it can help people live
together more peacefully. To develop this skill, we must eliminate barriers, such as, our own assumptions, ambiguous words and so on.
What about you? How do you
find effective communication crucial? Moreover, do you share the same opinion that
effective communication can reduce conflict?
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Thank you, Jae, for this comprehensive and yet concise post. I especially like the way that you make a general statement (" Effective communication is the communication that receivers understand messages from senders precisely and clearly. The lack of such skill could lead to misunderstanding among one another and, in the end, a conflict.") and then illustrate that with a fitting, personal example. And what an example! So in Thai 1 can be 7am? 3 can be 9am?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to understand that better....
I appreciate your effort!
Thank you for your feedback :) I am glad you love it!
DeleteYes, your understanding is correct.
7am, 8am and 9am can be 1 "Mong", 2 "Mong", and 3 "Mong" in Thai respectively. ("Mong" is the word we use in Thai to describe time.)
Moreover, there is another ambiguous point that I did not illustrate in this post. That is 7pm, 8pm and 9pm can be 1 "Tum", 2 "Tum", and 3 "Tum" respectively.
Hi Ramon,
DeleteThis is indeed an interesting and concise post. I liked the way you brought up the example to substantiate your idea.
Thank you for highlighting the fact that we can overcome the problem of miscommunication if we are explicit in usage of certain words. I also agree with you when you say that effective communication can reduce conflict.
You could have considered including areas where you would like to see yourself improve.
Hi Aditi, thank you for your comment especially on your suggestion on how to improve my post. Moreover, I am happy that you share the same opinion as me.
DeleteHi Jae
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. It was presented in such a clear,simple manner and also well-supported with relevant example. Moreover,It is interesting to learn that there is a specific timing system in Thai. I am looking forward to learning more about Thai culture in your future posts!! :)
Hi Heather,
DeleteThank you for your comment. You will see some of the Thai culture in the next post as well. From my thinking, it is very interesting to exchange our culture and ideas in this multicultural world! So, do not get bored to know more about Thailand. In addition, I am looking forward to learning some Vietnamese cultures from you too! (and maybe you can teach me some Korean culture as well because you are taking Korean language ;)) )
Hi Jae,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I wish to compliment your efforts for designing your blog and making posts beyond what is essential for this module. Thumbs up for your enthusiasm!!
Coming back to the post, the incident that you brought up was indeed an apt example of miscommunication. I agree very much with you that effective communication can greatly reduce conflicts among people. A worrying trend which I realized is that even though people are communication more today, we are, however, communicating less effectively. Communications done informally through SMS or online platforms are always a one liner or two, with short forms and abbreviations to substitute every word possible. Although this may sometimes be efficient and “straight to the point”, it can also lead to cases of miscommunication, just like the incident that you have mentioned.
Hi Jestina,
DeleteThank you for your compliment. You make me want to work harder on blogging! :)
To return to the previous point regarding SMS, from my opinion, people use more abbreviation than necessary. There are a lot of times when we do not know what each short form stands for, which makes communication ineffective. Moreover, it takes longer time to ask others around what the meaning is than to type full words.
Great interaction happening on this post, with plenty of insights! Thanks, ladies! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Ramon
ReplyDeleteI really like how you started the blog with a quote on communication.
Your example also clearly tells why the communication skills are important to you. However, I think you should have have made your example a bit more concise and perhaps given another example.
P.S: I really like how you have arranged your blog design and also your blog template. :)
Hi Nirav :D
DeleteI am glad that you like my blog and thank you for your suggestion. I also thought of adding another aspect on why effective communication is necessary. However, according to the blog direction, there is a word limit, which ranges from 250 words to 300 words, so I cannot add more points of view.
See you in class tomorrow! :))
Hi Jae,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice that your started your post with a quote which captures the readers attention and make them want to continue reading.
However I feel that your example is rather long and it makes up close to half of your post. This leads to your ending being a little abrupt I feel. Maybe your could have make it more concise or could have chosen a shorter example instead.
Nevertheless, it is a very enjoyable read. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your suggestion.
DeleteAfter reading your comment, I recognize how abruptly it ends. There are 1 paragraph of introduction, 1 paragraph of body, 2 paragraphs of example, and 1 paragraph of summary. This shows that the example uses too much space. I will improve in the next blog. Do not forget to visit me and give me good advices again. :D