Sarah and Tracy were grouped to complete a project assignment together which has a deadline of less than a months’ time. Although they were in the same class for 2 years, they had never worked together before. Sarah is a high achiever who excels in her studies and achieved straight distinctions for the previous projects while Tracy is an average student who is easily satisfied so long as she had done her best.
When it comes to the time that the project was returned, they found out that their grade was the lowest in class. Sarah was very unhappy about the results so she went to look for the lecturer. The lecturer had his own stand and perceptions for the submitted report, and since the marks was already allocated, there is also nothing he can do about it.
Seeing Sarah so worked up and frustrated, Tracy tried to go forward to console her. However, Sarah replied practically shouting, “Of course you can relax and chill. For such a person like you, getting a C or D is not something unusual anyway. But for me, I cant! I must get an A no matter what!”
After hearing this, Tracy was extremely shocked and hurt. She paused for a few seconds and then replied, “What are you trying to say? What do you mean by that?” Sarah murmured something under her breath. Tracy was so angry that she just turned her head and walked away. From then on, they ignore every time they see each other. They even bad mouth each other behind their back.
How could both Tracy and Sarah have handled the situation better?
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Effective Communication Skills (Blog Post #1)
Communication is the fundamental basis of interaction between people. Moreover, it is considered as a complex process. It involves messages to be transmitted between two parties in order to comprehend each others’ thoughts and feelings. As the message is being encoded or decoded, the true meaning of the messages is often lost. The message received may be different from the intended meaning that the speaker is trying to bring across.
Developing effective communication skills can reduce misunderstanding between parties. Words can bring different meanings to different people. The different interpretations of the messages or even inattentiveness in listening can then result in wrong information being received. Engaging in active listening allows messages to be transmitted more accurately and clearly, preventing the possible inconvenience that could be resulted.
In addition, words may also have hidden meanings. Generally, people do not actually say what they really mean. They also do not have the habit of explaining when what they said was being misunderstood. To make things worst, he or she will expect you to understand what they really want. Such paradox makes it difficult for one to understand the each other. However, certain physical actions or behaviour done intentionally or unintentionally can reflect our true thoughts and feelings. For example, actions such as yawning are done when we feel tired or bored. Being able to interpret such non-verbal cues allows us to have a better understanding of the ‘hidden’ true message he or she is trying to convey.
On top of that, developing effective communication skills can also resolve conflicts. As mentioned above, communication is not only about talking. Listening is an important role in effective communication as well. In spite of yelling ridiculously at each other in an argument, active listening enables both parties to understand the different perspectives of problem and eventually coming up with the best solution for the conflict.
In conclusion, communication actually leads to better understanding of one another bringing people closer together. With this development of effective communication skills, it will allow close relationship to be formed resulting to widening of social network. With the widening of social network, in a way, it will be a potential source to seek help from.
Developing effective communication skills can reduce misunderstanding between parties. Words can bring different meanings to different people. The different interpretations of the messages or even inattentiveness in listening can then result in wrong information being received. Engaging in active listening allows messages to be transmitted more accurately and clearly, preventing the possible inconvenience that could be resulted.
In addition, words may also have hidden meanings. Generally, people do not actually say what they really mean. They also do not have the habit of explaining when what they said was being misunderstood. To make things worst, he or she will expect you to understand what they really want. Such paradox makes it difficult for one to understand the each other. However, certain physical actions or behaviour done intentionally or unintentionally can reflect our true thoughts and feelings. For example, actions such as yawning are done when we feel tired or bored. Being able to interpret such non-verbal cues allows us to have a better understanding of the ‘hidden’ true message he or she is trying to convey.
On top of that, developing effective communication skills can also resolve conflicts. As mentioned above, communication is not only about talking. Listening is an important role in effective communication as well. In spite of yelling ridiculously at each other in an argument, active listening enables both parties to understand the different perspectives of problem and eventually coming up with the best solution for the conflict.
In conclusion, communication actually leads to better understanding of one another bringing people closer together. With this development of effective communication skills, it will allow close relationship to be formed resulting to widening of social network. With the widening of social network, in a way, it will be a potential source to seek help from.
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