Why I want to talk properly.

Since the dawn of time, communication has been an integral part of our lives. From creatures of the earth down to our cavemen ancestors, we have made attempts to communicate our feelings, thoughts or actions to other beings. A bark from a dog can be its attempt to communicate its affection for the owner, or an expression of its aggression towards unwelcome strangers.

In my opinion, the best gauge of how our world has modernized would be how our communication skills have improved. As we know more about our world and our universe, it is necessary to develop better communication skills with each other. This can be proven with English, either the American or British version, being more and more accepted as the universal language. In recent years, we are also aided by the emergence of effective communication tools like Short Message Service or SMS and electronic mails otherwise known as e-mails. These help to cut down on time spent trying to meet up all around the world. However, the bare truth remains that we need effective communication skills no matter via which medium, so that we can cut down on unnecessary misunderstandings that can have an adverse effect on relationships or events.

There are countless examples I can think of which illustrates the importance of effective communication skills. Ancient Chinese wars (I’m thinking Romance of the Three Kingdoms) even make use of forged letters as a battle strategy, misleading generals into a trap thereby affecting the outcome of a battle. In my case, good communication skill is needed to bring my ideas or thoughts across to my audience. Choosing a wrong word when I do not actually mean it can make my listener develop the wrong idea. Besides this, language and culture plays an important role as well, and is especially important in a multi-lingual country like Singapore. One particular example I recall was when I went to Chinatown and I was ordering food. The stall owner thought I was telling her that I wanted the food when I told her in my dialect, “Mai”, which means “to buy” in Chinese. As a result of the misunderstanding, I ended up with a plate of chicken rice as well as a bowl of noodles for dinner. I hope this illustrates how important effective communication is.

On a lighter note, I would like to share some funny video demonstrating the importance of effective communication. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKgRP5IgvCY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGSa9vQ2F6E&feature=related