Why effective communication skills are important for you

Have you ever encountered times although you have done so much preparation and practiced so many times with your well written script, at the very moment of presentation you started to panic and stammered all the way through and messed up your whole project? Well, I HAVE. And it happens to me all the time. I get very nervous whenever I do presentations and seem to have developed a phobia about making speeches or talking more professionally. If anyone of you still remembers, this actually happened on my very second ES2007S lesson. I blanked-out in the middle of my explanation and stumbled badly even after rehearsing with Venna!

Clarity and coherence are my biggest flaws. Most of the time, nervousness has caused me to speak at such a fast pace that whatever comes out of my mouth causes confusion and misunderstandings with my listeners. Thus, hopefully through the mock interviews and oral presentations, I am able to build more confidence in myself and leave good impressions to people after communicating with them. 

Another reason why effective communication is important to me is the art of Non-verbal Communication. Whenever we are communicating with people, our body posture, eye contact with them and gestures can convey a lot to our listeners. Paraphrasing from the article, HelpGuide.org on “Nonverbal Communication”, our non-verbal language often contradicts with what we are trying to say. And when such confusion arises, the listener may often choose to believe in your body language. I would certainly not want the other party to see me as someone who is distrustful or look uncomfortable with them, and hence jeopardise our relationship. Thus, I believe that by refining my sensitivity towards the understanding of non-verbal language, I will be able to communicate my intended messages more successfully and understand others better.

Of course, effective communication includes the skill of active listening and forming constructive criticism where I am able to bring out points while being courteous and tactful. And to me, Effective communication determines how you portray yourself, how people perceive you and ultimately the kind of relationships established, be it those you are intimate with, or those in the business community, or even acquaintances. No matter how smart one person may be, how great an idea you may have, the inability to communicate effectively for people to understand would undermine all efforts. While I find myself a decent communicator when it comes to casual talk, I cannot confidently say that I am anywhere near being a professional one. Hopefully I will change for the better through this module!