Words are sharper than swords and if misused, could cause a lot of problems for both a speaker and a listener. For effective communication to take place, it requires all parties to be actively speaking and listening. Right now, the art of communication is a skill that I am working on in order to better myself.

In the working society, I receive first-hand experiences on the wonders of what effective communication can bring about. From my perspective, some of my strengths in communication are brief understanding of my listener and the ability to convince. With knowledge about my audience, I have a rough concept of how to attract their attention and win them over with my idea. Some weaknesses of myself are my short span of attention and tendency to get driven by emotions. Sometimes during a conversation, I zone out in the middle of a conversation or get caught by distractions in the environment. Due to that, I often missed out important details mentioned by the speaker. Because I am an emotionally oriented person, I tend to react quickly to provoke or sarcasm without giving too many thoughts.

Once, after joining Community Service Club (CSC), I tried to convince several of the classmates who were also at the CCA booth to join. Looking into their eyes, I can feel their minds are clouded with concerns that they will not be able to manage the workload of school works along with club participations. I went on to explain to them that how low commitment the club required and yet with so many fruitful activities we can participate together. In the end, I am glad that I win them over as they signed up for the club with me too.

Even though it may just be a small matter, being able to convince them feels like a tiny battle won. I learnt that the act of persuasion requires understanding and patience. A great salesman I know once told me “For someone to buy your idea, you must know what they want. After that, let them know how your product will change their life for the better.” At this moment, I had opened myself to knowledge and experiences for self-enrichment. Right now, I see myself as a “Work in Progress” and my mission of my life is to learn and improve on my Interpersonal Communication day by day.

Last Updated: 12th April 2016