Blog Post 2

I can’t really think of a good story about my past conflicts so I have created a scenario for everyone to ponder about.

John is an only child and as a result was quite pampered by his parents. This has somewhat led to the development of a slightly self-centered nature and he tended to take his parents for granted, although he still loved them dearly and is a good-natured boy at heart. At the same time, John’s father was slightly over-protective of his son because that was the only way he knew how to show that he cared for John. He would be overly worried for John whenever he read about some new virus infecting certain Singaporeans near Little India or warn him not to go to Pasir Ris park because a crocodile was just discovered there. He would also constantly remind John to be careful when crossing the road even though he was already over 20 years old.

All these reminders came across as nagging to John and he could not help but feel that his father does not even have the confidence in his son to already know all these simple things, making this a sore spot for John. Ultimately, on one day when John was already stressed about his exams, his father started warning him about another of his unreasonable fears, causing John to totally lose his patience and snap at his father saying,’ I know! I know! Will you just stop nagging me?’

His father did not reply and just walked away. John could clearly see that he was hurt but he still felt that he had the right to lose his temper as it was necessary to stop his father from continuing to nag.

Was John’s reaction reasonable? Was there a better method that John could have used to bring his point across?

Blog Post 1

I feel that effective communication skills are crucial in life if we want to better understand what people mean when they speak and to allow ourselves to be properly understood when we are trying to bring a point across. This is important in both professional and social settings and its usefulness cannot and should not be underestimated. With this is mind, developing these skills is especially important to me as they will be of great benefit in the workplace in the future and also improve my interpersonal relationships.

At work, the importance of understanding your superiors and avoiding being misunderstood by colleagues cannot be overemphasized. For example, when your boss is disseminating information to you, practicing active listening or even trying to pick up on his nonverbal cues can aid in your understanding of what he means and even what he expects from you. This will prevent you from failing to fulfill any expectations he may have of you and you will appear to your superior as a more competent employee. On the other hand, communicating well with your colleagues at work is also important to build rapport and make it easier for them to realize what you expect from them and vice versa.

In other social settings, like at home, familiarity should not be an excuse for the lack of effective communication skills as this will strain whatever relationship we have with our family members. Many of the socio-cultural barriers do not exist at home but this still does not mean that we can take communication skills lightly as misunderstandings still do occur and disputes at home hurt the most because they are closest to our hearts. These are some of the few reasons why the development of effective communication skills is important to me.