Communication is very important as it allows us to connect with others and share our ideas. However, the act of imparting our ideas only seals half of the deal; both speaker and listener must practice effective communication for the message to be successfully transferred.
I believe that effective communication is an extremely valuable skill for many reasons. It’s used every day as long as there’s interaction with other people and is applicable in any kind of setting. An effective communicator is also able to form good first impressions as he/she can identify how best to communicate with any person. It is then a simple matter of delivering messages in an appropriate manner and practicing active listening skills, which make the opposing party feel comfortable and appreciated.
As easy as it sounds, I also know that effective communication is difficult to master. This is primarily because one has to take on the role of both the speaker and listener in the period of a conversation. Many a time, the dynamic nature of conversing makes it hard for me to keep up since I have to formulate ideas in my head while listening attentively at the same time. It’s as if there are a thousand voices struggling for attention up there and you have to differentiate between yours and that of the other speaker; has anyone experienced this before? (:
Obviously I’m not an effective communicator (yet), but I hope to be, simply because it’s the first step towards forging great relationships with others.
