Why effective communication skills are important to me?

To me, being able to communicate effectively means that you’re able to articulate your ideas to others clearly yet at the same time remain sensitive to the feelings of your targeted audience.

In this day and age, where communication through various channels such as the mainstream media and social media are commonplace, it is even more crucial for us to equip ourselves with these skills so that we will be able to communicate with our peers confidently.

Communication is also important in our future careers when we have to communicate with our superiors, subordinates or clients. First impressions do count and not only does our dressing and grooming is taken into account, the way we carry ourselves and the way we speak also plays a huge role too.

On the other hand, ineffective communication may lead to misunderstandings that may severely hamper the operations of the company we work in. For example, a miscommunication between the chef and the manager of a restaurant in ordering food materials or drinks can very well result in the unavailability of certain food items in the menu or the wastage of precious food materials.

To add on, it is important for us to make sure that we remain considerate of the feelings of others as we speak to minimise any chances of misunderstandings occurring. On the other hand, as a listener, we should also seek to clarify our doubts with the speaker as soon as possible so that misinterpretations of the message do not occur that may in turn affect our relationship.

All in all, effective communication is about being objective and clear in delivering what we want our target audience to understand while being sensitive of what they feel.