Blog 7: Final Reflection

Effective communication not only involves the speaker but also the listener. I recalled that in my first post, I mentioned that listening was equally important as speaking in a conversation. My belief has not changed throughout this course, but only intensified. It was fun during the lesson when we had to form a group, which consisted of a speaker, listener and observer. I was the observer then and had the chance to observe and pick out the non-verbal cues from the speaker and listener’s conscious or sub-conscious actions. It was an interesting lesson for me, because I am usually the listener and observer in a conversation. The signs that I observe in people’s actions intrigue me; the actions reveal something about them, even though no words are spoken.

I used to think that communication only involves the verbal and the non-verbal. Strangely enough, it never crossed my mind to consider all the essays, letters, and e-mails that I have written in the past as a form of communication. Thus, I was a little surprised when this course not only taught verbal and non-verbal skills such as oral presentation, but also how to write effectively using the 7Cs, how to write resumes and application letter, and how to do a full, formal report. The most memorable experience in this course would be completing the group research project with my team members. I have learnt how to be a team player and build interpersonal communication by executing assertiveness, empathy, versatility and affirmation. It was extremely difficult (and agonizing) to practise active listening and contribute to the project discussion after a long day in school. It was really embarrassing during one of my group’s online discussion when I fell asleep halfway. I dozed off while waiting for my members’ reply, only to find myself awake one hour later. Fortunately, my team members were very understanding and did not blame me. It still amazes me today that we were able to accomplish this mission within such a short stipulated period, and still managing our other modules.

The science of effective communication is difficult to comprehend. We need the right formula and the right conditions to achieve success. This course has reinforced the importance of effective communication. We have been taught the theories; we will need to apply the theories to reality and experiment, in order to investigate the true effectiveness of communication.