Week 3 (Post #2) - Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

When I looked at the title for this blog post, I thought long and hard about what I should write about. I mean there are a variety of interpersonal conflicts I’ve had with various groups of people. During this thought process, I realised that the most pertinent interpersonal conflicts I have experienced usually involve people I am close to and care about. It does seem ironic in a way as these are the ones who understand you best and therefore communicating with them should be relatively easier. However, as I have come to learn over these two weeks, there is much more to communication than the above.

Thinking back on all the arguments I’ve had with my best friend, P, I remembered one which we had back in junior college during the preparation for our CCA’s annual production. P was in-charge of the song item which I was also involved in. It was the evening before the actual event and I was still unable to get one of the songs right. This caused a lot of uneasiness in me which I expressed to P a few times but she was confident that I could pull it off. However, I was unable to sing the song right with repeated attempts. I began to get agitated. This caused P to become exasperated as she tried to explain to me that it would be highly inconvenient to make any changes to the sequence this late. Her attempts to reason out the issue with me proved to be futile as I was in no emotional state to listen. Eventually, I walked away after a vehement argument with her. It was only after taking some time to calm down that I realised that I could have handled the situation in a less volatile manner. For example, I needn’t have gotten so frantic about the getting the song right. The emotions an individual displays determine the response from the person he/she is interacting with. So, me getting anxious about the song might have upset P and caused her to respond in a negative manner. In contrast, if I had been more composed, the situation could have been solved in a much more harmonious manner. I suppose everyone’s emotions were running high that day due to the intensity of practices and peaking stress levels. This might have been a contributing factor to this conflict as well. I came to realize that making decisions or trying to solve situations during emotionally charged moments would be pointless.

However, to this day, I still wonder if we could have avoided the conflict entirely or if it was bound to happen. While I am aware that certain conflicts can be avoided with the monitoring of one’s tone or trying to put one’s self in another’s shoes, I feel that some conflicts may not be that easily avoided. I’d like to ask if all conflicts can be completely averted during circumstances like the one I’ve mentioned above. What do you think?

Week 2 (Post #1) – Effective Communication Skills and How they are Important to Me

In essence, I understand this course to be one that trains an individual to convey his message to his audience in the best way possible. This is done by teaching one the principles behind communication itself. The skills learned during this training process are then applied to appropriate situations – attending interviews, oral presentations etc.

The course clears the common misconception that communication is only verbal. In fact, communication involves both verbal and non-verbal aspects, with the non-verbal aspect playing a very huge role in the success of communication. The course also explores the factors that affect how well a message is conveyed to the intended audience. From facial expressions to tone to the attitude of the audience, there is a wide array of factors that affect the success of any form of communication be it in the form of interviews or written work.

For me, communication is an integral part of everyday life. From expressing my wants to writing examinations – in almost every activity, there is a certain form of communication involved. If I couldn’t express myself properly, I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my needs or obtain decent grades in certain examinations, especially those where the manner in which the marker perceives one’s answers is essential. When it comes to doing group projects, communication is extremely important because without it, it would be impossible to collaborate and collate each individual’s work and produce good product. Finally, communication also comes into play in my social life while interacting with friends and family.

I hope this course will enable me to improve my communication skills and apply them appropriately, especially in the working field.