I had always believed that actions speak louder than words. Be it personal life or working life, people will judge you based on your merit like your certificates and the quality of your work, something concrete and being just an ‘okay’ speaker is sufficient. But I was proved wrong…
Not long ago, I went on a part-time job interview with a friend of mine. As there was only one vacancy, I was pretty confident in getting the job because I had better grades. However to my dismay, the company employed him. The first thought that struck me was, “It’s definitely the interview session because my friend was a more expressive and vocal person”. That was I realize I need to change my minimalistic thinking, I am not even an ‘okay’ speaker.
After this experience, I constantly question myself, “Had I been more vocal during the interview, would the outcome be different?” As we all know, the purpose of job interviews is a process to impress the employer in any suitable ways. But in order to impress, it is imperative to communicate effectively in the first place, so that the interviewer knows whether I am interested and up to the job.
Effective communication is also vital in daily life as I will be constantly interacting with different people from all walks of life, both verbally and non-verbally. Effective communication aids the delivery of information in a more organized and concise manner. Message receivers can have accurate information and unnecessary misunderstanding is deterred. All in all, it enhances personal relationships with people as well as makes me a better person with higher emotional intelligence (EQ).
Being someone who is not really expressive, I am going to need an open heart, lots of determination and practice to master effective communication skills. And that is why I am taking ES2007S.
