Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
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Lesson 45
Overview
Having had a good thorough study of Oral and Written Communication techniques, which spread over
44-lectures, the students should finally be in a position to understand the importance of effective
communication in their personal and professional life. Starting from the first lecture, which delved on
knowing about “self concept” and “self image”, and ending on the note of having a “self-assessment”
made before drawing your future roadmap (or writing your resume for the job search), the students are
advised to start focusing on some of the lessons they could learn from this course. Although these could
be numerous, depending on how you look at, a few that could be mentioned in an overview are:
1. Becoming a smart thinker;
2. Being an active listener; and
3. Becoming an effective speaker.
Making a great change in your life would depend on how smartly you employ all the tools and techniques
you learnt for good planning and organization in communication. Do not forget we all are born with the
ability to think, listen, and speak, but what will make a difference in our lives is how skilled we are to be
effective. Therefore, few things you could start doing from today is:
1. Think smartly
Finding your identity, being aware of one’s capabilities and limitations, defining one’s goals and
objectives, sorting out one’s priorities, and organizing oneself to produce results require giving a serious
thought by asking yourself questions like:
Who you are?
Where am I?
Where do I stand professionally?
What are my strengths?
What are my major problem areas? And so on.
Remember, if you have no concept of your identity, then you have nothing on which to build your plans
for the future. A lack of identity often results in a lack of direction. You must know your strengths and
weaknesses; otherwise the process of defining your goals and working toward them would be flawed. So,
start thinking now. Thinking seriously and smartly.
2. Listen actively
Of the various ways we interact with people, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, nearly 42% of our
waking time is spent in listening. A good communicator needs to be a good listener; otherwise barriers
occur and affectivity suffers.
It is important, therefore, that of all the levels of listening discussed so far (Active, Passive, Partial, and
Preferential listener), one should develop skills to become an Active Listener. Understanding the listening
process is of paramount importance which is: Receiving; Filtering; Understanding; Remembering;
Evaluating; and Responding. Don’t forget that the most crucial phase in the listening cycle is the
“remembering”. We tend to remember only half after listening, and that too not what was said, but what
we think was said. Memory for speech is not reproductive, it’s reconstructive. Acknowledging these facts,
start developing attentive listening skills, i.e.
-Keep an open mind. Listen non-judgmentally. Recognize your own biases. Welcome new
viewpoints rather than resisting them.
- Be motivated to listen
- Be alert to nonverbal cues
- Listen with a goal in mind
- React to the message, not to the person.
- Listen for supportive ideas without personal prejudice or bias.
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