Last semester, Vand Y who were good friends, worked on a project together with three others. V was allocated the task of doing citations for their written report. After V had completed her part, she sent the report to Y, who was supposed to check the report before submitting it.
Y was unsatisfied with the way V did the citations, as she felt that V’s work was slipshod and not according to what they had discussed before. Y then spent the night re-doing the citations, as the submission deadline was the very next day. After which, she sent an email to the entire group to tell them what happened, and even highlighted to V that she should have put more effort into the task. V felt that Y had not been clear with her instructions from the start, and did not want to apologize as she felt that she was not in the wrong. After this incident, V and Y did not speak to each other.
During the December break, their mutual friend J had to leave Singapore for an overseas exchange program. J invited both V and Y to her farewell dinner. That night, Y spoke to V as per normal.
At the start of the new semester, V and Y were allocated with the same module. On the first day of school, V was late for class. When she arrived, she realized that Y had not saved a seat for her like she usually did. When the class was asked to form project groups, Y did not include V in her group. This made V unhappy as they had done projects together all the while. She thinks Y is being petty, while Y makes no effort to explain her actions.
As a mutual friend of V and Y, who do you think is at fault and what would you do to remedy the situation?
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Jonathan Swift once said, “Argument is the worse sort of conversation.” I believe majority of us would try to avoid getting into arguments, or confrontations of any sort, if possible. Personally, I feel that arguments arise from misunderstandings, where both parties are unable to reach a consensus in an amiable manner. These misunderstandings are in turn caused by a lack of effective communication between individuals.
Inarguably, too many arguments can strain a relationship. Thus, as one who deeply values her relationships with others, effective communication skills are important for me, in order to reduce miscommunication with others.
Effective communication facilitates a two-way interaction between individuals, such that the sender can convey messages to others clearly and unambiguously, while the audience is able to understand the message that the sender wants to bring across. This form of two-way communication prevents miscommunication and reduces the probability of arguments occurring.
In addition, effective communication skills are essential for one to communicate competently in different social settings, whether with family members, in school, or at work. Hence, it is vital for us to grasp the concepts of written communication, job search communication and oral communication. Only this way, can we maintain healthy relationships with those we love, while building strong relationships with new acquaintances both at work and play. This is especially important for me, as I will be starting my professional career after graduating at the end of this semester, and I hope to establish good working relationships with my colleagues.
