Why Effective Communication Skills Are Important For Me

As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make afirst impression. It’s no surprise that many people are stuck in the sin ofprejudice. According to Richard Maun, business coach and author of Job Hunting3.0, as quoted in Guardian Jobs, “people make up 90% of their mind in the first90 seconds”.

Being a girl of prejudice myself, I am well aware that theability to win people over with a great first impression is of importance. Peoplewill judge the way I dress up, talk and move even from the very first time theyland their eyes on me. How to deal with it? I can learn to be an impeccabledresser in no time (thanks to Seventeen and Vogue). Unfortunately, as the onlychild in my family, I grew up as an introvert: reserved and no ‘natural borncharmer’.

Over the years, countless ideas popped into my head without mybeing able to share them. A few years ago, I found refuge in writing. All theseyears, I prefer texting over calling and non-verbal over verbal communication. SinceI cannot hide behind the written words all the time, I realize that I have tostart learning about effective communication skills.

Furthermore, I always have a keen interest in ‘reading’people between the lines. The obvious can be easily grasped by anyone in an instant but there may be something hidden in gestures and choice of words.My inability to understand non-verbal cues might eventually raiseunintentional conflicts.

Therefore, I believe that effective communication isessential. By mastering the skills, I will be able to share my ideas and interpretthe universal language that everyone ‘speaks’ (that is non-verbal cues) andflourish.

Edited 27 Aug 2012

A Little Bit About Me

Greetings! Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Teresa. I am an Indonesian currently studying Applied Chemistry in NUS. This is my second year in Singapore as an international student as well as a tourist (only sometimes!).

It is great to be here since I can travel comfortably by public transportation. In Jakarta, the FIRST time I traveled by public bus was last month and it was an eye-opening experience. Before enjoying the bus' 'natural' air conditioner (plus some dust from the road), I had to run and jump to catch the bus, not to mention I met a fierce beggar inside the bus. So, if you visit my hometown, trust me, you don't want to miss the thrilling public transport there. Just make sure you don't 'miss' any of your belongings afterwards.

Besides strolling around Singapore, I write some articles and short stories during my spare time. I read tons of novels, from Jane Eyre to Paulo Coelho's. I also cook and do some photography sometimes. And as the product of Gen Y, I am addicted to YouTube and Facebook. I can spend hours checking out endless videos - movie trailers, funny videos and The Ellen Show - in YouTube and another hour scanning my Facebook home.

Oh, one more thing. My current obsessions are American TV Series (Revenge, Glee and Gossip Girl) and Stitch. I love Stitch. A lot. So here's a picture for you.

Source:  http://karkajou1993.deviantart.com/art/Stitch-209775073

Psttt... Your Body Speaks

I bumped into this long-winded infographic about lying a couple of days ago. It is always interesting to understand something that common people don't. Or, maybe I am wrong. Nowadays, people know the science of micro expression well. It is no surprise since most people lie. I don't need statistics to tell me that fact. We all lie to others: our friends, doctors, partners, even our future employees (according to the data below, almost one third of people admitted to lying on their resumes, I wonder how many did not admit?). Lying is so common that people start learning to read between the lines and study micro expression. Our body movements, from a simple gesture to the dilation of pupils, speak a thousand words.

In my opinion, the advance knowledge of micro expression is a double-edged sword. On the bright side, the ability to understand non-verbal communication benefits people, especially in criminal investigation. Unfortunately, people have grown so accustomed to lies that some of them are trained to be great 'actors'. In addition, micro expression analysis is not always right. Sometimes it may cause a person  being wrongly accused. Quoting an FBI profiler, "there are no standardized 'tells' that prove you're being lied to".

Socrates once said "true knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing". The science of micro expression is vast. There might be things we don't know yet. Therefore, besides relying on micro expression analysis, I believe we need to take other factors into considerations before making decisions.

Browse more data visualization.

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