Posted by:Guo Likai
Time Posted:24/1/2009 6:30p.m
Nowadays,the role of teamwork has become more and more important.On the other hand,communication has evolved to a stage that it becomes the main component of our daily life.Basically these two life skills are inter-related -- successful teamwork needs effective communication.As a NUS undergraduate student,i realized that university is a place for me to get to know more people.In order to know them,I have to communicate with them.Therefore,the idea of effective communication will ensure my success in building good relationship with others.Moreover,since there are quite a few group projects in universy study,effective teamwork and communication will be a great help to me if I want to get better grades for them.
Many people might think that communication is just about how to talk to one another.However,we have to realize that communication always involves two parties--speaker and listener.An effective communication should be one that the speaker can deliver his idea concisely and correctly and the listener can understand the message and give positive response.This is important to me as there may be barrier to communication caused by cultural difference,background difference,or even gender difference.If I do not know how an effective communication should be carried out,I may face inconvenience or even failure in my course of study.
Another very important thing is teamwork.It is always better to work as a team than to work individually.However,ineffective teamwork may result in worse consequences than individual work.I often encounter such problem that one of my team member is very active and passionate in discussion while most of the other members just keep silent all the time.In fact,they may have their own different opinions but nobody speak it out.As a result,the team might not work as effective as others because not everyone agrees with the idea.Hence,it is necessary to engage every team member to share their own idea to the whole team in order to discuss as a team.Besides,effective communication is also very important in teamwork.Team members must be able to make themselves understood by the others in order to work in a more cooperative way.
Lastly,I believe that I can achieve good interpersonal relationship and successful working experience through effective communication and teamwork.I will try to make myself clear and concise in talking and giving feedback to ensure I can achieve both life skills by the time I graduate from university.
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Hi Li Kai,
ReplyDeleteI have read your post and find it quite interesting indeed. I too, have experience some of those situations that you have mentioned in your post.
Effective communication really does affect the journey through out course of study. If we do not communicate effectively with our course mates, we will face problems in days to come. As our course focus quite strongly on teamwork, effective communication is necessary to ensure that the team can work together as one, and any conflicts that may possibly arise are resolved as soon as possible. Poor communication will result in low productivity and thus a possible failure in the course of study, as what you mentioned earlier.
Another point that you mentioned is the situation that one of the team member is very active and passionate in discussion while most of the other members just keep silent all the time. In my opinion, this is because the team just got to know each other, as in most cases throughout our schooling period. People tend to be shy and more withdrawn, and thus they will not be so active. With more interaction and communication, members will be encouraged to voice their opinions and this is when a team can start to work effectively.
Your post has given me time to reflect upon my own experience working in teams, and it is indeed useful to me. I hope that my comments have been useful to you too. Keep up the good work!
Regards,
Ryan
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Likai,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that coming to university is a fresh start and it is definitely important to make friends that will be our pillars of support throughout this journey. The first step to do so would be to open up as an individual and step forward to engage and communicate with others actively.
It is true that language barriers may get in the way of our learning process and it is especially true in NUS when English is not the first language for some of the students. Barriers to communication are difficult to overcome as there are many elements that may constitute to the barriers. The barriers you mentioned such as cultural and gender differences may take a long time of interaction between the parties and may require both parties to be sensitive before they are able to breach the barrier. However, given time and determination, I am confident that effective communication would be possible and many of the obstacles and barriers can be overcome.
Regarding your experience in ineffective teamwork, I have to agree that it is not fruitful to have one person dominate any group discussion. However, the other group mates should also be more participative and enthusiastic about the discussion as well. Therefore it is important to have a good leader that is able to engage everyone and boost the team morale to ensure foster proper team spirit and good teamwork.
Many people underestimate the power of teamwork and the importance of communication. I hope we can improve together as we progress on our NUS journey.
Regards,
Jay
Hi Li Kai,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to say that I enjoyed reading your interesting experience at National University of Singapore (NUS). I have also come to realize that being an undergraduate at NUS, communication and teamwork play a vital role. While it is better grades that all of us are striving for, we should not forget about the primary functions that effective communication is all about.
As you mentioned in your post, I agree that many people are taking communication for granted. Few have came to realize that communication is indeed a difficult task to perform properly and efficiently. In order to minimize the barriers caused by culture and background differences, the individual must be sensitive and cautious of the way he/she delivers his message. Conflicts might arise unknowingly if one fails to do so.
Next, I would like to stress on the importance of a leader. One of the main roles of a leader is to engage other members to voice out their opinions. In addition, a leader should also utilize member’s strengths and allocate them roles that they will be able to excel in. By doing so, the team might be able to foster teamwork under the command of the leader.
Last but not least, I am sure that you can achieve the goals you have set for yourself. I hope you continue to work hard and let us enjoy the journey together.
Regards,
Hao Tan
Hi Li Kai,
ReplyDeleteHaving read your post, I completely agree with you on the fact that effective communication and teamwork are very important for our career and to ensure success in our course of study. It is very essential that we are able to convey our message clearly and in a concise manner.
Teamwork is another important factor in our life. Working as a team helps us to achieve our goal faster as each member is efficient in different areas and together they lead to the success of the team as a whole.
When one of the members of the team is very active and others don’t participate much,it affects the development of the team. Everybody should put forth their opinion and participate actively in the discussions in order to achieve our goal.
Your post has really been useful to me.Hoping to see more from you .
Regards
Abbinayaa
Hi LiKai,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that teamwork and communication are skills that we cannot lack in our lives. Both are important skills, not only in our working lives, but in our personal lives as well. While at work, there is no doubt that these skills are important, as things today are usually accomplished in a team and not individually. In our personal lives, communication is important as it improves our relationships with others, by not causing misunderstandings which may destroy our relationships with others.
I would also like to comment on your example of the team where one member contributes more and others feel left out. As you are also part of the team, you could encourage the other members to contribute their ideas. I am sure everyone in the team wants to do well in the project. Therefore they would have their own ideas to share as well. If they do not have the desire do well in the project, it would be a group and not a team, as they do not have a common goal.
To conclude, teamwork and communication are skills that we should have in order to do well in today’s world. We should try to improve our competency in these areas. With effective communication, misunderstandings should not occur. However, in cases of it occurring, we should resolve it quickly, as it will affect the development of the team.
Leonard (C06)
Hi LiKai
ReplyDeleteFirst of all,I would like to thank you for reading my blog and giving constructive comments to it.
Your post showed a very good link between communication and teamwork in todays context. I like the way you have specified the time frame in your post which hence adds to the relevance of the relationship.
Your example about NUS experience was highly relevant and interesting. Your description actually made me reflect on my experience too. In agreement with you , I also felt the different barriers of communication which actually hindered in my learning process too. However as mentioned in my post i tried to resolve through communication itself.
As mentioned by you , teamwork indeed is very important. Reading your post reminded me of a survey which M.I.T conducted in which they actually proved the point that a group as whole is more correct than an individual. This is also due to the fact that every person has his own analyses and views thus as team we look at a problem with all the perspective.
Overall I think you had many interesting insights to share. I personally really enjoyed your post and would really like to read more in the future.
Keep it up
Ayushi Sisodiya