Humans are born to communicate. We are listening, speaking, reading and writing every day. And, in order to survive in this competitive and fast developing society, most of the times we have to work effectively in teams to accomplish certain complicated jobs. In this sense, communication and teamwork is not only important, but also necessary for us.
Communication is important for us because it is the only channel that information can be exchanged. Every pieces of information we convey and receive are through communication, which means without proper and effective communication information that we convey and receive could be all meaningless and hence things we do because of these information can be meaningless as well. As for me, if I fail to communicate effectively, not only won’t I be able to understand others effectively and accurately, but I won’t be able to be well understood as well.
However, only being able to communicate well is not enough, especially for prospective computer engineers like us. As a computer engineer, we always need to work in teams to finish our tasks not only because sometimes we cannot finish them without others’ help, but also because with good teamwork it will significantly increase the efficiency; hence besides good communication skills the ability to work effectively in a team is another basic and essential skill that we must all acquire. This teamwork ability is a more comprehensive communication skill, which beyond effectively conveying and receiving information and ideas also includes knowing our own roles in the team, resolving disputes and so on. With good teamwork, our team can exploit its members’ potential and professional knowledge to the fullest and substantially increase the efficiency in reaching its objectives.
Since communication and teamwork are extremely important for us, I believe that one can never be too good at them, therefore improving communication skill and teamwork ability should be a lifelong experience. And I’m up for it.
Communication is important for us because it is the only channel that information can be exchanged. Every pieces of information we convey and receive are through communication, which means without proper and effective communication information that we convey and receive could be all meaningless and hence things we do because of these information can be meaningless as well. As for me, if I fail to communicate effectively, not only won’t I be able to understand others effectively and accurately, but I won’t be able to be well understood as well.
However, only being able to communicate well is not enough, especially for prospective computer engineers like us. As a computer engineer, we always need to work in teams to finish our tasks not only because sometimes we cannot finish them without others’ help, but also because with good teamwork it will significantly increase the efficiency; hence besides good communication skills the ability to work effectively in a team is another basic and essential skill that we must all acquire. This teamwork ability is a more comprehensive communication skill, which beyond effectively conveying and receiving information and ideas also includes knowing our own roles in the team, resolving disputes and so on. With good teamwork, our team can exploit its members’ potential and professional knowledge to the fullest and substantially increase the efficiency in reaching its objectives.
Since communication and teamwork are extremely important for us, I believe that one can never be too good at them, therefore improving communication skill and teamwork ability should be a lifelong experience. And I’m up for it.
Dear Shiyan,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you to a large extent the society is fast developing and we have to form teams to accomplish certain tasks. This is probably why our computer engineering course has a new module, namely CG1413 aim to improve our communication.
You also state that without proper communication skills, you cannot understand others and vice versa. This can be seen at society level. Probably the increasing number of marriage divorce is due to lack of effective communication. Both parties couldn't agree on each other because in the first place they couldn't even communicate. Hence, the unfortunate happens and this has a wide impact on society at all levels.
Like every engineering projects, every engineer needs to communicate with each other to excel in their profession. In your final point, I like to add one of the barriers as engineers, is that we come from different soil. It is obvious (especially in our lecture hall) that there’s a vast mix of people from different countries. Thus, one important skill that we need to learn is appreciating and understanding other culture and ways of doing things. Once we overcome the barrier, the road to effective team communication will be easier for us as computer engineers.
Regards,
Mohd Ferrino
Dear Shiyan,
ReplyDeleteIn your first paragraph, you sort of limited communication to ‘listening, speaking, reading and writing’. However, I would like to add here that communication is much more than these. As Russell said on his blog, It is also about how we bring our message across, not just by words, but even things like our actions.
Your point about Computer Engineers working in team reminds me of what Dr Colin Tan said in CG1102 lecture the other day. A typical computer program would have about 300,000 to 400,000 lines of code in it and there would be tens of people working on it. This surely calls for effective teamwork among the members.
It’s a good attitude to think of communication and teamwork as a lifelong learning process. It is truly a never-ending process.
Regards,
Anuj
Dear Shiyan,
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that humans not born to communicate. On the contrary, I feel that humans are born communicating! Even as infants, we have the ability to express our discomfort to our parents simply by crying. As Anuj has said in his earlier comment, we are not limited to listening, speaking, reading and writing to communicate. Various other channels are available for us to communicate.
I like your topic sentence of the second paragraph. “Communication is important for us because it is the only channel that information can be exchanged.” The word “only” has got me to immediately think if there is any other method to transfer information. As I’m unable to come up with any rebuttals, I’ve to say that I agree with you. Therefore, I find the statement to be very strong and concrete.
I am also of the opinion that improving communication and teamwork is a lifelong experience. They are basically skills that are sharpened through continual use.
Regards,
Russell
Dear Shiyan,
ReplyDeleteIn your beginning paragraph, you point out that "communication and teamwork is not only important, but also necessary for us". I think that communication is not just necessary but it is survival. As Russell says, humans are born communicating. If one cannot communicate with others, he can hardly survive in the early years since he cannot signal to his parents when he is hungry , thirty or gets hurt.
I also agree with Anuj since communication is not just listening, speaking, reading and writing but even your nonverbal language can also be considered as communication.
I like your third paragraph which is about teamwork. With and only with good teamwork, we can achieve good results.
Regards,
Long
Hey Shiyan
ReplyDeletei agree completely that we not only communicate because we want to, but also because we have to.
Like what Russell commented, 'we are born communicating'. But are we born 'communicating effectively'? I'm sure the reply many parents all over the world would say is a NO. True enough, expressing yourself in the way you want to, might seem only natural. But as we know, sometimes we have to express ourselves not in a way we want to, but in a way so that others are able to understand us.
Last but not least, no doubt in any line of work, teamwork is of utmost importance, but especially so in the IT industry. Being at the forefront of technology, we constantly need to have new innovative ideas. But without the skill to express those wonderful ideas of ours, it is as good as wasted.
Andy