Epiphany of Communication and Life

I sat down re-reading my posts and I found myself staring on my background image. And it dawned on me, that communication is a pretty complicated technique. Look how many words stem from the term communication or are affected by it in some way or another. 

Imagine combining the technique of communication with different persons and their personalities and putting them all in the same building. Wah lah (sounds like tah dah, my sound which would be similar to eureka) you would have organisational communication. 

There are all these competing concepts in organisational communication that we've been trying to understand or regurgitate, while others have been trying to watch them unfold in their lives in daily activities. But whether you are able to notice them or not, these concepts exist and we act them out subconsciously. 

While at work or at school, we form groups or are placed into them and if successful we have gone through all the stages of a working group; if the group work experience was unsuccessful then maybe "forming, storming, norming and performing" are steps you should get to know.

Have you ever told anybody that you will help them out if they help you with something, almost a tit for tat situation? Reciprocity is the term for that simple concept that we all might do once a week. 

Every morning my aunt takes my other aunt to work at UTECH. And its becoming a part of her daily routine to expect a pleasant greeting from the security guards at the main gate. The gentlemen even look forward to seeing her in the mornings, waiting with a bright smile as they see her approaching. One off morning, a female security guard was there, no smile, no good morning, she just handed her the ticket. In leaving the campus, my aunt stated "women are so sour to each other sometimes". Look at that, we have just undergone politeness and gender in a simple routine and not realized it as a concept in organisational communication. 

My point is that organisational communication is no different from communication and life (the title of my blog lol). Look at me using technology to share a point instead of saying it face to face with people I might meet. That's because technology has no geographical boundaries, so anybody can be a part of my journey and discovery.

Watch the concepts of organisational communication unfold in your daily lives. Enjoy. 

- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.

Stagnant Commmunication??

The following video shows that there is NO SUCH THING AS STAGNANT COMMUNICATION. 
It shows the evolution of communication and the delivery of presentations in the contemporary business environment. Communication within an organisation can now use a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques which will prove to be more engaging whilst maintaining the substance of the message content. 

- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.

Our Greatest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 
Actually, who are you not to be?
Your playing small does not serve the world. 
As we are liberated from our own fear, 
Our presence automatically liberates others. 

[Lines adopted from: Our Greatest Fear- Marianne Williamson]

My greatest fear is being a leader, because of the responsibility and sometimes harsh criticism that may come with mistakes made. I have the potential and capabilities of being a great leader and possibly will be promoted in an organisation after university based on hard work and dedication. So who am I not to be a leader, and who am I not to learn from my mistakes to improve?

Your deepest fear might be oral presentations, because of the fear of being unable to effectively communicate with others or the disappointment of not expressing yourself the way your group members expect you to, or the way you rehearsed what you would have wanted to say. But who are you, not to liberate yourself from your fear? This can only come with practice.

Somebody else's greatest fear may be to make themselves no longer submissive in the work environment or in a group. Even though becoming submissive was based on the organisational culture, structure of communication or business environment. However, your playing small does not serve the world nor yourself. Each person has an interpretation or idea that should be shared, so do not shy away.

Our deepest fear, may be not asking for assistance when something isn't understood. Thus cognitive dissonance would occur between oneself and the manager/supervisor/lecturer/tutor/fellow employee. As what is said and what is understood and the resulting actions all differ. However, why should you be left with a chosen inadequate feeling, when you have the ability to correct the confusion?

Know the difference between 

saying what you want & saying what you mean; 

saying what it is & saying what you would want it to be. 

Do not let the fear of striking out keep you from accomplishing anything.
You are enough to  make a difference and change any circumstance in every environment.




- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.

It is not WHAT you say, it is HOW you say it

Riddle me this, or riddle me that. Guess me this riddle or perhaps not.


What is very powerful but potentially dangerous at the same time?

Clues:
- Unsaid suggestions based on actions
- Can be easily misunderstood
- Not completely universal
- Not necessarily planned and can be done unconsciously
- Made up of gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, posture, clothing, space (give away clue really)

Answer:
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION


P.S: Cultural differences are an important factor in non-verbal communication. Something simple like shaking hands with your left hand is an offensive form of non-verbal communication in Arabic cultures. Thus, choose your words and actions carefully. 

Examples of non-verbal communication in different cultural contexts

- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.

Can a stain on your reputation be dry-cleaned?

I was in a public relations class yesterday, and a scenario came up:

The public relations professional was approached by a lawyer and his client. The client was an athlete who had reportedly taken drugs and raped a contestant of the Miss World Competition. In confidentiality, the lawyer told the pr professional that his client was guilty, even though he (the client) would be pleading not guilty in court. They wanted the pr professional to do "pr" work. 

The question to discuss was: Should the pr professional take the job?
Some students said they would and others said they would not. One young man stated that it was his job as the pr professional, so his personal feelings and or moral standings should not have any judgment on the situation.

It then brought me back to org comm class. We spoke about technology, and its capability but more so the moral aspect of responsibility that is attached with it, but we never discussed how IMPORTANT morality and or ethics is, to one's reputation and reputation management.

Reputation is derived from assumptions, perceptions and beliefs about what an organisation is, how it is run and what it stands for. The same definition can be substituted and refer to an individual. Who is the person, how do they operate in the professional arena, and what do they stand for (beliefs).

One's reputation is defined by one's actions, short term and long term, and the ethical procedures that were taken to get there. In the scenario, two reputations would be at stake. The athlete's and the pr professional. How would people view a public relations professional who was willing to protect the image of an alleged rapist and drug user? Would the professional's competence be at risk, long term, if he lost the case?

Ethics guide our daily lives, in all our responsibilities.
Each person defines their reputation, and its that simple!!

- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.

Teacher teaches through tweets #TWITTER

ANNOYED? YES!!!
FRUSTRATING? VERY!!
DID I MAKE IT? NO!!

Frankly I thought it quite lazy and a good reason to spend the day with no classes, when i heard of a TWEETORIAL. I even got frustrated because it gave me a headache to refresh the page on my phone then scroll down to read upwards to follow a conversation of a minimum of 20 people.

Then i did some research, and people were lauding this new way of teaching and students seemed so excited.

Is something that wrong with me? Never thought I'd see the day when i didn't appreciate advances in technology in the educational and learning process. lol.

I did learn something though, a blackberry phone is not always the most practical tool for all occasions, though it might be more convenient.

For me, though it is highly important for the contemporary business environment, technology can never replace oral communication.



- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.

What is communication?

If you think communication is black and white, and trapped within boundaries, you have failed to communicate before you even attempted. 






- My Opinion. My Inner Voice. My Thoughts. On a mission to My Purpose.