Ideas without actions will only be dreams. Effective communication is the key to translating these great ideas into reality. However, this is easier said than done. In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication. More often than not, these ideas are misinterpreted as a result of poor communication skills, causing confusion and most importantly, wasted effort and opportunities.
Imagine this scenario: You are an entry-level analyst in a high profile company and you have a brilliant idea that could potentially bring huge savings to the firm, paving your way up the ranks in the process. The senior management has allocated you 10 minutes to pitch the idea to them.
Without effective communication, what you receive at the end of the presentation could be blank faces suggesting that they did not understand anything from the past 10 minutes. They leave the room, dashing your hopes of promotion and a great opportunity is lost, for both the company and YOU.
What I have described earlier is a fictious scenario based on my experiences during my 10 weeks summer internship, which I was given several opportunities to deliver project presentations to the senior managers. However, the time allocated was limited; therefore I had to capture all the information in a complete, concise manner, while ensuring it was presented with clarity and coherence. Condensing 10 weeks of work into an impressive 10 minute presentation was a challenging task. That made me realized the importance of effective communication in my career. Opportunities do not come in numbers and when they do, I want to make the best out of them. Transforming communication from a barrier to an asset is the first step.
Edited: 26/08/11
Added pictures!
Edited: 26/08/11
Added pictures!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI find your post short and concise. the main idea is that effective communication allows us to transmit our ideas to others.
I feel that the communication is very important to you on the professional level, however, you did not mention its importance in your daily life...
I really like how you relate this example with a real experience in life. It gets you connected with the audience.
ReplyDeleteI think the entry level analyst example is great. Although the fact it is written in two paragraph creates confusion. You would think that the example was done in the first paragraph then you start the second... it creates an unwanted disconnection with the idea you are trying to convey.
I would recommend the last two sentences to be in a paragraph on their own to present a conclusion.
Hope that helps :)
Rami
PS: comment on my post :)
Hey Bernard,
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you started with the quote. It sets the stage for the rest of your story. There is a clear flow of ideas in your post and I like the way you link the example to your experience. I also feel that this is a very real situation that many people the world over are facing-having a great idea but not being able to convey it coherently.
However, I felt that maybe you could elaborate with some examples about some other experiences during your internship. Have a great weekend.
Cheers,
Ramandeep
Thanks, Bernard, for this fine post. Like the other commentators, I find the clarity, conciseness and cohesiveness of your ideas noteworthy. You do a fine job, too, of connecting the value of comm skills to your summer work experience. I especially like the way you have boiled down your needs to the scenario related to the ten-minute presentation. So how did that go? You've left me in suspense.....
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the comments!
For this post, I chose to illustrate the one experience that really defined the need for effective communication for me, therefore there wasn't any elaboration on other scenarios.
Having worked on the project for nearly 10 weeks prepared me well for the presentation. I highlighted key improvements which my project brought about and added pictures to contrast the before and after scenario. I think I managed a convincing presentation;My project emerged as one of the top 5 among 20 others. =D