UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA
HHHC 9201 Set 6 Sem2 2014/2015
Kemahiran Komunikasi
Nama
: Ng Xin Yi
A146938
Nama Lecturer : Dr. Ernieda Binti Md Hatah
Name of activity: Majlis Penganugerahan Pelajar Dan Malam Amal Fakulti Farmasi UKM 2015
Date
: 25/04/2015
Venue
: Dewan Prima Ljt
Position
: Usher
Effective communication not only involves how we speak to people but also involves the
interaction between listener and us. Listener has to understand what we are talking about and the
messages received are exactly same as what we conveyed. Communication consists of verbal and
non-verbal aspects. Verbal communication skill is the way we speak to others, the pronunciation
and the language that we used while non-verbal communication skill mainly involved body
language, action, face expression and tone we used. In order to have good communication skill,
we have to manage well in these aspects.
Communication also shown in writing form an effective essay enables readers to get all
the information given by writer. An effective essay or article must have content and proper
grammar. A person with good communication skill tends to attract more readers or listeners to
read or listen to what he wants to express. Besides that, we may request feedback or response
from recipients to show that they really understand the message.
Effective communication helps to reduce misunderstanding and prevent conflicts among
team members. In real life, misunderstanding always happened when there is lack of
communication. No solution will come out unless we voice out our opinions and listen to others’
opinions. We tend to predict others’ mind when there is lack of communication and eventually
quarrel may happen.
At 25 April 2015, I became one of the ushers for Pharmnight 2015. Throughout this event,
I learnt a lot of soft skills which include how to solve problem calmly, how to cooperate with
others especially other ushers, accept advices from others, follow the instructions of our exco and
last but not least how to communicate well with others.
Before the event, exco protocol briefs us about the tentative and distributed jobscope for
us. There is good communication between exco protocol and ushers. We understood about the
instructions given by exco protocol and gave full commitment to show our responsibility as
member of protocol. Moreover, I had discussed with other ushers about dress code and the
colour of mask. Initially ten of us got our own ideas, luckily at the end we managed to set a
theme without causing any conflict. This shows that we understand the important of
communication among us and we applied it well during the discussion.
Before the event a lot of rehearsals were held by organization pharmnight to help us to
familiar about our jobscope. After each rehearsal exco programme had gave a short briefing
regarding our performance. Once, he scolded us for not being alert during the event. We
apologized to him and admitted our fault. This is another way to show our communication skill
as well because communication not only involves verbal but also action and therefore no
misunderstanding happened between us.
During the event, we greeted and led lecturers and VIPs to ballroom when they reached.
Through this event, I learnt the proper way to communicate and act politely. Moreover, we also
listened to what lecturers requested such as they asked for the location of surau. Listening to
what people said is also one of the communication skills. We understood and able to response
upon their request. Besides that, we also have to inform VIPs that they need to stand at their seat
after entered ballroom for singing nation song. This is another interaction between VIPs and us.
Therefore, we learnt that we have to communicate in different ways when deal with different
people for example we have to speech politely to VIPs but we can speak in informal way to our
friends.
After joined this event I realized that I still have a lot of weakness in communicate with
people and one of them is lack of vocabulary. Every time I speak to people I tend to think in
mandarin and translate directly to English before I speak out. This will delay the response and
prolong the conversation. Sometime in worse case I might translate it wrongly either with wrong
order or grammar. This becomes a big problem when I have to react fast or reply spontaneous.
During translating I prone to speak in so-called “bahasa rojak” that is mixture of many languages.
This problem also faced by other Malaysians as well since our country consists of three main
races and always being neglected by public. Actually this problem may trigger more serious
problem to nation and affect our culture. Reputation of country might be affected when tourists
heard that we speak in such way.
Furthermore, I am not familiar to use non-verbal communication skill that is lack of face
expressions and body movements during conversation with others. I tend to stand still and speak
in similar tone when talk to people and this indirectly will make recipient lose interest to listen to
what I am going to say. People who can communicate well and give appropriate face expressions
tend to attract more attentions from others. Effective body language supports the message and
gives a strong image of the speaker. The most effective movements are ones that reflect the
speaker's personal investment in the message. Audiences respond best to speakers whose bodies
are alive and energetic. Audiences appreciate movement when it is meaningful and supportive of
the message.
After I realized about my problem when communicate with others I searched for some
tips and ways to overcome this type of problem. First of all, in order to strengthen and broaden
our vocabulary, the key is a commitment to regularly learning new words. The more we read
especially novels and literary works the more words we will be exposed to. We should develop a
reading routine that fits into our schedule and try to read at least one book and several magazines
every week. Besides that, we should always bring a dictionary handbook to look up when we
uncover a new word and to get its pronunciation as well. We should develop a habit that learns a
new word a day. It is a great way that many people used it and they admit its effectiveness. I also
found out from a website it wrote that we have to practice putting our new words into writing
and speaking or risk not retaining them in brain only.
Moreover, I also found an article that gives us some tips when presenting in front of
people. We should make use of our hands to emphasize a point or express an emotion. We
shouldn’t put our hand in pocket or held behind our back. This shows that we lack of confidence
and not convincing. The movements of our eyes, mouth, and facial muscles can build a
connection with listeners. Eye contact with listeners is the most important element in this process.
It can convey the feelings of the presenter, anything from passion for the subject, to depth of
concern for the listeners. In order to have a good face expression when talking to people or
presenting any project we should understand our own body language. We have to be natural and
not be robotic. Next, we have to make an effort to think about what our body is doing in different
interactions with different people. A mirror can be useful to examine facial expressions and
posture during emotional changes. We also must be sure that our body language is in sync with
the message.
In conclusion, just the saying says, ‘Practice makes perfect.’ I will try to practice more
and apply the tips that mentioned just now in order to develop a good communication skill. I
believe that as long as I practice it persistently I must be success one day.
Reference:
http://totalcommunicator.com/body_article.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Expand-Your-Vocabulary
http://www.enhancemyvocabulary.com/improve-expand-vocabulary.html
This photo shows that we were waiting at downstage while VIPs were giving prizing at upstage.
We have to lead them to the stage and bring them back to their seats. I am the right one in the
photo.