How to enhance effective communication in international communication?
Effective communication plays a very important role in our lives, and it has a great
impact on many aspects, such as our working place, education, or personal interactions.
Without effective communication, people cannot have good connection, understanding,
and achieving shared goals. What are the main factors to make communication more
effective? This essay will discuss the importance of body language when people
communicate, paying attention to the audience, using proper language that suitable to
variable situations, and the impact of spoken language on building an identity, which is
becoming flexible in international communication.
Many of us assume that having a good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar can help
us to have a successful communication. However, it is shown in many studies that
vocabulary has only a small impact. Author Allie Edwardsson (Solid Gold 2, 2015, page
10-12) in her article “Cracking the Code” mentions that body language, on the other
hand, plays a much bigger role in how our message will be perceived. Together with
body language, using proper voice (for example: tone, volume) and understanding
yourself as the audience are key factors to maximize success of communication.
Nowadays, with the growth of internet, people can quickly have many valuable
information about country, culture of the person that they are communicating with. It is
so-called intercultural skills that helps to boost our communication to be more
effectively. International communication, therefore, become easier.
As mentioned from above, effective communication helps people to have a better
connection and understanding among each other. In order to have effective
communication, it is important that we need to use appropriate language that suitable to
variable situation. Take the word “cremains” in the story “Letter to a Funeral Parlor”
(author Lydia Davis, Solid Gold 2, 2015, page 13-14) as an example. She states that there
is nothing wrong with the inventing words, especially in a business. However, as a
daughter of a deceased person, she is very shocked and upset when the representative of
the funeral parlor – even he is very friendly and respectful – refers her father with that
word – cremains. And under that circumstance, using the word from Bible “ashes” is
more adequate and it makes them more comfortable, understandable.
Finally, language is a mirror reflecting our sense of self. The cadence, intonation, and
choice of words in our speech serve as subtle markers of our identity. It means that
through language, people can guess social class, place of origin or even profession of the
other. It also means that one person can upgrade their social class if they can manipulate
their language. A 20th-century writer George Bernard Shaw (Solid Gold 2, 2015, page
56-58) in his famous play “Pygmalion” describes a scene that the flower girl can climb to
the upper-class in society through learning “better” English with the help of a note taker.
Nowadays, this kind of class in society is no longer exist, however, learning a language
and effective communication can help us to upgrade our knowledge and working ability,
as well as having better integration to new society.
In conclusion, becoming aware of our communication patterns allows people to succeed
in it and participate more competently. Using appropriate words in emotionally sensitive
situations, awareness the importance of body language, voice as well as understanding
the audience with their culture and their identities are the keys to make our conversation
successfully and help us to adapt quickly and effectively to international world.
Reference list:
- Edwardsson, A. “Cracking the Code” (pages 10–12). Solid Gold 2 (2015), By Eva
Hedencrona, Karin Smed-Gerdin, Peter Watcyn-Jones. Studentlitteratur.
- Davis, L. “Letter to a Funeral Parlor” (pages 13–14). Solid Gold 2 (2015), By
Eva Hedencrona, Karin Smed-Gerdin, Peter Watcyn-Jones. Studentlitteratur.
- Shaw, G.B. “Pygmalion” (pages 56-58). Solid Gold 2 (2015), By Eva
Hedencrona, Karin Smed-Gerdin, Peter Watcyn-Jones. Studentlitteratur.
