Interpersonal Conflict

You were having dinner with your usual group of friends, Mark and Wayne. You noticed that Alan did not turn up.
Now Mark, Wayne and Alan had always worked for ABC Company selling laptops during the IT shows held every three months. Alan only managed to get the job through the recommendations of Mark and Wayne.

In between dinner, Alan messaged Mark that he would not be working for ABC at the upcoming IT-show as he just went for an interview at XYZ Company and he got the job. Both Mark and Wayne were indignant as Alan did not bother to inform them that he was going to switch company and they felt “betrayed”. They were also unhappy that he did not include them as they did on previous job opportunities.

Wayne then decided to call Alan to clarify matters. When questioned why he went for the interview without informing them, he could not explain himself and instead kept asking them to “come down for the interview now”. Wayne replied that they were not in the vicinity and it will be too late to rush down and asked him if he will forsake working for XYZ if Mark and he could not work for XYZ. Alan replied that he will still do so. Wayne and Mark then felt that Alan was placing “money” over “brotherhood” as XYZ offers better pay.
You know Wayne, Mark and Alan very well and do not wish to see their relationship sour. What do you think you should do to resolve the conflict between the three of them?

Importance of Effective Communication

Effective communication is important to me as I would like to be able to express my feelings in a manner that will not emotionally injure others especially when dealing with sensitive issues, as sometimes emotional scars are harder to heal than physical ones. I feel that communicating effectively does not just involve talking but also active listening. Effective communication can help to prevent misinterpretation and misunderstanding, and in turn foster better relationships.

Communication can only happen when there are at least two people involved and it can be portrayed as riding on a see-saw, whereby a person talks, the other listens and vice versa. Communication breaks down when both parties try to talk at the same time and it is certainly not called communicating when both parties try to listen at the same time. This means that when one party speaks, the other party should listen and vice versa. Therefore I feel that it is important to know when to talk and when to listen. I also feel that to become an effective communicator, I have to convey my message in a manner that can be easily understood by the person I am talking to as well as actively listen when the person speaks.

Being an effective communicator can benefit us hugely in all aspects of our lives, be it in work, in school and even at home. Having good relationships with people around us will definitely make us happier people.

Hello

This is my first ever blog and I will probably never start a blog if I had not taken this module "Professional Communication".