In today’s communication-driven world, learning and applying effective communication is necessary in the future (and even now in NUS).
Although I am not quite sure what I will be working as after I graduate (there are many options), but I will just narrow it down to two. Should I become a researcher in the future, effective communication is a must. Why? Researchers do not just discover advances in science that benefit people. After making such discoveries, they will have to publish journals/reports on their findings. For example, if a pharmacologist were to discover a new drug which could cure AIDS (obviously hypothetical at the moment), he would not only have to communicate to patients how it would cure them, but he also has to communicate effectively to doctors to inform them about the side effects and contraindications of the new drug. Thus, effective communication is necessary even in the research sector.
Should I decide to carve out a career in the education sector, it is important to be able to impart knowledge effectively, which brings me back to the point of effective communication. Learning is not a one-way street where the teacher merely imparts knowledge. For effective learning, students and teachers have to interact. In order for this interaction to occur, effective communication is thus needed. In addition, a teacher has be aware of his/her students’ needs through active listening. Thus, in order for a better relationship between a student and a teacher, effective communication, which encompasses active listening, is necessary.
