Introduction

Hi everyone, I’m Yi Jing from Voice In. This video is the second in the series of our Solo-to-Team S2T Beta Programme). It is recommended for you to watch and participate in this video with your teammates side-by-side, if that’s not possible, reach out to them and share what you have gathered here. Let’s dive right into it!

The main message in today’s video is ‘Communication has its challenges but they all come with solutions’.

Communication Types

I would like to start off by exploring the different communication types and styles with you. At Voice In, we have decided to group them under five main type branches; visual, non-verbal, written, verbal and listening. Please note that other literature may have more or less than five or different to those that I had mentioned. These were selected as they are representative of the more common mediums we used to interact and communicate with others and are simple to visualise their differences. You may already be familiar with them and have a preference of one over the other. On that, I’d like to stress that they are all equally as important as each other regardless of their frequency and noticeability of usage.

The Common Communication Troubles & Solutions

The focus of today’s video is the verbal communication type, in particular the common troubles and few small steps to resolve them and most importantly, prevent feelings of frustration for self and towards others. Though I said verbal, the examples given would overlap slightly with other communication types, in particularly written and listening in support.

The first, as represented with a question mark, we have confusion and difficulty in understanding the communicated message. This can be caused by many different reasons, it could be professional jargons, cultural references, sentence phrasing or even just unfamiliarity with the person. These, however, should not stop you or your team to work towards progression. I do have to admit, at times, I find myself nodding along to the conversation but not fully understanding the key messages. It was easier to not interrupt but the afterwork to clarify the muddy points myself with the help of friends and Google is less efficient. If you do find yourself in this situation, I would highly recommend for you to avoid acting as in my disclosure. Ask to clarify any unclear points or repeat and paraphrase in your interpretation.

The second, is delayed correspondence, both in replying and receiving. There is no need to be torn in the question of ‘Should I reply or not’. In universities and remote workplaces, everybody is known and has been expected to be living different schedules. Timetables don’t line up perfectly. If you have received a message and you’re busy at that moment, let your team know, send them a message. It can as short as will reply later rather than leaving them waiting. Occasionally, you might meet someone who likes being on digital detox mode, this is when a person refrains from using their devices, or you could be the one who is more rooted in real life interactions. No matter who, it’s time to be more proactive in checking and replying because everyone is in the same team.

The third and final scenario is silence. The silence can work both good and bad. The good comes when everyone is clarified and focus on their work, all working in sync towards your common goal. The bad or area for improvement, as I like to call it, is when all things are decided among a few individuals and other further contributions and alternatives are not weighed in as equally. Or when one voice dominates the majority of a discussion. Remember, everybody has their unique selling strengths and personality, find the complementary ground where everyone plays the main character in your team. It’s not all on one individual but all on everyone.

The Most Difficult Situation?

All the scenarios mentioned can find themselves in the most difficult situation, which is perhaps disinterest. The one solution is to identify the cause and then proceed from there. Communication do come with its challenges but do try again.