#1 - Effective communication to me is..

So that's the first topic for ES2007S.

Early man felt incomplete without a means to communicate to the next person. That’s how language came into existence. In the early days, the next person was probably literally the next person - his family, his tribe. In today's sense the definition of next person is over a large set - your friends from social networks, your peers, your family, your partner and the list can go on.

The human network in everyday life is huge. On an average one talks to about 15-20 people in a day - it is inevitable in the connected world of today. I talk because I want to tell someone what I think, to help someone, to get assistance from someone, to make friends, to help others perceive me, to make others like me.

Whatever the motivation for communication, am I doing it right? I have had times when the person I was in conversation with did not understand me. That demeans the point of communication. What I would love to work towards is bringing the occurrence of these situations to an absolute zero.

To answer the question, effective communication to me is when I make the person see the world through my eyes.

It is interesting to also extend the effectiveness to community oriented communication. I like to think it is truly effective when the communication makes an impact on the receiver.

Well-chosen words.
Complimenting body language.
A purpose.

Effective Communication.

(Edited / 27 August 2012)

Introductions

I have taken up ES2007S - Professional Communication. It is a module that came with strong recommendations from two close friends. I found this semester to be very apt for going for it!

As part of the module we are expected to blog once in two weeks about ideas around communication skills! I thought I might as well continue to blog here. For the new comers from my ES2007S class, hello! Treat this as my first post towards this module.

As for the introductions, I have met most of you already I guess. I am Dhanya, a civil engineering student in my final year. I love anything to do with design and art. I believe it is my mission in life to make the world more colourful, make people more happy and thereby make it a better place to live in.

How exactly do I plan to do it? I will continue to paint and spread some joy. I will teach kids some art and bring questions to their attention. I will design for a the rest of my life. That's the plan for now atleast!

How does engineering fit into this plan? I believe getting trained in engineering is getting trained to think in a certain way. To be more specific, in a certain analytical way. Analytical and Logical. So far so good, I like to think.

Apart from that please read some posts here if you have the time to spare. You might just learn more about me!

Looking forward to an exciting semester guys. I am sure we can learn to overcome our inhibitions - if any and learn to communicate more effectively to the world!

P.James Magic Show

'The weirdest things make you miss home'

A close photographer friend had posted this photo a few months back. If you are from Chennai, you know what this photo means! 

The photo popped up on my Facebook feed and reminded me of home. For the others who are wondering why a dirty wall is up here, the subject is the writing on this wall - 'P.James Magic Show'.

This P James dude, whoever he is has written these exact same things on so many compound walls in Chennai City, you could not have missed it! 

I would like to think of him as the pioneer of publicity by spamming in Chennai. Soon the politicians took lead and pasted their victorious smile bearing faces on all surfaces visible. Now it is harder then before to spot P. James's Ad on the streets in all the hala-bula our leaders have created. 

Well what can I say, he introduced the idea to us. 

One can tell so many things about him from this Ad. He most probably kept a very small budget for publicity. A couple of cans of black paint, one or two men to paint the 'magic' characters. That's about it. Publicity taken care of.

It tells you so much about his Magic Show. Sort of symbolizes the beauty of all things - magic and others, doesn't it.  

Simple, yet strong in its purpose!

A lesson from P. James. I will try to get you hired one day though! For all the joy you have given when I spot an ad, for being one of the plain symbols of Chennai. 

Travelling back and forth

I have taken a couple of transportation modules this semester. Interesting prof who loves entertaining us with his stories. There's something about stories that makes one inquisitive. Same reason why we love gossip and Hollywood and Facebook. We like hearing of 'your' day and 'your' life.

Same reason we love travelling and reading books. We like to find out what we don't know. We like something new. I don't think anywhere except Cranford refused to embrace industrial revolution. Even the people of Cranford gave in at the end anyway.

My prof told us that when we take a form of public transport in Singapore, there are atleast ten people who take the exact same route with us. This means when you have a regular route you take, you would recognize some faces on the way! They are not stalking you, they are just going to the same place as you.

How would it be to know these people? Their stories? How would it be to find out their dreams?

Maybe you share a lot more than a ride in common.

Have you ever met a friend of a friend, spoken about your mutual friend and went 'The world's a small place!'?

I bet you have! That is what we have achieved today with travelling. A web of people who know more of each other, who share more. The potential this tool holds seems very powerful looking ahead! 

Patriotism and Campooter Scanning

It's been 65 years of independence for India. 1947 this day that year, people tasted freedom for the first time in 200-300 odd years. It meant a lot to the India then, being their own nation. We have a long way to go in terms of development. We have a lot of behaviour issues. Like that of a child that's been given too much attention. Yet we are proud to say it is us (or a couple hundred politicians) who decide our own fate. We are a proud democratic family.

I was walking to an admin office in my university looking to submit my loan documents. If it went well, if they took my papers to be clean - it would be my independence day. I wouldn't need dad to pay anything for my final year at college. Having a bunch of friends who are on scholarship and hence being on their own, makes you insecure. Especially when 'you' is me. Being independent is what I consider as the first step towards my self satisfaction. The daughter of a man who is proud of having built his life/business without his dad's help. The daughter of a woman who lost her father at an young age and hence made a lot of critical decisions by herself. It's not very surprising I turned out this way, much to my mother's annoyance though.

Life has a funny way of twisting things you want and playing around with it - dragging your leg a bit, making you think its not what you want and then a while later giving that same thing to you (sometimes).

So while I was thinking how cool it would be to get my loan fixed the same day as India's Independence day, life decides to make a point. To make its stand and say it is the deciding authority of a typical day's coolness - not me.

The woman sitting at the counter looked at my papers and looked at my face. She pauses for two seconds before she continues.

'Where is the passport copy of your guarantor?'

'I need it? I did not know that'

'Yes that and yours as well'

'Oh alright I'll..'

She jumps into my sentence silencing my voice. Like the way water hushes frying onions in a pan.

'Do they have a computer there? Do they know how to use it and scan a passport? Ask them to do that and you can print it here'

She offers her smart campooter usage advice.

My alter-ego just could not take it. Like Rose's bike rider alter-ego chick with wild condescending hair. (Such a perfect alter-ego image, btw)

'Hey *** firstly India is not in the 1400s and secondly, you need a scanner not a computer to scan'

I didn't say anything obviously. I just looked at her, grabbed my papers and completed my sentence.

'..I'll get it tomorrow'

I was raged. It was a very small instance. She probably meant it all in good will. Indian national girl looking to submit loan documents. Must be very poor. Her country is pretty poor and illiterate as well. Let me help her out and give her the most efficient way to send a file over.

I apologize for what some may interpret as false pride. I can't appreciate her kindness. It was judgemental and unnecessary. I might be exaggerating but it is what I truly feel.

Times like these fuel the fire within to inspire change in India. Little gestures like this make me think about my selfishness in having left the country.

We'll make it happen. We'll get there. Every dog has its day.

In the mean time, I have a request to friends and family. Don't destroy the image the world has of your country with your own words. I know a girl who goes around telling her international friends that Indian girls get married when they touch 14. If you really do have to share interesting facts, atleast try putting them under the heritage/culture light. I would be gracious and spared from 'So are you married?' questions.

Happy Independence day folks!

Let's begin at our own homes :) Hope it made you think, about your patriotism for your country!