Throughout the course, this has manifested in various forms. Firstly, in terms of interview skills, while one might have a vast arsenal of knowledge and experiences (function), the inability to sell these skill sets effectively (form) would cause the interviewee to not be able to achieve the ultimate goal of landing the job.

Next, in terms of interpersonal communication, it is a balance between what is said (both verbal and nonverbal) and the intentions or thoughts behind it. While one might have intended to express certain thoughts or feelings, the differing social and cultural backgrounds between the parties involved might result in miscommunication and misunderstanding taking place. Finding the ideal point of balance, in this case, is an art form in its own right.

Finally, language and effective communication in itself is a balancing act of form and function. Taking report writing as an example, while one might want to express as many ideas as possible within a report, focusing solely on the content might cause him/her to forget about the importance of the form – the grammar, the formatting of the paper, and the overall impression that the report gives to the reader.

Just like a consumer product being sold, I find that every form of communication that we engage in needs to be presented as a whole product with a balance between the form and the function involved. Only then can we say that we communicate professionally and effectively, and become effective in whatever we set our sights on.

Firstly, when dealt with the questions regarding themselves, the girls seemed uncomfortable with explicitly stating their strengths (e.g. analytical, self-motivated). They preferred to talk about their experiences, and hoped that the interviewer could extract implicit personality traits of theirs from the stories being related. Similarly, they too were reluctant to talk about their weaknesses, and attempted to find a “correct” weakness for which the interviewers could not fault them for having.

In addition, when suggestions were made about possible methods to tackle various questions, the mini-workshop that was set-up as a dialog very quickly changed into a lecture, with notes being written down at a rapid pace. Despite repeated attempts at making an impression that interviews are about allowing the parties involved to find out more about each other, the girls seemed more interested in providing “correct answers” to the question.

While these responses might be specific to the two girls involved, these incidental discoveries made me ponder deeper about how one might, in this globalised world, balance one’s cultural norms and the need for effective communication. For example, should one adopt explicit methods to promote oneself just in fear of losing out in an interview to an effervescent speaker? Similarly, should one conform to social norms and provide “standard” answers or attempt at providing unique insights in an attempt to shine among the crowd? Finally, if this is truly a balancing act, what are some of the parameters that one can use to assist in the determination of the “sweet spot” between preserving cultural norms and subscribing to rules of effective communication?

I look forward to responses and thoughts on this issue.

An active citizen in entrepreneurship communities, Hong Ting is a founding member of the InCub3, is an active contributor to the NUS Overseas College Alumni Network, and was the President of the Asia-Pacific Student Entrepreneurship Society (ASES) Singapore Chapter.

Hong Ting is a competitive individual who enjoys learning new skills, adapting to demanding situations, and takes pride in working on challenging projects and assignments. He is also an outgoing individual, with good interpersonal and communication skills.

Currently, other than being a spokesperson on the opportunities that lie in the mobile advertising industry as part of 2359 Media, Hong Ting also actively consults organizations on leveraging technology to increase their efficiency and to better support existing customers while reaching out to new ones.

I vaguely remember this situation that I saw of a dinner meeting between a British businessman and a group of Chinese businessmen having dinner in a Cantonese restaurant. Being generous hosts that the Chinese businessmen were, they ordered the most expensive delicacy that was served in that restaurant - smoked eel. While the Englishman did not find the delicacy appealing, he felt obliged to finish his plate of food and went on to clear every last bit of the food served. Not wanting to seem stingy, the Chinese businessmen then ordered another serving of the same for the Englishman, who was petrified by the thought of having to finish another plate of the smoked eel.

In this intercultural situation, we can see how the 2 different cultures might clash when their beliefs are put together. As stated at the beginning of this blog post, the differences in the norms that the English and the Chinese subscribe to are the reasons for the above awkward scenario, with the Englishman forcing himself to clear a plate of what did not appeal to him, and the Chinese businessmen ordering another plate because they’re culturally obliged to do so.

With the world becoming increasingly globalized, it might very well be in our best interests to understand others’ cultures before engaging in any intercultural situation so that awkward situations like the one mentioned above can be avoided.

Note: The names and organization have been changed to ensure confidentiality

While the conference eventually turned out to be successful, with excellent feedback from the participants, this email was far from an effective piece of communication. This included the lack of correctness, coherence and clarity, among others.

Firstly, from a correctness point of view, this email was littered with grammatical errors, such as “once is confirmed” (1st sentence) and “to see if Dr Vivan interested” (Action point 2), just to name a few. While it is a student organization being represented here, the numerous errors in the email projects an unprofessional image for the organization.

From a functional point of view, the subject of the email was “Filming Interview with Minister of MCYS” when the email was supposed to remind the professor of the requests that the organization has put forth, with the interview being only one of the three requests. This might have caused the professor to overlook the other two requests when processing the email. An alternative title might have been “Requests from (Organization Name) in preparation of the Entrepreneurship Forum”

On a more positive note though, the email was rather concise, and had action items which the professor would be able to act on immediately. In addition, having just attended the meeting, the professor would have a better understanding of the details of each request than what is mentioned here.

Overall, the necessary contents of such a piece of communication is already included, but the inability to express the requests correctly and coherently might lead to others having a negative impression of the organization.

The following is how I would write the email:

It is no longer news that globalization has prevailed. In view of this, the outsourcing of work across geographical regions has become a norm over the past decade. It is thus commonplace for multi-national corporations to have teams comprising of members across different time zones and cultures, leveraging on electronic-mail (email) as the standard means of communication among members of these teams.

The email above was adapted (with details censored) from an email exchange within a software company between the lead user interface designer in the company’s California office and the lead software engineer in its India office. These individuals are two of the most important people in each product release, and they have to work together to ensure the quality of the product both in terms of its functionality and design.

As is exemplified in the email exchange, interpersonal conflict of varying degrees is common and unavoidable whenever two individuals work together. However, for these two managers, who are talented in their respective fields and well liked among their peers, interaction seems to end up each pointing fingers at the other. Compared with other more serious incidents, this email exchange is a relatively mild example. In addition to obvious lack of cross-cultural understanding with regard to working habits and cultural traditions, the inability to contact each other with short notices has also increased the level of anxiety and mistrust. Communication through email, without personal face-to-face interaction, is also a possible cause for conflict. All this has resulted in both parties often feeling frustrated working together, which in turn has brought about the reduction of efficiency in the company. The Vice-President of Product Development, who oversees both teams, also has to deal with the additional workload of managing the interaction and conflict between the two.

Given the knowledge of the various methods of resolutions for interpersonal conflict, how can we adapt these methods for a similar cross-cultural communication situation using email, a medium that limits the dimension of interaction, as the main mode of communication? In addition, what can we do if in the near future if we encounter a similar situation involving two conflicting parties?

Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States on the 20th January 2009. If there is one thing he will be remembered for, it might very well be his eloquence, memory and rhetoric, exemplified by his stirring speeches which are often littered with stories and quotations that people will one day recite in classrooms as demonstrations of the way to speak. Without taking anything away from him as a brilliant visionary, it must be said that it was the ability to effectively communicate his ideals and beliefs which enabled a man with “a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas and a story that could only happen in the United States of America” to become the most powerful person in the world.

It is not just his amazing ability to inspire through his speeches. It is his active listening to the problems and worries faced by the average citizen whom he met throughout his political career; it is his non-verbal cues that showed off his confidence despite being put on the spot; it is his willingness to stand alongside volunteers campaigning in the depths of winter  on the streets of Chicago; it is his ability to break down all barriers between him and the average American with a simple word - Change, and a slogan repeated numerously.

I am a person with ideals to change the world. Although politics is (in the foreseeable future) not my avenue for pursuing these changes, President Obama’s historic rise to Presidency offers many lessons about effective communication to my entrepreneurial pursuits:

1) In conversation, embrace difference - This is what makes you special. This is what makes others remember you.
2) Listen to the world around you - Identifying and solving other people’s problems is what makes one successful.
3) Do the little things - Actions speak louder than words, therefore being there for others, acknowledging jobs well done, and celebrating little successes will go a long way in gaining trust as a leader.
4) In public speaking, Practice, Practice, Practice - There is no other secret.

Most of all, the greatest lesson in communication, perhaps, is that in the face of the toughest challenge and the most demanding audience, self-belief will carry one through. Yes We Can.

The first one is done by students from Carnegie Mellon University as a final project for the “Building Virtual Worlds” module. For those who have watched Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture, this was presented during the lecture.

The next one is one of our very own, coming from the Software Development on Evolving Platforms module (affectionally known as the Facebook module) in NUS. While this application is relatively simple, it was accomplished by a team of students within the first week of the module beginning (while most of us are still deciding whether to drop or switch modules). Note: You will need to have Facebook to add and view the application.