They live among us, they breathe the same air as we do, they might even look like us. Most importantly, they are the one's whom many look up to for inspiration in times of need, the one's most trusted upon when the situation calls for them, the one's whose every decision made is held in high regard. These are things that set them apart from normal people. Who is this sort of person that I'm talking about? Well, I'm sure the first thing that will come to your mind is that all these characteristics would be that of a leader.
Leaders come from every possible backgrounds imaginable, they ooze confidence as well as the ability to get things going when they take charge. Now, what would qualify any regular person as a leader? Is it their personality? Their ability to give excellent ideas? Or is it an inborn talent? The fact is, anyone can lead, hence the only stumbling block one would have to face would be to actually get people to follow you. How is this achieved?
The way I see it, people who can lead competently are those who are very good speakers. People with this skill are able to use words to their advantage, to cover up their shortcomings and to further enhance the persuasion levels of their speeches. These are people who play with words to lead men under them, no matter how undeserving they might be of their posts. (Think of men like Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin)
However, these very same men can also be the one's who give hope to entire nations, to rally organizations to causes, to set worthy example's of dealing with impossible problems, most importantly, they do what's required of them most effectively. That is to lead! (Think of men like Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela)
Good leadership skills are also the epitome of a great balancing act. For some situations opening spaces to accept changes might be good in order to please everyone, one the other hand, there will also come a time where stern and immediate decisions must be made no matter how inconvenient it is to others. In other words, there can be no equivocation. Decisions of leaders must be firm, and they must stand by their points when challenged.
Situations where people are at a lost of what to do calls for a persons leadership skills to shine, to act like a ray of light that doubles as a guide and an example to follow. Leaders will naturally know what to do when in a tight spot, and they should rightly know that people who follow them are those that place their wholehearted trust in them.
"With great power, comes great responsibility"~Ben Parker
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Opinions
Try bringing up any topic of conversation whenever you are in with a company of people, be it friends or total strangers, chances are that they will most likely respond you with their opinions on that particular topic. Now why is this? Why do people suddenly want to be heard? Do they really think that you will give a damn about their opinions? Or are they just attention seekers?
This is a very perplexing dilemma indeed. It would seem that by voicing out their opinions, people would sound as if they were challenging your authority in that conversation, and on the other hand, it can also sound as if they agree with you on what you have just said. Depending on the responses that you receive, interpretation of an opinion will vary as much as it possibly can.
However, do take note that on most occasions, opinions do matter. This is because almost every action that precedes it will be based on your response towards that particular opinion. For example, when someone tells you that you need to stop being so annoying to them, depending on your response, it may bring about a series of different emotions as well as actions being taken out.
(1) You might feel offended, not talk to that person ever again
(2) You might feel guilty for being an annoyance, while trying to seek forgiveness
(3) You might feel like an idiot for not acting your age and try to change your ways in the future
Every single opinion will vary, it may be something short and sweet, or disturbing and harsh, but knowing how to handle them will go a long way in maintaining and fostering good communications skills as well as a successful building of relationships.
This is a very perplexing dilemma indeed. It would seem that by voicing out their opinions, people would sound as if they were challenging your authority in that conversation, and on the other hand, it can also sound as if they agree with you on what you have just said. Depending on the responses that you receive, interpretation of an opinion will vary as much as it possibly can.
However, do take note that on most occasions, opinions do matter. This is because almost every action that precedes it will be based on your response towards that particular opinion. For example, when someone tells you that you need to stop being so annoying to them, depending on your response, it may bring about a series of different emotions as well as actions being taken out.
(1) You might feel offended, not talk to that person ever again
(2) You might feel guilty for being an annoyance, while trying to seek forgiveness
(3) You might feel like an idiot for not acting your age and try to change your ways in the future
Every single opinion will vary, it may be something short and sweet, or disturbing and harsh, but knowing how to handle them will go a long way in maintaining and fostering good communications skills as well as a successful building of relationships.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Dialog, the dance of life
"It takes two to tango" so the saying goes, and this is most evident in all our daily communications. When engaging in a conversation, and dance of verbal as well as non-verbal takes place right before our very eyes. Like real life dancing, the words and actions omitted by an individual in the conversation plays off each other, with one relying on the other to synchronize itself to form meaningful patterns and vocal comprehension.
A misstep taken in a dance a lead to disastrous results, the same goes for a conversation. Like real dancers,where both will have to anticipate every step that their partners do. If this does not happen, then the dance moves will not have a flow to it and the routine will look terrible in front of the audience. Likewise, when engaging in open dialog, it vital that we take note of the individual that we are facing, what their preferences are, what would their most likely answer to a question be, their past experiences with the topic, etc. Doing all these and many more will help make a conversation go smoother as we can readily anticipate what our next uttered sentence would be as we would have already analyse these factors, thus reducing the possibility of miscommunication happening.
Also, like a dance, there must be music accompanying it. Without music, the dancers will not have a rhythm to follow to and the dance will cease to be graceful. This music in communicating would be the situation which a person finds themselves in during a conversation. For example, if an aunt of a friend has just passed away, you don't go towards that person and joke around and act like a fool when all that was needed was a few consoling words to soothe a grieving heart. Situations like these are what most of us would encounter at least once within our lifetime. So, listen out to the music and you might just find yourself to be the most competent 'dancer' in all your conversations.
A misstep taken in a dance a lead to disastrous results, the same goes for a conversation. Like real dancers,where both will have to anticipate every step that their partners do. If this does not happen, then the dance moves will not have a flow to it and the routine will look terrible in front of the audience. Likewise, when engaging in open dialog, it vital that we take note of the individual that we are facing, what their preferences are, what would their most likely answer to a question be, their past experiences with the topic, etc. Doing all these and many more will help make a conversation go smoother as we can readily anticipate what our next uttered sentence would be as we would have already analyse these factors, thus reducing the possibility of miscommunication happening.
Also, like a dance, there must be music accompanying it. Without music, the dancers will not have a rhythm to follow to and the dance will cease to be graceful. This music in communicating would be the situation which a person finds themselves in during a conversation. For example, if an aunt of a friend has just passed away, you don't go towards that person and joke around and act like a fool when all that was needed was a few consoling words to soothe a grieving heart. Situations like these are what most of us would encounter at least once within our lifetime. So, listen out to the music and you might just find yourself to be the most competent 'dancer' in all your conversations.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Competion, is it human nature? Or something animalistic?
For ages, people of the human race have always desired to be the best of the best. The race to see who gets the better food, the better job, better living conditions, and almost anything under the sun. For many, every single thing that they have always been doing is for self-purposes only. They want to emerge victorious in the daily struggle for dominance, and not to mention seeing the loser drown in tears of disappointment.
Why is this so? Why do people have this strong urge inside them to win every competition, even though its not as if its a life and death situation? You could say that its a sort of survival mechanism inside each and every one of us, something that's very primitive, and that its has always been inside of us ever since the first caveman killed his comrade just to pry a bigger piece of meat to eat from his cold lifeless hands inside a dark cave. Sounds very brutal, isn't it?
Then, it is good to note the competition is not always necessarily a bad thing. In fact, competition has in many ways led to the creation of many fusion of cultures as well as the subsequent flourishing of them. In an unforgiving environment such as this world, people of different cultures who try to impose their ways of living on others will often find themselves in situations where acceptance for it is very hard to come by. Instead, they will be clashing with the existing culture and its people who prefer to keep things as they were and to not accept a 'foreign' way of life.
However, there are bound to be some that do not see eye to eye with them, and instead would like to see some fresh changes being brought into their way of living. Therefore, a competition between the acceptance for these two separate cultures occur, and the winner is the one with the most 'popular vote', so to speak, while the loser fades into the annals of history. The winning culture then forms the general backdrop for society in which they follow.
For example, the head-hunting culture in some of the tribes of the indigenous people of the world, this practice is accepted by their society and they are even encouraged to do it. However when colonist from a foreign land show up and impose their cultures onto these people, the head-hunting gradually stopped. In the present society, these same people who once practice head-hunting now oppose this practice vehemently. This clearly shows that the dominant culture will be the one that will survive competition in the end. Nevertheless, tons of other cultures have also gained a unique identity through being successful in competition and until today remains as the very fabric that holds society together.
Why is this so? Why do people have this strong urge inside them to win every competition, even though its not as if its a life and death situation? You could say that its a sort of survival mechanism inside each and every one of us, something that's very primitive, and that its has always been inside of us ever since the first caveman killed his comrade just to pry a bigger piece of meat to eat from his cold lifeless hands inside a dark cave. Sounds very brutal, isn't it?
Then, it is good to note the competition is not always necessarily a bad thing. In fact, competition has in many ways led to the creation of many fusion of cultures as well as the subsequent flourishing of them. In an unforgiving environment such as this world, people of different cultures who try to impose their ways of living on others will often find themselves in situations where acceptance for it is very hard to come by. Instead, they will be clashing with the existing culture and its people who prefer to keep things as they were and to not accept a 'foreign' way of life.
However, there are bound to be some that do not see eye to eye with them, and instead would like to see some fresh changes being brought into their way of living. Therefore, a competition between the acceptance for these two separate cultures occur, and the winner is the one with the most 'popular vote', so to speak, while the loser fades into the annals of history. The winning culture then forms the general backdrop for society in which they follow.
For example, the head-hunting culture in some of the tribes of the indigenous people of the world, this practice is accepted by their society and they are even encouraged to do it. However when colonist from a foreign land show up and impose their cultures onto these people, the head-hunting gradually stopped. In the present society, these same people who once practice head-hunting now oppose this practice vehemently. This clearly shows that the dominant culture will be the one that will survive competition in the end. Nevertheless, tons of other cultures have also gained a unique identity through being successful in competition and until today remains as the very fabric that holds society together.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Hatred, the emotion of all evil
Hatred is one of the worse emotions one person can ever go through. After a heated argument, both parties who are involved in it will as if they are most miserable individuals that ever existed in the entire universe. Hatred is an disturbing emotion in many ways, people often can't eat, sleep or even do their normal everyday routines without a peace of mind.
This emotion is responsible for a lot of relationship breakdowns. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends, colleagues, everyone is affected. A long and loving relationship can be broken in a matter of seconds once hatred takes over a person's thoughts and actions. Disagreements on how things are handle or preferences that are not similiar to others are just a fraction of the possible causes of hatred. However, this is just on a relatively small scale. On a bigger picture of what hatred can do to people, you need to look no further than your recent history knowledge. War.
That's right, its war. Every attack, every bullet fired, every bomb dropped is in retaliation to actions of hatred that have been done on individuals involved in the war. An example of this is war going on in Iraq. Allow me to decribe this typical scenario. One fine day, locals are accidentally killed by American bombs, families hate the Americans for this, they join a terrorist organization (al-Qaeda) by becoming fighters to exact revenge on the Americans, and while engaging these local fighters, American lives are lost. This will also bring the emotion of hatred on the American side, and so they kill even more people in return. As a result, this vicious cycle of hatred goes on and on and on without signs of halting.
War is the basis of all of this negative vibes, but take note. All of this can be stopped, both domestic disagreements at home to international ones involving armed conflicts, if all the parties involved can compromise and find common ground in order to maintain harmony.
This emotion is responsible for a lot of relationship breakdowns. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends, colleagues, everyone is affected. A long and loving relationship can be broken in a matter of seconds once hatred takes over a person's thoughts and actions. Disagreements on how things are handle or preferences that are not similiar to others are just a fraction of the possible causes of hatred. However, this is just on a relatively small scale. On a bigger picture of what hatred can do to people, you need to look no further than your recent history knowledge. War.
That's right, its war. Every attack, every bullet fired, every bomb dropped is in retaliation to actions of hatred that have been done on individuals involved in the war. An example of this is war going on in Iraq. Allow me to decribe this typical scenario. One fine day, locals are accidentally killed by American bombs, families hate the Americans for this, they join a terrorist organization (al-Qaeda) by becoming fighters to exact revenge on the Americans, and while engaging these local fighters, American lives are lost. This will also bring the emotion of hatred on the American side, and so they kill even more people in return. As a result, this vicious cycle of hatred goes on and on and on without signs of halting.
War is the basis of all of this negative vibes, but take note. All of this can be stopped, both domestic disagreements at home to international ones involving armed conflicts, if all the parties involved can compromise and find common ground in order to maintain harmony.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Are Men really from Mars and Women from Venus?
I came across this peculiar book entitled "Are Men from Mars and Women from Venus?" one day. It really made me think hard about what the author of the book was trying to say. After an intense session of brain storming about the title, it turns out the author really does have a good statement on his hands here.
While I did not pick up the book to read its contents, I gladly come to a conclusion about that statement. It seems that the personalities of both sexes really are poles apart. Well, this is based on my previous experiences so far anyway. To further elaborate, take these few examples as evidence. First of all, in terms of communicating, men tend to be more reserved, whereas women are more vocal. In a shouting match, the fairer sex always wins. Men are geared towards more physical actions, the stronger you are physically the more intimidating you'll be, whereas women are more diplomatic, they tend to talk out their problems by coming to negotiations with the parties involved and finding solutions out of compromising. However, if men attempt negotiating instead of fighting, and women fight instead of negotiating, results will indeed be very different. In the case with men, failed negotiations will always lead to more punches being thrown and for women, fights will often lead to seeking forgiveness, a form of compromising.
Secondly, would be the wardrobe that they put on. Men usually wear dark formal colors whereas women tend to like brighter ones. Clothes don't mean much to men, but they certainly do to women. This is because women tend to be more aware of what other people think of them in the clothes that they put on, or their appearances in general. For men, well, they don't really care that much, all they need is something comfy and appropriate and they would be good to go.
I could go on and on about the differences between both genders, so let me just say this to prove my point about what I think are the differences between them. Men and Women, really are from different planets! Althought not literally but rather from a personality point of view, they really are galaxies apart, yet despite this, we will definately not survive if one of the two goes extinct. Very contradicting, but in my opinion, very fortunately true indeed.
Religion
People need a guiding force to go on living their daily lives. Without this guiding force, many lose their principles of living a decent life and go on to commit crime that usually will not occur if there is a moral virtue that is within them. This virtue can solely be found in the context of religion. To many people this comes in the form of worshipping a God, or in certain religions, Gods.
Religion forms a very solid backbone in which humans a can fall back to in case of dire situations arising. It forms the basis of many of the present cultures that we see around us. Take for example the Malay greeting of "Assalamulaikum", which means "peace be with you", its word origins has Islamic roots. People use this greeting to show humility as well as to embrace another individuals presence. It can also diffuse a potentially tense situation by allowing the person making the greeting to form a very nice first impression in front of others.
People that follow a certain religion are shown to be much more positive when dealing with life problems compared to those that don't. All teachings in every religion requires one to do good, there is not a single religion in the world that teaches its followers to cause hurt towards others. The penchant for people to do good towards others will definitely contribute to the well being of themselves, as well as others around them. Its through the cultivation of good religious values, irregardless of race or culture that maintains harmony in the current society.
Those in society that conform towards leading a good religious life are much more better of than those who do not. Wars have started because of conflicts in religion, but nevertheless, it has been knowned throughout history as a uniting tool rather than one that divides.
Religion forms a very solid backbone in which humans a can fall back to in case of dire situations arising. It forms the basis of many of the present cultures that we see around us. Take for example the Malay greeting of "Assalamulaikum", which means "peace be with you", its word origins has Islamic roots. People use this greeting to show humility as well as to embrace another individuals presence. It can also diffuse a potentially tense situation by allowing the person making the greeting to form a very nice first impression in front of others.
People that follow a certain religion are shown to be much more positive when dealing with life problems compared to those that don't. All teachings in every religion requires one to do good, there is not a single religion in the world that teaches its followers to cause hurt towards others. The penchant for people to do good towards others will definitely contribute to the well being of themselves, as well as others around them. Its through the cultivation of good religious values, irregardless of race or culture that maintains harmony in the current society.
Those in society that conform towards leading a good religious life are much more better of than those who do not. Wars have started because of conflicts in religion, but nevertheless, it has been knowned throughout history as a uniting tool rather than one that divides.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Art, the expression of the soul
The ability for humans to decipher abstract thoughts are very unique characteristics for a living being. Abstract thoughts are all based on perceptions of individuals as one single subject can have many different view points depending on many factors. Interpretations of individuals are gathered based on their past experiences and beliefs. This act of abstract interpretation presents itself very clearly in art.
Whenever you see a painting, or a sculpture, it will often invoke a tinge of emotion in you whenever you see it. Even thought its not a living object, the fact that it stirs up feelings is proof that expressions of emotions can be displayed for all to see. The artists or sculptors put in their heart and soul into making the end product, poured out their inner feelings and made them into the work of art.
Paintings and sculptures done by artistic geniuses such as Vincent van Gogh, or Michelangelo are still being admired by people around the world today. Many of them will still attest to the fact that they can find abstract messages hidden within them, and this is all done through the process of abstract imagining.
Whenever you see a painting, or a sculpture, it will often invoke a tinge of emotion in you whenever you see it. Even thought its not a living object, the fact that it stirs up feelings is proof that expressions of emotions can be displayed for all to see. The artists or sculptors put in their heart and soul into making the end product, poured out their inner feelings and made them into the work of art.
Paintings and sculptures done by artistic geniuses such as Vincent van Gogh, or Michelangelo are still being admired by people around the world today. Many of them will still attest to the fact that they can find abstract messages hidden within them, and this is all done through the process of abstract imagining.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Fear
Ever felt constricted as if a feeling of paranoid is about overcome you? The feeling that something bad was about to happen but somehow, we feel helpless to do anything? If you do, then you are probably experiencing the feeling of fear.
As humans, the feeling of fear is not something that is very pleasant, nevertheless, it is a very important emotion that all of us require to continue surviving. Without fear, we would be reckless in leading our lives. Never having a second thought to our actions would lead us to committing many more mistakes in life. Fear acts as a gauge towards all the actions that we carry out. In other words, fear prevents most of us from making a fool of ourselves in situations where doing so would not be recommended.
Being able to detect fear would be a skill called empathizing that not all of us could master. But people that do so are extremely capable of manipulating the situation to their advantage as the emotion of fear is such a paralyzing one. One that is hard to comprehend but very easy to experience.
As humans, the feeling of fear is not something that is very pleasant, nevertheless, it is a very important emotion that all of us require to continue surviving. Without fear, we would be reckless in leading our lives. Never having a second thought to our actions would lead us to committing many more mistakes in life. Fear acts as a gauge towards all the actions that we carry out. In other words, fear prevents most of us from making a fool of ourselves in situations where doing so would not be recommended.
Being able to detect fear would be a skill called empathizing that not all of us could master. But people that do so are extremely capable of manipulating the situation to their advantage as the emotion of fear is such a paralyzing one. One that is hard to comprehend but very easy to experience.
Eye contact
“Eyes is the window to your soul”, this is what I heard Shaun said during our human comm class on yesterday. What is eye contact? Does it required in verbal communication? I am wondering whether looking at one’s eyes when he/she is talking is considered respect or being rude to him/her.
I met a girl from Kelana Jaya this morning. This is the second time I met her. We know each other on last Saturday during sport carnival. This means we don’t know each other very well. However, we met at McDonald today and had a conversation for about two hours at there.
Her name is Ping Chi. She has a pair of beautiful and big eyes. I like her eyes so much. Therefore, during the two hours, I almost looked into her eyes when she talked. For me, I think that this is a way to show our respect to the speaker when he/she is talking. However, I tend to make assumptions that others are similar to us again.
On the other hand, Ping Chi doesn’t feel like that. She thinks that looking or staring at one’s eyes is an action that shows one is being aggressive or rude. That’s why she often felt so uncomfortable when I was looking to her eyes when she was talking. She did ask me about that to clarify her thoughts.
This makes me think that misunderstanding and misinterpretation can be occurred in non-verbal communication and also asking questions to clarify it. This is because different people will convey the messages differently.
Kissing
There are many types of non-verbal communication. It can be divided into two different forms which are communication without touching and involved touching in the non-verbal communication. Kiss is considered as an example of communicative touch. What is kiss? A kiss is the touching of one person’s lips to another place.
Different types of non-verbal communication can have different types of meaning. Therefore, same thing apply to kiss. Actually, kissing different parts of a person can mean different things. For examples, kissing on the hand means that there is the friendship between both of you. Furthermore, parents will kiss their children’s forehead to comfort them or to show their love to them.
The meaning of kissing can be varying not only which part of the person that is being kiss by others but also influenced by the culture. To illustrate, kissing between two men in the modern Western culture is common and not consider sexual. This can be a way to greet others. However, if we practice this action in our country, I am wondering how others are going to say about this. If two men are kissing in the public, others might think that both of them are gay or abnormal. So, culture may be one of the factor that influenced how others accept or reject kissing in their own countries.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Songs
Are we hearing to music or listening to music? This is what I wondering the most. Sometimes, when I listen to a song, normally I don’t remember the lyrics of that song but just hearing what the melody it is. Is this considered hearing or listening? I don’t know.
However, sometimes I do remember the lyrics of a song. But, it always happened whenever the lyrics of the song really suit my mood and feeling at that moment, then I will listen carefully to the song. But, sometimes I can do my other stuff with the radio on and listen to a song also.
In addition, the lyrics and melody of a song can affect our mood and feeling when we listen to it. Maybe that time we are considered listening to the song but not hearing, because we attached not only meaning but also our feeling to the songs.
In conclusion, I like to listen to the songs.
Listening VS Hearing
We often judge others on the first sight. Then, we will have a lot of either good or bad impression about the person in our mind. This can actually affect our communication with the person because within a communication, we will have to speak to the person or listen to what he/she says.
And this can be very irrational. When we don’t like a person, we will often shut our ears automatically without trying to listen what the person says. This happened to me every time. When I am in a bad mood, I will definitely keep quiet and refuse to communicate to others.
Moreover, what others tell me, I will just simply hearing what they say but not truly listen to them. Hearing is totally different with listening. By hearing, I am just only hear what the person say and nod or shake my head without really wanted to answer them. Or sometimes, I will just ignore what they had said. However, with listening, it is really need effort to understand and respond to them.
In conclusion, if I really want to become a good listener, I may be putting more effort to listen what others say. And I should not act prematurely without really listen what did others said. I want to become a competence listener.
And this can be very irrational. When we don’t like a person, we will often shut our ears automatically without trying to listen what the person says. This happened to me every time. When I am in a bad mood, I will definitely keep quiet and refuse to communicate to others.
Moreover, what others tell me, I will just simply hearing what they say but not truly listen to them. Hearing is totally different with listening. By hearing, I am just only hear what the person say and nod or shake my head without really wanted to answer them. Or sometimes, I will just ignore what they had said. However, with listening, it is really need effort to understand and respond to them.
In conclusion, if I really want to become a good listener, I may be putting more effort to listen what others say. And I should not act prematurely without really listen what did others said. I want to become a competence listener.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Smile
When there's gloom and doom all around us, what do we do to make ourselves feel better? We smile of course! Yes, by just simply contracting those cheek muscles of ours, the world would just seem like a better place in an instant.
Smiling is one the simplest forms of non verbal communication known to mankind. Studies have shown that by merely smiling, our bodies would release feel-good hormones within us akin to when a laugh is being made. This in turn leads to us feeling a sense of satisfaction and joy whenever we do it.
A smile can also do wonders in a situation when someone is really sad or depressed, as it is contagious as well healing both at the same time. There is just something in us all that makes us feel great whenever we see other people, even strangers, that smile whenever we catch a glimpse of it on their faces.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Meanings of a WORD
Language is a verbal symbol system that allows us to take messages and utterances, in the form of words, and translate them into meaning. Besides, the meaning of a word or language is not depends on the word, but is rather in the way that people make sense of it.
Yesterday during my critical thinking skill tutorial, we were asked to get into a group of three. Then, we asked to give definitions of eight different words. The most difficult word that we came across was “blues”. Normally the meaning of “blues” that we commonly know is the word is use to describe the color of the cloudless sky.
However, during our discussion, we were almost argued for the meaning of the word. This is because “blues” can actually have a lot of different meanings. For examples, it can use to describe the feeling of depression. It can also use to show unexpectedly. Beside this word, the “dog” means “a canine creature that brings love and warmth to a human family”. On the other hand, it can also carry a totally opposite extreme meaning which is use to describe something that is worthless or of poor quality, a despicable person, or an ugly person. Maybe in different situation, we can use the word “dog” to describe a person that you dislike other than just use to describe a lovely pet.
In conclusion, the meanings of a word are in people, and it is depend on when and where is the situation it should be used rather than on the word itself.
Yesterday during my critical thinking skill tutorial, we were asked to get into a group of three. Then, we asked to give definitions of eight different words. The most difficult word that we came across was “blues”. Normally the meaning of “blues” that we commonly know is the word is use to describe the color of the cloudless sky.
However, during our discussion, we were almost argued for the meaning of the word. This is because “blues” can actually have a lot of different meanings. For examples, it can use to describe the feeling of depression. It can also use to show unexpectedly. Beside this word, the “dog” means “a canine creature that brings love and warmth to a human family”. On the other hand, it can also carry a totally opposite extreme meaning which is use to describe something that is worthless or of poor quality, a despicable person, or an ugly person. Maybe in different situation, we can use the word “dog” to describe a person that you dislike other than just use to describe a lovely pet.
In conclusion, the meanings of a word are in people, and it is depend on when and where is the situation it should be used rather than on the word itself.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
To la or not to la
I met this friend of mine a few months back in college. He was a foreign student from Dubai studying the same course as me. Whenever a conversation between him and a typical Malaysian student begins, he would have this sort of perplexed look on his face, as if he couldn't quite understand what was being said. I've always wondered why this was the case.
So out of curiosity, I went on to ask him why? The answer that he gave turned out to be a complete surprise to me. It actually turns out that 'typical' Malaysian student would almost always add a "la" behind every sentence. For example, "Why are you doing this la!", or "I'll give the file tomorrow la." or, "Let's go eat la.". This becomes very confusing for my poor friend as back home, "la" actually means "no". That meant for every single day of his life here in Malaysia, he's been hearing us Malaysians saying "No" to every sentence we speak! All this would explain why he would sometimes look lost in our conversations.
Fortunately after a few months later, he has gotten the hang of this local slang of ours, and it seems that he is beginning to master its infectious properties. Now, he would freely spray a string of "la's" in his conversation with Malaysians. This just goes to show that whenever there's a need to blend into society, humans will always find ways to do it eventually~la!
So out of curiosity, I went on to ask him why? The answer that he gave turned out to be a complete surprise to me. It actually turns out that 'typical' Malaysian student would almost always add a "la" behind every sentence. For example, "Why are you doing this la!", or "I'll give the file tomorrow la." or, "Let's go eat la.". This becomes very confusing for my poor friend as back home, "la" actually means "no". That meant for every single day of his life here in Malaysia, he's been hearing us Malaysians saying "No" to every sentence we speak! All this would explain why he would sometimes look lost in our conversations.
Fortunately after a few months later, he has gotten the hang of this local slang of ours, and it seems that he is beginning to master its infectious properties. Now, he would freely spray a string of "la's" in his conversation with Malaysians. This just goes to show that whenever there's a need to blend into society, humans will always find ways to do it eventually~la!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Beautiful Game
One of the most popular game in the world, football. Played almost everywhere at anytime, from the bushland of Australia, to the back alleys of Paris, even in the humble kampungs of Malaysia. It is a game that breaks down the social barriers of society and has the uncanny ability to unify people irregardless of race and creed. Not to mention, it is also a sport that truly epitomises the human expression of emotions.
Ever notice that whenever a conversation about football begins, fans would often refer to their favourite team with words like 'our team', such as 'our team thrashed your team yesterday'. Is is this sort of close association with their favourite team that really brings about a sense of unity amongst fans of the sport. A true fan would travel half the world just to watch their team play, cheer their team on when they are losing, jump for joy like a maniac whenever a goal is scored, fans can be so loyal even to the extent of crying when their team loses and in extreme cases, committing suicide when the loss becomes unbearable.
The amount of affiliation that the fans have over their team, combine with the pride and joy of being associated with them, is just a very basic human need of being recognized. Man, since time immemorial has always wanted to be the 'nail that sticks out'. By being able to associate themselves with their team, they can in a way, indirectly attain a sense of belonging while getting recognition all at the same time.
This feeling of belonging, is further exemplified by the players on the pitch. Many of them play for their teams with their hearts on their sleeves, often, they would literally put their heads in the line of duty while playing for their team when clearing a goal bound shot or just to make sure possession of the ball doesn't fall to the opposition. However, the proof that both players and fans alike are 'one with their team' is clearly showed for all to see. That is whenever a winning goal is scored. The eruption of emotions that precedes it is just mind-boggling! At times, 90 minutes of pure compressed tension just waiting for that winning goal pops when the ball is put behind the net by a player. The ecstasy of seeing the players and fans alike celebrating, full of passion and desire is really a sight to behold and goes on to prove that football, truly is The Beautiful Game.
Ever notice that whenever a conversation about football begins, fans would often refer to their favourite team with words like 'our team', such as 'our team thrashed your team yesterday'. Is is this sort of close association with their favourite team that really brings about a sense of unity amongst fans of the sport. A true fan would travel half the world just to watch their team play, cheer their team on when they are losing, jump for joy like a maniac whenever a goal is scored, fans can be so loyal even to the extent of crying when their team loses and in extreme cases, committing suicide when the loss becomes unbearable.
The amount of affiliation that the fans have over their team, combine with the pride and joy of being associated with them, is just a very basic human need of being recognized. Man, since time immemorial has always wanted to be the 'nail that sticks out'. By being able to associate themselves with their team, they can in a way, indirectly attain a sense of belonging while getting recognition all at the same time.
This feeling of belonging, is further exemplified by the players on the pitch. Many of them play for their teams with their hearts on their sleeves, often, they would literally put their heads in the line of duty while playing for their team when clearing a goal bound shot or just to make sure possession of the ball doesn't fall to the opposition. However, the proof that both players and fans alike are 'one with their team' is clearly showed for all to see. That is whenever a winning goal is scored. The eruption of emotions that precedes it is just mind-boggling! At times, 90 minutes of pure compressed tension just waiting for that winning goal pops when the ball is put behind the net by a player. The ecstasy of seeing the players and fans alike celebrating, full of passion and desire is really a sight to behold and goes on to prove that football, truly is The Beautiful Game.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
On Top of the World
Now, I'm actually a very visual-oriented individual, which is why I normally try to blog using pictures or using a minimal amount of words. As the subject requires me to write blogs in essay form, I can't help but oblige. I will, however, use images in my posts as points of reference.
Perception is all about how people see things differently than how they are, or how others see it.
I find this picture very amazing, and the artist very creative and calculative. The lady appears to be posing atop the letter 'W', held up by a man more than ten times her size; whilst at close inspection, the lady is in fact laying on the ground some distance away from the man, and that the 'World' is painted across the ground, creating a very realistic illusion that the people here actually appear to be part of the painting, or that the painting is actually part of reality.
The picture can also be seen as a play with words, or a pun. With the lady laying on the letter 'W' from the word 'World', you could say that the lady is on top of the 'world'.
Perception is all about how people see things differently than how they are, or how others see it.
I find this picture very amazing, and the artist very creative and calculative. The lady appears to be posing atop the letter 'W', held up by a man more than ten times her size; whilst at close inspection, the lady is in fact laying on the ground some distance away from the man, and that the 'World' is painted across the ground, creating a very realistic illusion that the people here actually appear to be part of the painting, or that the painting is actually part of reality.The picture can also be seen as a play with words, or a pun. With the lady laying on the letter 'W' from the word 'World', you could say that the lady is on top of the 'world'.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Perception
Normally, we tend to assume that others are similar to us. This was what I did last day. I thought that others will be scared of cockroach too.
I got an hour and half of break after my human communication class yesterday. After that, I went to toilet that is near to sr7 room with my friend, May. When we were washing our hands inside the toilet, suddenly, I saw a big and scary cockroach crawling on the wall in front of me beside the mirror. By instinct, I screamed as loud as I could. “Ah!!!!!” shouted out loudly.
I almost ran out quickly from the toilet while May was just walking out of the toilet calmly. I was so shocked and asked her why don’t she feel frightened or anything about the cockroach. I tried to explain to her how scary and dirty the cockroach was but she seems like doesn’t matter. For her, cockroach is just a small insect that does not harm at all. For me, I was just too bombastic with the small creatures while my friend did not think or feel the way I do.
Maybe by prejudice, I just commonly imagine that others possess the same hates to cockroach as I do. Instead, not everyone will be frightened of cockroach as I do.
I got an hour and half of break after my human communication class yesterday. After that, I went to toilet that is near to sr7 room with my friend, May. When we were washing our hands inside the toilet, suddenly, I saw a big and scary cockroach crawling on the wall in front of me beside the mirror. By instinct, I screamed as loud as I could. “Ah!!!!!” shouted out loudly.
I almost ran out quickly from the toilet while May was just walking out of the toilet calmly. I was so shocked and asked her why don’t she feel frightened or anything about the cockroach. I tried to explain to her how scary and dirty the cockroach was but she seems like doesn’t matter. For her, cockroach is just a small insect that does not harm at all. For me, I was just too bombastic with the small creatures while my friend did not think or feel the way I do.
Maybe by prejudice, I just commonly imagine that others possess the same hates to cockroach as I do. Instead, not everyone will be frightened of cockroach as I do.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Type of communications
This is the second week of my Human Communication lesson. I think I had got a brief introduction about communication and how a better communication can be constructing. Besides found that the lesson which we had on last Thursday during our tutorial class was quite interesting. I still remembered that during last tutorial class, we were required to do a simple presentation about the noun we got and related it to what we had learnt during the lectures.
Unfortunately, the noun that we had was "DOORKNOB". When we got this noun, we were started to think about this noun in our mind. We started to ask ourselves about questions like "What can we say about doorknob?" and "Isn't that a doorknob is just a non-living things and how it can be related to human communication?" and during that time an intrapersonal communication had took place. While others were still thinking quietly about the noun, I and Xin Yi started to have a dyadic communication that involved only two of us. I asked her about the topic and both of us had tried to make a story that is relevant to our course.
Then, our group started to discuss about the topic. At that moment, a small group communication had carried out. Everyone contributed their own opinion about "doorknob" and at last we had an idea about the presentation. We were the first group to present. While we were presenting, other groups were required to listen and debate on our topic. A public communication was taking place when we talked about our topic in front of everyone. There were about six groups presented and they had made it successfully.
In conclusion, I found that different types of communications can take place at everywhere and every time. Besides, the tutorial class was interesting. We can carry out different types of communications during the class. I look forward to next human communication class.
Unfortunately, the noun that we had was "DOORKNOB". When we got this noun, we were started to think about this noun in our mind. We started to ask ourselves about questions like "What can we say about doorknob?" and "Isn't that a doorknob is just a non-living things and how it can be related to human communication?" and during that time an intrapersonal communication had took place. While others were still thinking quietly about the noun, I and Xin Yi started to have a dyadic communication that involved only two of us. I asked her about the topic and both of us had tried to make a story that is relevant to our course.
Then, our group started to discuss about the topic. At that moment, a small group communication had carried out. Everyone contributed their own opinion about "doorknob" and at last we had an idea about the presentation. We were the first group to present. While we were presenting, other groups were required to listen and debate on our topic. A public communication was taking place when we talked about our topic in front of everyone. There were about six groups presented and they had made it successfully.
In conclusion, I found that different types of communications can take place at everywhere and every time. Besides, the tutorial class was interesting. We can carry out different types of communications during the class. I look forward to next human communication class.
A humans preception towards the truth
The media in my humble opinion is one of the most effective channels that people use today to promote and market both new and existing ideas as well as products to the public. It is also a very good medium in which individuals or societies can use to manipulate certain facts and exploit them to their own advantage.
Such is the simplicity of the human mind, that it often perceives that what has been seen and heard the for the first time as the truth. More often than not, this is done without a second thought towards the subject. Realizing this, a telecommunications company by the name of Digi has greatly used, or shall I say, taken advantage of the persuasive power of the media to generate a steady stream of income for themselves. You might say that im talking a load of rubbish, but I do have a point to prove to you here. So please, hear me out.
Im sure lately you've seen the advertisements made by Digi with the song 'I Will Follow You' being played over and over again in the background with a person of unknown gender dressed up ridiculously in a yellow suit faithfully following every Digi user wherever they go. While this advertisement clearly shows the intentions of their product, whereby its users will get good connectivity for their mobile phones no matter where they are, it certainly is anything but the truth. In fact, this is all just a big fat marketing lie. The truth is that Digi has one of the poorest phone connectivity receptions in the country. Yet, despite knowing this, many of its users still remain faithful towards the service that Digi provides just because they wholeheartedly believed what was laid before their eyes when the advertisement was being played.
Such a case would go on to prove that the amount of influence that the media has over the people in terms of persuasion as well as manipulating the truth in the field of communications. Now, Digi is not the only one thats responsible for abusing the usage of the media, many other people in different fields of occupations do it too. From fashion designers who want to promote their flawed new designs, to politicians that mislead people by creating situations where they would gain the most votes or favours from them, it is prevalent all around us.
Nevertheless, it is also up to us to learn to be judgemental towards such claims being displayed in the media. For we as human beings were given the gift of rationalization. As such, we should use it to its fullest extent in an effort to recognize the fact from the fiction and to withhold all initial perceptions towards the subject without the element of bias until the truth has been uncovered.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
First week of human comm lessons
Communications between individuals exist all around us. Like what had happened during our very first class for the subject of Human Communications. We had an ice-breaking session that day, where we were told to ask our follow classmates about their reasons for taking up the subject of Human Comm. We were required to interview a random person in class in order to gather those information.
Looking around and observing, I noticed many forms of communications taking place. From the dyadic form of a conversation between two people interviewing one another, such as myself and the others in the classroom, to the intrapersonal side of communication where I kept asking myself questions like 'Who should I interview?', 'What should I say?' or 'Why is half the class wearing red T-shirts today?'
Those were just some the questions I had floating inside my mind that very day. Right after the interviews were done, other forms of communications took place. The prodding questions of Mr.Murali our lecturer being one of them, as well as the replies of the students who were told to voice out their findings from their interviews. Answers were both interesting and and revealing at the same time. These answers left most in the classroom with a very positive first-impressions of our new classmates.
It is amazing to think that almost any form of communication just happens by themselves regardless of the amount of interaction taking place, and this just makes for a very interesting semester of Human Comm lessons for the weeks to come.
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