By Paul Kam
Saying that communication is the corporate tool that is most taken for granted is indeed an understatement.

There can never be enough said about the way people (even those who speak the same language) miscommunicate with each other. Enough jokes have been made about how people fail to communicate effectively, whether verbally or through body language.

It brings to mind how I, too, was guilty of this. When my company was young, my brother who is the CEO, and I used to take the staff for durian feasts. Part of the fun of the outing was haggling over price.

While the staff were bargaining, I butted in and told the seller firmly: “Uncle, fix it at RM11 per kg.” There was complete silence for a few seconds. The team then barraged me and told me to stay out of it! Apparently, the seller had already agreed to RM9 per kg. I should have done the other important thing in communication – to listen!

Open and honest communication

Jokes aside, the multigenerational work environment today has got corporate leadership climbing walls trying to get through, getting across and into the minds of millenials and Gen Y. How do you talk to a generation that spends 80% of its waking hours interacting with machines?

Click on the picture to read the full article written by Paul Kam, Managing Director of D’Jungle Group of Companies.

Original article can be read from the Focus Malaysia website.

Communication

 

(Published : Focus Malaysia, February 2015)