Solving Group Communication Problems

It seems that narcissism is rampant in this day and age; we are in love with our own voice. How often have we made the mistake of talking more than we listen? We did not evolve to have 2 mouths and 1 ear right?

This is what we would have looked like if God intended us to talk more than we listen.

When communicating in a group, be it in school, at work, or even in the family, we are often faced with many problems:
1) It is difficult to get certain people to co-operate.
For example, I have a group member who never turns up for any of the group meetings.
2) Some people are left out of the communication loop.
For example, I do not subscribe to MSN. So when my members discuss work online, I am left out.
3) Replies to emails or SMSes are being delayed or completely ignored.
For example, I have a group member who reads the emails sent, but never replies to them.
4) Group member are resorting more to criticism and putting the blame on each other.
For example, when a task fails, a few of the group members blame the failure on the leader.
5) Morale and productivity is down, and conflicts result in expressions of anger.

A common sight in the Taiwanese legislature. Go flying shoe!

There are many steps you can take to solve these communication problems. This can also apply to the daily communication aspects in your life.

1) Listen without bias or judgment to the members involved or who have caused the communication problem. Doing so helps you to understand the depth, nature and roots of the problem. Remember, 2 ears and 1 mouth.

2) If the problems are vast and have deeply-rooted causes, you may have to seek help of a neutral negotiator. This third party may be able to get inside the problem more thoroughly than an insider because the member(s) involved may choose to clam up or point fingers.

3) To maintain confidentiality, use a survey or appraisal form. Members may be afraid to speak the truth in the open as they are afraid of repercussion from their actions. In Singlish, we call this 'pao toh'

4) After you have uncovered the problem and its roots, it is best to have the discussion as a group. This is to address the problem of the group, rather than focusing on any one person, therefore avoiding any finger-pointing.

These are just a few of the tips you can use to solve communication problems in order to maintain a healthy group relationship. So, do share some of the communications problems you have faced and how you went about solving them?

Love! Actually?

After 2 entries of 'cheemology', let us look at something more light-hearted this week. Let's talk about love!

Non-verbal cues of dominance is not something new. In fact, our early ancestors, the primates, are still practising it today:

A dominant male in a group of primates. Image from www.pandrillus.org.

Notice the stance of the dominant male pictured, sitting with his legs wide apart, showing off how er... big(or colourful), he is. We know that primates communicate with sounds but in this case, I think we can safely say that they too, are practicing a form of non-verbal communication to show superiority.

The interesting thing is that even after centuries of evolution, our 'dominant' males aren't too far off from where the monkeys left them:

No, it's not his bag that is in the way. Image from london-underground.blogspot.com.

Here are some of the non-verbal actions our local boys have evolved to express the ownerships of their significant other:

'Your Elle-Vee bag berry nice, I want to carry too!'


'Haneey, I hold handbag lidat correct not?'

Disclaimer: These pictures were spotted here. I do not loiter in shopping centres taking dodgy paparazzi shots.

Back to the issue in discussion, there has been debate going on with regard to what the modern women want, besides their Gender Equality, from the Sensitive New Age Guy. One camp feels that chivalry should move ahead and evolve(recall monkey-man evolution above) with the times, while another fights for the fact that a man should remain a man and not a 'hanger of cutesy-girly accessories'.

Myself, as with most issues involving women, choose to sit on the fence. It is better to have a sore rear end than to endure a lifetime of verbal lashing, for 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'. With human evolution pushing on, I wonder if we will one day adopt the canines' non-verbal method of marking ownership:

Well, I have my own unique way of telling other people she's mine:

+

=

And maybe that's why I don't have any dates.

So, what is your way of non-verbally communicating that pretty/handsome person by your side is out with you?

Perception (or Deception) in Advertising?

Yesterday, 11th September, I saw this full page advertisement on the last page of 'Today' newspaper.

This made me recall Sony-Ericsson's (SE) slew of other advertisements.

Notice the similarity? SE has cleverly replaced the verb in their one-liners with their logo. The intention? To allow you to fill in the blank, thus allowing your perception to complete the advertisement. For example, these sentences can be completed with 'I like rock music', 'I am impressed with rocket science' or 'I enjoy my long commute'.

I read an article on Utilising Selective Perception in Advertising: 'Since our knowledge of everyday life is structured in terms of what we perceive to be relevant to us and our actions are governed by what's relevant to us, it makes sense that, for advertising to be effective, it must be relevant to us.' In the case of SE's New Brand campaign, they have allowed your perception to complete their advertisements to 'what's relevant' to yourself. Allowing such perception will ensure consumers receive information most relevant to their needs. (It is highly relevant that i use the relavent word in this paragrapgh, and yes, my relavant vocabulary for relavant words is clearly limited.)

Perception also plays an important role in creating a good brand image. Remember the movie 'Super Size Me? Post movie, McDonald's received much flak for the message conveyed in the movie; eating McDonald's is unhealthy. This backlash caused them so much bad publicity that they had to remove the 'Super Size' option and include 'healthy' items like salads and yogurts on their menus. McDonald's UK even had to create a website to reduce bad publicity. McDonald's then went on to run a massive advertising campaign to change the consumers perception of their products. View case study of this campaign on PDF.

With all that said, I realise that Perception is a double edge sword. Used in a well rounded package, it can create positive impressions in people. Used with deception in mind, Perception can be built towards leading people in a pre-planned direction.

So, what do you percieve the SE logo to be in these advertisements?

Unlocking the 2nd Prison

Today, I saw this poster at a bus stop along Hillview Avenue.

This is one of the print ads, part of the annual Yellow Ribbon campaign initiated by our Government aimed at giving ex convicts a second chance in society.

The poster shows the back of a heavily tattooed man. A 'Post It' note with the words Ex-Offender(notice the choice of word, Offender instead of Convict) is written on it, and it is stuck to his back. He seems to be having difficulties removing it himself. When I first saw this poster, I felt emotions of sadness, and wanted to go up and help him with this simple task. This is a good example of 'Pathos' used in persuasion, as it appealed to my emotions.

Help remove the label of prejudice(Idols of the Cave). Why do we form such prejudices? Does it mean that if a person has spent some time in prison, no matter the length, that this person is different from us? We all have made mistakes, and 'Failure is the mother of Success'. Some of these mistakes are small, some are big; sometimes we get caught, while other times not. In the process of leading our life,we may have made mistakes which falls on the wrong side of the law, but don't get caught. (e.g. Driving under the influence of alcohol but taking a longer route to avoid roadblocks.) Just because we get away with things while others don't, what gives us the right to judge others or form prejudices this way?

I also found the choice of person pictured insightful. Showing the back of a dragon tattooed male depicts our Person Prototype of the average ex-offender. We all share friends spotting tattoos ranging from a small star on her foot to a Phoenix stretching from shoulder to shoulder, but that does not mean that they have stayed at our Government's 'Chalet' before right?

I was actually on my bike when I rode past and noticed the poster. My glace only took in the image of the Yellow Ribbon and the tattooed man trying to removing a 'Post It' from his back. I did not see the words, but the sum of what I saw was enough to allow me to understand the message that was being communicated.

So if you see me in school spotting a Yellow Ribbon, please do not poke fun at my choice. I cannot save the world, but I do what I can. You go play with your other Idols in your Cave.