Evaluating Listening Skills & Nonverbal Behaviour

Evaluating Listening Skills & Nonverbal Behaviour

I was on board a bus on my way home when I saw a group of students around the age of 13 to 15 years old sitting nearby chatting expressively. There were four of them altogether, three boys and a girl. The boys took turns talking about a certain show or game that they had watched. I observed them from afar as I got nothing else to do at that moment.

As one of the boys were talking, the other boys appeared to be focused while listening to the speaker. They were inching forward while the girl was leaning back in her seat. Two of the boys responded to the speaker by sharing their thoughts on how the story could have turned out instead of the one as shared by the speaker. Their hand gestures and tone of their voices were also an indication of their interest in the topic as they responded expressively. On the other hand, the girl was looking out the window and was not paying attention to them at all.

In my opinion, the two boys that had listened were enthusiastic because the topic at hand was something relevant to them and they enjoyed it. The way they reacted by opening their eyes widely, listening keenly and replying to the speaker implies that they were actively engaged. Their nonverbal behaviour also showed that they enjoyed the companion of one another by using hand gestures to describe the scene that they were talking about. As for the girl, she was looking away because she might not be interested in the topic(revised).

In summary, the two boys showed a good example of active listening skills and the use of nonverbal behaviour to express themselves. Having said that, the boys were being too oblivious towards the girl. This could be due to their young age where they might be unaware that she was not as actively involved in the conversation(revised). Being young, they might not have thought of the initiative to try and engage her along in the conversation(revised). The girl on the other hand, lacked in showing her listening skills and nonverbal behaviour in this situation as she might not have the same interest in the topic.

 

The challenges and strength of communication(REVISED)

Honestly to me, communication is essential only when I have something important to discuss. An example will be a discussion within a group regarding projects that requires teamwork such as assembling of major components in an assembly of a tank which includes electronic circuits and mechanical components. Other than that, I prefer to be quiet and have some time alone or go to a mosque and meditate. I find it more peaceful and relaxing.

As for challenges, it is hard to communicate when I am trying to speak to my superior or lecturers. I feel that my confidence is lacking when I try to communicate with these people and I tend to stutter when I share my thoughts or opinions. I find it annoying and hard to prevent. Another problem I face in communicating is when I try to convey an idea in a project discussion in English language. I tend to share what is in my mind accidentally in Malay language and my friends who understand it will translate it to English so that my non-Malay friends will understand what I am trying to say.

Even though I have difficulty in speaking English language, I do believe that my strength of communication comes in when I speak out my mind in a language that I am comfortable with. Ideas tend to flow out easily and smoother and I find it satisfying to be able to convey the message that I want to. I also find it easier to communicate if the topic discussion is about something that I love doing such as gaming. These are the time when I feel that communicating is fun.

At the end of this course, my objective is to be able to communicate fluently with my superiors and lecturers and share my thoughts with them correctly. Another objective that I want to achieve from this course is to be able to convey my ideas in English language more confidently with my colleague and share it straight without the help of my friends in translating them. To achieve these 2 goals, I believe I just have to practice speaking English more with my friends and superiors and have fun along the process of learning.