An interpersonal conflict situation

This is a story about three of my ex-classmates, named John, Mary and Jane. They were good friends and often hang out after classes either to study or play together. As time went by, both Mary and Jane fell for John. However, they did not know that they liked the same person. After a few months, John and Mary got together but they decided to keep it a secret as they were afraid that the classmates will tease them. Jane was sad but she still decided to give them her blessings and helped them to keep it a secret.

The class thought that John and Jane liked each other. During recess on a particular day, one classmate decided to cheer when Jane walked towards John. The rest of the class followed suit. Naturally, Jane was very embarrassed. She looked towards Mary for help, hoping that she will stand up to clarify or even just to convince the class to lower their volume. However, Mary was just clapping and laughing along together with the rest of the class. Jane was hurt as she felt that Mary had used her as a shield against all those teasing. She thought that Mary was her good friend. Aren’t good friends supposed to help each other when one is in need? On the other hand, Mary did not know that her actions caused Jane to feel troubled. She was unsure of the reason behind the sudden change in Jane’s attitude after that day. The lack of communication caused Mary and Jane to slowly drift apart.

Do you think there is still any hope for them to find their friendship back?

What would you do if you were Mary, Jane or their friend?

Why effective communication skills are important for me.

Have you ever had any miscommunication with anyone, be it your friends, family members or even acquaintances? I am sure everyone has encountered this uncomfortable situation at some point in their lives. Misunderstandings and confusions arise and relationships might be affected. We should try our best to prevent any communication breakdown and this is where effective communication skills come into play.

Having effective communication skills are important to me as I will need them to interact with people all the time. In the family, the exchanging of thoughts and feelings among all the family members is very important to keep the family bonded. In the workforce, I need to share ideas and opinions regarding work issues with my fellow colleagues in a competitive environment. The usage of correct channels to pass the message and the proper way of presenting what we intend to say can help to keep communication easy and error free.

I believe that the thoughts which we want to convey to others are an expression of ourselves. With effective communication skills, I can better understand what others want to express and put across what i want to say more successfully as well.

I shall end off with a quote,
Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
Rudyard Kipling