Blog Post 2: Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

This happened 10 years back when I was still in secondary school. It happened between 2of my friends A and B who are close to me.

They were very close before the incident happen. They played pokemon with their gameboys together, eat together, do their work together etc. One day, in our math class, one of my classmates sitting behind both of them forget to bring a calculator. As her neighbour did not bring it too, she decided one to borrow from A and B. At that time, both A and B were still using theirs. However, when A had finished using his, B took A's calculator and lent it to the person behind them. "A" was furious saying that taking his things without permission and loaning it to others is very rude. But B felt that A should not make a fuss over it although it may be wrong of him not to ask permission first but helping other is not a bad thing to do. After which A insisted that he did not say he wanted to lend them in the first place. B was angry and he took back A's calculator suddenly from the hands of the person using it and place his on the table instead. After this incident, they never talk to each other for the rest of their secondary school life despite being in the same class, CCA etc.

On hindsight, it may seem rather childish for both of them to behave in such a way. But at the time, both of them are in my circle of friends. It felt very awkward and uneasy when we want to organise outing etc.

What can third parties do to help them resolve their issue?

Blog Post 1: Effective Communication Skills

Effective communication skills are necessary in society today. Speaking to people, exchanging emails and sms are common in our daily lives. There are many times where listeners are unable to recieve the full meaning of the message that is being brought across due to bad communication process.

For example, in a Statistics class presentation, it may be appropriate for someone to skip definitions and use technical jargons throughout his presentation as the students in the class should be able to comprehend it. However, given the same presentation but to a different group of audience belonging to other field of studies, he may not be able to put his point across as smoothly.

I feel that it is important for us to know the different tools needed to put our point across to other parties in different circumstances. This can aid us in our job interviews, presentations and fostering relationship with others. Poor communication skills can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. In our multicultural society, misunderstandings between different group of people can disrupt the harmony of the nation.