Observation of team behaviour: Intercultural and interpersonal communication

From past experiences I’ve come to realise that it is not always possible to get things our way. Especially in life now or later when deciding whom we are going to work with. We are often put into teams before hand. Especially in Singapore, where it’s likely to work with people from different cultural backgrounds it will be important to be careful with our actions or words.

Cultural diversity would definitely enhance the team’s creativity but in order to be able to work together harmoniously, the team members would need to understand each other’s background. This will help to ensure that none of the team members offend each other even unknowingly. We all have learnt that different actions can mean entirely different things across the world and imagine all these people from different parts of the world working together, wouldn’t it be best to think twice before acting?

This is where interpersonal communication comes into play. When interacting with our team members we have to make sure we get our thoughts across correctly. Body language, tone, gestures even facial expressions may make quick impressions of us. Not only do we have to take note of our language we also have to take into account our physical actions too.

It’s easy to say that it would be best to accommodate to our team members in order to get things moving. However, that’s a lot more difficult to put into action. At some point we might get tired of giving up our principles. In this case, to get the best of everything we would have to willingly to put our differences aside for a while but at the same time not forgetting our own cultural practices and exercise good interpersonal communication skills where we can comprehend each other properly and avoid miss communication.

Teamwork and Communication: Why is it important to me?

Teamwork and communication are both very familiar words to me. They may seem to have simple definitions but it takes a lot more effort to carry them out successfully. In our world today, I feel that no one person can work alone because in one way or another we are all inter dependant. In that case, I know that both teamwork and communication are important for me.

There are many instances where teamwork and communication play key roles in my life. For example, in college I am involved in many group projects and I feel that it’s during these times where both teamwork and communication play more significant roles.

It is one thing to create a team but quite another thing to create teamwork. Teamwork enables team members to reach their common goals. Without unity in the team it will be very difficult to progress and meet deadlines. When we work cohesively with our members it will help us maximise our strengths and produce greater results.

Effective communication is also equally important because, when we want to put forth our ideas or views to others, we need to make sure we communicate our thoughts correctly. If our audience do not completely understand what we want to convey there are high chances of our message being taken the wrong way which will result in undesired consequences. Thus we need to be careful with our choice of words when we deliver our thoughts.

When we put effective, teamwork and communication together we will definitely be able to reach our goals within a shorter span of time. Therefore, they encourage productivity which is a very important skill. In conclusion we can see why both teamwork and communication play vital roles in our lives.