Are you a kind of person that prefers to send e-mail or sms as the main means of communication?
I would just like to ask if there are people who are such. This is because I confidently and formally communicate to people via e-mail or sms whether they be professors, fellow group mates/workmates, or anyone I need to contact for certain reasons. This is so I could explain and elaborate things further as I personally am not the kind who speaks on the spot with confidence.
For instance, if I have questions concerning a subject matter in a lecture, I do not inquire during the lecture or tutorial because I had some experience in which I get embarassed when the answer asks me back or when the answer is logical to which I have not thought of which makes me feel stupid. My mind goes blank or I speak with less self-confidence when I open my mouth in the lecture hall without practicing in advance. Another case was when I was the secretary at UNICEF on Campus at the university, I tend to contribute to the group and the group understand me much more when I e-mail them rather than speaking during committee meetings because of the same reason above that I speak unconfidently when I have not practiced enough of what I was going to say.
I believe, as a person, I am learning to speak with confidence on the spot and know what I will say or argue about as the time goes by. It is part of the maturity stage to improve such character or trait because I am sure, after graduation, I do have to work with people in an NGO, charity based, or international environment to which communication skills must be excellent.
I would just like to share something that cost me £200 in a week. I spent £200 calling the US embassy based in London last year concerning my purpose of visit to Alaska. This is because my sim card is ‘pay as you go’ type and is not with contract. I remember had to practice what I was going to say and what kind of questions I was to ask so that I will not get a blank mind or speak nervously with lots of halt. Unknowingly this increased my blood pressure due to the stress this kind of communication brought. I had to call the embassy because it is required for visa enquiries. Sending e-mails is by selection on a case that the officer cannot answer himself. It was stressful because I did not know what kind of english accent I need to prepare myself in order to understand carefully and I also do not want the person I was speaking with to repeat more than twice what he/she was saying. I would like to share something I have learned over the years living in different countries – and that is encountering various accents and ways of speaking english. For example, when I first came to Aberdeen, Scotland, It was hard for me to comprehend what people are saying due to the accent which was very new to me. But as the time goes by, I am able to understand Aberdonians. Similarly, when I first came to Vietnam and Malaysia, it was hard to understand people when they speak english probably due to their own languages having influence on the pronunciation of english words.
Therefore, there is stress attached to speaking on the phone on my part because I had some experience in which it was extremely hard to understand the person on the other line resulting in irritation at times. In the same way, I get stressed out when it comes to speaking to someone personally or in a group due to the fact that I need to defend my argument in the spot without much preparation in hand. On the contrary, executing a speech, talk or presenting something is quite easy for me as it implies preparing what to say ahead in time and potential questions.
What is your reason to why you prefer to send e-mail or sms rather than speaking on the phone, to someone or to a group?
What is your main means of communication to people and why?
thearchaeoanthropologist 