Art of communication [Archives:2003/696/Opinion]

By Mohammed Alkhulaidi
Mohammed_Alkhulaidi@hotmail.com
Many of the world conflicts, which often lead to catastrophes, are the results of miscommunication. People are in dire need to learn how to communicate effectively with each other, especially in countries where economic difficulties or confusion make life a bit more difficult than usual. Individuals seem to have a predetermined set of goals to accomplish, and frequently overlook true opportunities, which could facilitate and speed up their accomplishing process considerably.
Sad as it may sound, but those individuals keep overlooking such opportunities over and over again embracing a certain set of principles which may not necessarily suit every stage in their lives. They seem to be following a hibernating mode that obstructs their vision from seeing anything different in terms of communication. Could it be the Qat in the case of Yemeni society? Hardly the case! My friend, whom I should call Majed, and I am are at odds on this issue. He contends that social and economic pressures in our society take their toll on one, and hardly leave any room for intellectual or communication improvements. These pressures cause one to remain in a 'rat race' state in which he/she is in a constant struggle to make both ends meet, and as a result, people seem to remain in that closed infinite loop. I, on the other hand, disagree with my friend. I think people have the capability of constantly updating their information and communication skills based on prevailing changes. There are no excuses for not listening or reading carefully to fully understand the significance of what has been said or written. It is in human nature, however, to simply blame others, be it people or events, instead of taking the responsibility for truly investigating the real causes of what one is going through. One could verily be the reason for one's miseries! But if one never bothers to investigate, one would never know. A wise man once said: 'To talk or write well, one needs to be knowledgeable and artistic in constructing phrases and sentences that are appealing to the listeners or readers, but one must be shrewd to listen, or read well and comprehend the true significance of what has been said or written.”
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