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There is more to communication than meets the ear
Former speech and debate coach,
member Doug Campbell was Pattaya City Expats Club guest speaker for the 24th
of November. Doug’s topic was ‘Communication Breakdown - there is more to
communication than meets the ear’.
There is more to communication than meets the ear. Have
you ever found yourself speaking to someone and getting the impression that
they weren’t really listening? Of course you have, especially if you’ve had
children. That’s an example of communications breakdown, which was member
Doug Campbell’s topic at the Sunday, November 24 meeting of the Pattaya City
Expats Club. Doug is a former speech and debate coach. He retired from
teaching in 2008 and has lived in Pattaya since 2010.
Doug started his talk by providing a definition of “communication” - the
transfer of meaning from the source to the receiver. This is “pure”
communication, Doug said. If the receiver hears something but does not
understand the meaning, then that is not really communication. Further,
Communication is not about arguing or wanting to be right, it is about
having your message understood.
Doug received many questions
from the interested audience.
He explained that a message can be verbal or non-verbal;
that’s why he uses the terms “source” and “receiver” instead of “speaker”
and “listener.” He mentioned that “feedback” or “active listening” is when
the receiver sends back a message confirming that the source’s meaning has
been transferred. To take a simple example, Doug said, if the message from
the source was, “I thought that the movie ‘Titanic’ was silly and boring,”
the receiver might say, “I hear you saying that the movie ‘Titanic’ was
silly and boring.”
He mentioned that communications can break down at the level of the source,
the message or the receiver.
At the source, the breakdown can occur in the way the message was said. If
the message is accompanied by name calling or yelling, or if the source uses
an insincere tone or equivocates, the receiver might not be sure what the
source meant. An example of this would be if the source says to the
receiver, “I love you [pause] … for tonight.”
In terms of the message itself, communications breakdown can occur if one or
more of the words are not entirely clear. For example, in the “Titanic”
sentence above, how does the receiver know which version of the movie
“Titanic” the source was referring to? [Editor’s note: There were three
movies titled “Titanic” (1943, 1953 and 1997) and one called “Titanic II.”
There were also two TV series with the name “Titanic.”]
MC Richard Silverberg presented
Doug with a Certificate of Appreciation for his very informative
presentation.
At the level of the receiver, communications can break
down if the receiver is not listening. The breakdown could be internal (e.g.
the receiver has something else on his mind) or external (e.g. there is a
television right above the source’s head). In fact, TVs are the biggest
source of distraction (even when they are turned off!), with other
electronic devices coming a close second (e.g. phones, tablets). Doug said
sometimes the best place to have a conversation is in the kitchen.
Communication can also be disrupted when the receiver fails to provide
feedback to confirm that he understood the source correctly. When the
receiver is distracted and did not hear what the source was saying, he
suggested a good way to get the communication back on track, is to say: “I’m
sorry. Can you repeat that? I care what you are saying, but I was not
listening.”
During the Open Forum, member
Roger Fox invited all to attend a performance of Handels ‘Messiah’ in
Bangkok.
Good communication requires the desire to “get” the
source’s meaning, Further, he explained that good communication is not about
winning, losing, being right or being wrong, but rather, it is about a
transfer of meaning. Once you have good communication, you can move on to
debate.
After Doug answered questions from the audience, Master of Ceremonies
Richard Silverberg brought everyone up to date on upcoming events and called
on Roy Albiston to conduct the Open Forum, where questions are asked and
answered about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
Learn more about the Club’s meetings and other activities by visiting their
website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
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YWCA arranges checkups, haircuts for Fountain of Life Center
YWCA Chairwoman Praichit Jetpai
(back, right), along with nursing students from Chonburi Health Care School,
staff of Nisha Clinic and the Jutamat Beauty School organized free checkups and
haircuts for children at the Fountain of Life Center
Warunya Thongrod
Children at the Fountain of Life Center received free checkups and haircuts
courtesy of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center and area health and beauty
companies.
YWCA Chairwoman Praichit Jetpai joined nursing students from Chonburi Health
Care School and staff of Nisha Clinic and the Jutamat Beauty School at the
shelter Nov. 26.
The kids were given health checks and haircuts and the nursing students taught
the children and their caregivers correct methods for teeth brushing, hand
washing and other hygiene. Afterward, everyone enjoyed lunch together.
“All members of the association believe in the importance of good health for
these unfortunate children and giving them an opportunity to care for their own
health,” Praichit said. “The number of children is quite high, therefore, to
take them for health checks or hospital services is quite difficult, not to
mention the expense for the foundation. Therefore, we decided to provide a
medical checkup for children since we want to care for children’s health to
prevent infectious disease and reduce expenses for the various foundations in
Pattaya and Banglamung.”
Children are truly enjoying hair
treatments from Jutamat Beauty School beauty technicians.
Children from Fountain of Life are
given medical check-ups.
Children smiling, happy, waiting in
line for their check-up.
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Pattaya Sports Club, Jesters and TFI join
forces again to encourage a sporting attitude
The sports area before the recent
addition.
William Macey
There are many Thais making a big impact in the world of sport. Badminton is a
prime example, for the World Ladies Champion is an 18-year-old Thai and a number
of young players are making their way up the world rankings. Many golfers are
doing well on the Asian tour; who can forget the exploits of Thongchai Jaidee,
and the international volleyball community is becoming aware of the ability of
the Thai teams. If children are not given the opportunity to play sports, they
will never be able to fulfill their ambitions or realise their potential.
Pattaya Sports Club recently installed an all-weather, all-purpose sports area
for ATCC, a centre for children at risk. Many local people were present at the
opening, particularly representatives from Jesters and TFI. They all agreed that
it was a great addition to the facilities at ATCC but, of course, the children
need the necessary equipment to play their games which they did not have at this
time.
So, as a consequence, PSC, Jesters and TFI agreed that we would combine our
efforts to provide the items that were needed, which included basketball posts,
football goals, badminton rackets and balls to enable them to play every sport
imaginable. The equipment was christened on the opening day with two teams
having a game with players showing some great individual skills.
Khun Ja shows off some of the
equipment.
But we had not planned all the mornings events, for it is
often the unexpected that puts the icing on the cake. A member of the Thai
Ducati Motorbike Club had a birthday that day and kindly donated funds to
provide all 32 children with lunch, fruit, cakes and drinks, and 20 or so
members roared into the centre on their very expensive machines to see the
children.
The smiles on the children’s faces said it all, ‘what a great morning’.
The teams and sponsors.
Girls practising to be cheerleaders?
The motorbikes roar into the centre.
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Rotarian Schlag celebrates 70th birthday
Elfi Seitz
German Ambassador Rolf Schulze joined about 100 others to celebrate the
70th birthday of Rotarian Juergen Schlag in Jomtien Beach.
The Nov. 8 party at the View Talay Marina drew German royalty and friends and
family flown in from Germany.
Schulze and his wife Petronella were joined by German business association
president Hans Habermehl, His Royal Highness Prince Ruediger von Sachsen, and
Burkhard Pieper von Aderkas, former director of Derwentdale Co.
Ingeborg Schlag confesses: I love you, Jurgen.
Volker Fischer, chairman of Polypharm Pharmaceutical Bangkok and Schlag’s wife
Ingeborg made speeches punctuated by tongue-in-cheek disclosures of Juergen’s
secrets.
All the guests were welcomed by a group of beautiful candle-holding dancers.
They entered a well-decorated tent to watch a show of “Khoon Children” about
King Rama and the demon Totsakan.
Ingo Raeuber, general manager of the Pinnacle Hotel Group, and Pattaya Mail
Publishing’s Managing Director Peter Malhotra served as emcees. Amfolks, a group
of artists, played modern pop music on traditional Thai instruments. The
Quintett Trix o’Treat followed with pop and jazz from the 50s.
Juergen welcomed the guests and said that he was happy to see so many of his
friends together. He also mentioned that his good friend Gerrit Niehaus, the
owner of Thai Garden Resort, and his wife Anselma convinced him and Ingeborg to
move to Pattaya, a move he has never regretted.
Birthday boy: Jurgen Schlag.
(From left) Ingo Raeuber, Ingeborg and Jurgen Schlag.
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Tune Hotel donates toys, cash to Father Ray special-needs center
Tune Hotels Pattaya executives and employees brought
toys, clothing and cash donations to the Redemptorist Center for Children with
Special Needs.
Warunya Thongrod
Tune Hotel Pattaya brought toys, clothing and cash donations to the
Redemptorist Center for Children with Special Needs as part of its new “For the
Children” campaign.
Tune, operated by Red Planet Hotels, organized the chain-wide campaign to
contribute to communities where its lines of budget-oriented hotels operate.
Tune opened in February 2012 in Pattaya.
Hotel manager Nattanicha Anothai and 15 employees presented children’s center
manager, Sumet Phonkacha, with a donation of 15,000 baht and gave the kids
shirts and toys.
Nattanicha said the For the Children program is determined to build and maintain
positive relationships with communities where Tune Hotels conduct businesses to
sponsor sustainable growth and good lifestyles for communities including nearby
areas.
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