Talking to people

Went on a course on Communication and Relationaship Management for the past 2 days.

The class of 20 consists mostly of senior executives in their business for 10,20 and even 30 years. It was terribly interesting to observe their behaviour and response throughout the 2 days.Most were the Baby Boomers and X-Gen. It's really intriguing to note, decipher and interpret their actions.

The instructor was a very humble guy. In his early 50s but addressed me sometimes as Mdm. I know he was leading by example and also being polite, but I cldnt get used to it throughout.

There are things I do not agree with though for the course, especially when an absolute statement seems to be meted.

Communication is dynamic, relationship management diverse.
I recalled 1 thing vividly from my first Econs lecturer back in JC - humans are irrational.

To me, communication is a reaction. Yes there are patterns to generalise, to observe, to prepare for but not an absolution. By saying an absolute 'not' here, I am perhaps also stepping on irony.

To give an example: there was an exercise which was supposedly an indicative test on the phase of life we are at for the moment. Being the only Y-gen in the class, i was typed to be ambitious, seeking recognition, looking for self-esteem and job challenges.

The result was an astounding 40% leaning towards 'Time with Family' versus 20% equal weightage for Higher Pay, More Challenges and Job Recognition. My neighbour - an X-Gen older than me by more than 2 decades was surprised.

It seems baffling on the surface but was a simple explanation to me: my job requires such frequent travelling, i'm lucky to get a full month in Singapore. I was forced to view time with family and loved ones as very treasured. Therefore anything compared to that pales.

My character also traits me as emotional. I feel strong passion for people I love. And i expect it in return. I havent gotten to the "Love is kind...Love is Noble' stage yet. But this leaves another discussion for future.

Coupled with my upbringing on family-oriented values, the results are hardly unexpected.

For the record, Getting a Promotion scored 0%. You'll know why.