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Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll talk about information in all shapes and sizes. We’ll talk about digital literacy. We’ll talk about AI and how to use it to advance your studies. We’ll talk about staying safe online. It’s a big subject and there’s a lot to think about.
First, however, I want to go back to basics. In handling any information, whether it’s gossip from your friend or this morning’s science lecture, you have to understand what comes your way by listening or reading, and you have to communicate your thoughts and ideas by speaking or writing. If you learn to do this well, you will not only be a better student, but a better friend, a better son or daughter, a better sister or brother. All our relationships rely on these skills.
Listening is an activity. If you sit back and let the other person’s words wash over you, you are going to hear only half of it and understand nothing.
* In class, you’re wasting your time if you’re not concentrating. With a friend, the biggest gift you can give is your full attention.
* Listen for more than just the words. Body language and tone convey more than half of the meaning. Even the driest professor will stress certain thoughts with a gesture or a change in tone. In personal relationships, it can be disastrous to mishear the other person’s tone or ignore a hand reaching out.
* Every so often, try and capture what the other person is saying in your own words: “So you think there’s a better way to do this.” “It sounds as if you were really hurt by that.” In class of course, you have to take down the essence of an idea in your notebook, so you’re listening to identify that central thought.
Reading, like listening, has to be active. Just passing your eyes over the words will not make your brain connect with the content – we’ve all done that in long hours of studying!
* Force yourself to concentrate by writing short summaries, just a few words in a notebook; underlining the central thought; or numbering different sub-ideas which support one argument.
* Stop after each section, go back and revisit the main thoughts. What did you underline? Do those ideas hang together in one coherent argument or idea? Look up from the text and ask yourself, “What is this section about?”
* In the case of textbooks, use the table of contents as a kind of scaffolding to help you put the separate building blocks in the right place. You will remember it much more easily if you have a bigger framework holding it all together.
Perhaps you want to ask a question in class, or make a contribution to a discussion in a tutorial or your study group. But speaking in front of a group of people can be daunting. On the other hand, we all know friends who become boring about their favourite subject, or cannot tell a joke. How to speak effectively, whatever the occasion?
First a few thoughts about speaking in front of an audience, big or small:
– If possible, make a few notes so you don’t lose your thread because you’re nervous.
– Keep it as short as possible.
– Once you decide to speak, stand up straight, lift your chin and make sure those furthest from you can hear you. Nothing is as irritating as a speaker mumbling into their desk.
– The best way to overcome nerves is to focus on the message, not on yourself. Don’t think about the way you look or sound, only think about what you want to say.
In general, even among friends:
– Never carry on and on. The best conversations are fairly equal exchanges, with different people talking for more or less the same time.
– Talk show hosts and comedians are taught to “work back from the punchline.” Be sure of your punchline, whether it’s a real punchline in a joke, or a point you’re making to convince friends to see a particular movie. Build up to it, make it ring, and then … shut up.
In the next few newsletters, we will talk about using AI. When it comes to writing, AI can be an enormous help – but be careful. Your lecturers want to know what YOU know or think.It’s very easy to spot if there’s no individual, personal input into a piece of writing. The best result will come from your own work, enhanced by the language skills of AI.
* Perhaps more than any of the other basic communication skills, effective writing depends on language skills. You need the vocabulary, the grammar, and the feel for the flow of the language. You can only get that from reading, especially in a second language. Find something you’re interested in, whether it’s cars or music or astronomy or fashion, and READ.
* Plan before you start writing. What is the point you want to make? How are you going to support it? Where do you want to start? Do you have a good ending in mind?
* Write simply. Try not to use big words and fancy phrases. Keep your sentences short. Your reader wants to understand your knowledge or your thoughts and ideas, not wade through purple prose.
* When you’ve finished, you could try and ask AI to “check the grammar and improve readability.” Don’t accept the result as a matter of course. Read it critically. Is the tone correct? Did it perhaps misinterpret something you wrote? Perhaps you want to ask again, this time “make it more persuasive.” The results are fascinating.
Next time we’ll talk about digital literacy, the ABC of our century.
Happy studying!
The GRAD team
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GRAD – your guide to university success is a partnership project of Ruda Landman, StudyTrust, Van Schaik Publishers and Capitec Bank.