5th post: Open Topic

Sorry for the very late posting! Was busy with the never-ending tests and reports.
*Sorry I changed the date too :x Thought it was neater that way :)

Communication with people is a necessary act in our daily lives, be it to ask for help or to give orders or just having leisure talk. It can be directly in person (face-to-face) or indirectly through other forms such as the Internet or telephone.

I feel that it is simpler and straightforward to communicate with the other party face-to-face. We could take note of the facial expressions, unspoken cues like crossing arms (that might mean impatience) and tone of the speech. It is then much more effective to respond to the other party as it saves time because we will tend to expect a response from the other side (immediately) when we ask a question or make a comment.

This is in comparison with the indirect communication which I refer to as not being there in person when the communication is ongoing. It is this kind of interaction with others through some kind of media that advocates advanced technology but less human contact, which brings me to think that people can hide themselves behind these "doors". It is then very easy to respond because there is no need to speak in proper English or tone, no need to care about your dressing or your non-verbal actions.

Recall the last email you sent, regardless of a good news or bad news, do you express your emotions on the email you have typed? For a formal mail, it definitely must be written in a objective manner. And for an informal mail, it is typed in any preferred manner with added smiley faces :) and the informal tone (usually expressive) to convey to the reader.
And the best part about indirect communication is that there is no need for instant response (unlike direct communication that requires immediate response). Hence, you can usually take your time to reply at your own time and to properly formulate your response if it's a formal mail.

To conclude, I would prefer this indirect communication under formal circumstances and direct communication under informal situations. I feel that I will need more time to think through serious issues and respond back to the other party, hence the indirect communication via email or instant short messages through the Internet. And the informal times like interacting with friends and siblings, I would prefer to have it face-to-face, since the responses need not be properly phrased, just as long as the meaning gets across. Close friends will usually understand one another regardless of the language spoken, proper or not. :)

So, what's your take about having direct and indirect communication?