Excellent communication skill is needed in many different industries. If someone can not convey their ideas, the idea won’t be realized as other people don’t understand it despite its brilliance.
People often underestimate language as a discipline. Not many realize that all aspects of life require good verbal or written communication skills. Ivan Lanin, a graduate from ITB, majoring in Chemical Engineering, now working as the director of Narabahasa, agreed with this notion. Narabahasa is a company focusing on the development and learning of Bahasa Indonesia.
His talk was a part of SBM ITB’s MBA entrepreneurship program E-Talks Series held by MBA Jakarta. Ivan has just recently developed his ability to speak proper Indonesian. In 2006, he discovered Wikipedia Bahasa Indonesia’s website and decided to polish his Indonesian skill further. While learning, he discovered that many companies are not yet interested in the development of language learning. Usually, those interested are from mass communication companies, like Tempo with Tempo Institute.
Before establishing Narabahasa, Ivan was a business consultant, where he learned managerial skills that he implemented in Narabahasa.
In his 15 years of learning Bahasa Indonesia, Ivan found that when we criticize someone’s way of communicating, we should not degrade their skills and do it politely at the right time and place. “The expression and tone of the voice we use is also important to note so that the message is understood properly by the audiences and they will be interested in the issue or topic being discussed,” Ivan said.
Speaking properly doesn’t make a person too stiff. It means that it is related to the topic being discussed and following the grammatical rules of the language, something that many people are reluctant to study further.
Ivan observed that the current generation is more likely to talk impolitely. At the same time, it may seem insignificant, like using ‘aku’ instead of ‘saya’ in Indonesian when speaking to an older and respected person like a teacher. Speaking in a polite tone can help us develop the relationship between people higher than us, whether their role or age.
