Theconfusedsoul's Weblog

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind

•April 29, 2008 • 1 Comment

It is endearing to hear a good orator captivate the public with scintillating words. There are many skills that I wish I had, but the skill of ‘communicating well’ is the one that I desire most.

At IIT, I’ve noticed that many-a-times a point is grossly misinterpreted by another person due to miscommunication. Though ‘supposedly’ most IIT students have good technical skills but ‘sadly’ one thing is for sure … we definitely don’t have good communication skills. And to top it all – we at IIT love to employ our (underdeveloped ?) communication skills for argumentation. As Jonathan Swift puts it “Argument is the worst form of communication”. Just imagine the mockery and confusion that it creates !

The attitude here is ‘Oh I have damn good ideas and technical skills … I don’t need to justify them to anyone … so I don’t need to communicate !’ But what good is an idea that is never expressed ! Don’t we need to take a moment and think … think about the way that we need to talk to a professor who is old and the way that we need to talk to a professor who is young so that when we speak to them it clicks ! I’d like to call it – connect.

How should I connect to a wingie who is not in same major ? How should I connect to a PhD ? How should I connect to an Mtech ? How should I connect to a Girl ? How should I connect to a friend who’s not an IITian ? How should I connect to a senior/junior in the department ? How should I connect to a geek ? How do I connect without being abstract or too verbose ?

I’d often wonder what all the fuss would be about, till I’d realize the level of gross misinterpretation that had occurred ! By that time it would be useless to get into any argumentation :P. Gradually though I learn’t that it helps to think about the other persons background before conveying something for potential misinterpretation ! The way you put your words affects the way in it is perceived.

When I’m speaking or even writing something that affects a decision, I always spend some time reading aloud whatever I’ve written to check how it sounds. This little trick has worked well for me!

I also like to categorize people into three categories: Those who are influenced by strong words, those who are influenced by soft words and those who are influenced without words !!

Before I end, I would like to suggest two movies that come to my mind based on the effectiveness of communication skills:

‘The Great Debaters’ & ‘Thank You for Smoking’.

Both of them are just brilliantly superb !

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Squash !

•April 21, 2008 • Leave a Comment

I am an avid squash player. Squash is an excellent game that requires strength, agility and intellect. It’s been over 4 years since I picked up the game and my fondness for the game just keeps on growing day by day. In my fifth year at IIT Bombay, playing squash has almost become a daily task. I still remember the day during my first year that I had gone to the SAC (Student Activity Center) to give NSO trials for the game with a racket that was at least 10 years old, wearing slippers and full pants ! The only thing that saved the day and helped me get in was that the other freshies, although in proper attire, were appalling in their stroke play.

The first year was full of shameful defeats, when I was Squashed left, right and center by my opponents. It used to be really depressing to play matches after matches without even winning a couple of points ! Some of the freshies this year play extremely competent squash in comparison to me when I was a freshie. As time passed, I shamelessly kept on going to get myself botched at the court by the senior players, but I always keenly observed what my opponents did that I wasn’t doing and that made a big impact on my game. Suffices to say that I have beaten the best squash players in the institute, though my learning never stops 😉

I’ve noticed that novices get good at stroke play with time but they forget or don’t know some basic principles to improve their game and stagnate after a point. If you’re a budding squash player, IMO there are a few things that should do consciously to improve your game and make it stronger:

Centre yourself. This is the most valuable and basic principle. Staying at the center of the court is like being in the driver’s seat. You can take your opponent anywhere you want !
Minimize your running. Take long stretches to get to the ball and get back to the center.
Try to pick your opponents weakness. Trust me, this makes your game twice as effective.
Develop a strong back hand. Since most people are right handed, fore hand comes naturally to them.
Play long often and drop the ball selectively.

This is my five-point formula. I’ve learnt a lot and I would put these 5 points right at the top on the list of my most important principles. Hope that some of you adopt these principles. If you think there are some more important principles that I have missed out, please leave me a comment. Thanks.

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‘Mrs Charity Johnson’

•April 10, 2008 • Leave a Comment

I’m sure most of you must have come across those money transfer mails where some one on the death bed wishes to give you like a gazillion dollars saving them from their creul family members and asking you to spend it on chairty after that person dies. Here’s another really funny one for your amusement:

Hello, please this very urgent

Please use this money for the poor people, churches and less privileged people .
Greetings to you and your family, In my search for a reliable person and all so a Good person and having gotten your contact through prayers and painstaking efforts I have decided to seek your help in carrying out my last wishes.

My name is mrscharityjohnson I’m a 54 years old woman and from Benin Republic .
I was a merchant and owned two businesses in Dubai. I was also married with two children. My husband and two children died in a car accident four years ago.

Before this happened, my business and concern for making money was all I live for. I never really cared about other values in life. But since the loss of my family, I have found a new desire to assist helpless families.
I have been helping orphans in orphanage/motherless homes.

I have also donated some money for humanitarian needs in Sudan, South Africa, Cameroon, etc

I was moving with great pity and compassion that I decided to make this contribution on assisting people over the word , I kept US$18 Million United States Dollars in a long-term deposit account in a Finanaioal and security firm here In Benin Republic by mrs charity johnson. for the charity work

Presently, I’m in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment for oesophagi cancer at Bright Life Memorial Hospital Benin Republic. I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only few months to live.

It is my last wish to see this money distributed to victims of orphans in orphanage homes/motherless babies homes and other charity organization. all relatives and friends have plundered so much of my wealth since my illness, I cannot live with the agony entrusting this huge responsibility to any of them.

Please, I beg you to help me to collect this deposit and distributes it accordingly.
Use your judgment to distribute the money and keep 5% of it to yourself. Feel free to reimburse yourself when you have the money for any cost you incur during the process of collecting and distributing the money.
If you are willing to help, please reply me with this my email adress please mrscharityjohnson1@yahoo.fr as soon as possible. May the good lord bless you .

Regards,
yours sister
mrs charityjohnson

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