Effective Communication: Humor's Role in Chinese and Canadian Contexts

This essay explores the significance of humor in enhancing communication skills, focusing on a comparative analysis between Chinese and Canadian cultures. The author reflects on personal experiences and challenges faced while developing the essay, including data collection, theme identification, and iterative revisions. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural nuances in communication and the role of humor in building trust and overcoming communication barriers. The author highlights the value of the "why statement" in clarifying project objectives and its broader application in personal and professional contexts. The essay concludes with a discussion on strategies for improving public communication skills, including emotional control and the selection of appropriate communication channels. This work is contributed by a student and is available on Desklib, a platform providing AI-based study tools and resources.

Running head: EXPERIENCE IN IMPROVING COMMUNICATION
Improvement in communication skills through using humor: A comparative study between
Chinese and Canadian culture
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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EXPERIENCE IN IMPROVING COMMUNIATION
Introduction
I have seen that when people indulge in communication, they experience many things-
thoughts, feelings and emotions. Sometimes, the communication between two individuals is too
serious, resulting in communication gaps. In this situation, humors play an important role in
“breaking the ice” for gaining trust and dependence from others. However, I feel rationality is
needed in applying humors to the serious situations. This is in terms of ensuring that the
individual sentiments of the people are not hurt. This assignment would assess the importance of
humors for improving communication.
Canadian and Chinese communication
Humor is a symbol of Canada’s cultural heritage. Although there are variations in the
customs and traditions, the goal is one, that is, to lure the people through humorous tone in the
communications. I can also relate the Chinese culture here, where there is a separate course-
humor studies. However, I am surprised at the proposition that humors disrupt the
communication between two Chinese people.
Themes
I think themes in communication helps in reaching to specific subject matter. I felt that
the process of developing themes was very difficult. This was because of the prolonged process,
that I had to undergo. First, I had to collect data on the use of humor in Chinese and Canadian
communication and then incorporate them in my research. The process of data collection itself
was very complicated. I failed to notice the themes easily. Discussing the process with my
friends helped me to discover the relevant themes. Upon discovering the themes, I heaved a sigh
of relief. This relief provided satisfaction to me in terms of getting solution for the problems. I

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EXPERIENCE IN IMPROVING COMMUNIATION
became surprised to find themes from other reflections. Reading about the themes related to
humour in the Chinese and Canadian communication, I felt elated on the diversity of the world
around me. This elation gains more weightage as I found the information on my own efforts.
Iterations
While collecting data on the use of humor in improvement of communication, I had to
repeat search process. This repetition broadened my perspectives about the subject matter. I was
attempting to incorporate the gathered ideas along with my preconceived knowledge for framing
the statements. When I was sending the draft, I thought it is not proper. Therefore, I again
evaluated the draft and made the changes. Every time I evaluated, I thought something or the
other is missing. I suffered from lack of confidence and needed encouragement and motivation
that whatever I wrote was correct. I went to my tutor, who advised me to incorporate a “why
statement”. I learnt from the tutor that developing the “why statement” addressed my issue
regarding upgradation of my communication skills. I think emerging successful in discovering
the why statement helped me to overcome the hesitation, which I used to face while
communicating with others.
Looking forward
Why statement enhances my clarity regarding why am I doing the project. If I apply the
why statement in my personal life also, I would be able to get an answer for all the activities that
I am carrying out. Therefore, it would be helpful in exposing planning action and reasoned
behavior towards the allotted duties and responsibilities. Different persons possess different likes
and dislikes. In case of the projects, the why statements differ and vary according to the
requirements. According to my opinion, consideration of the target audience is important for

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EXPERIENCE IN IMPROVING COMMUNIATION
discovering the why statement. This consideration involves the specific tastes and preferences of
the audience, which proves fruitful in fulfilling the identified and specified objectives. I feel
evaluation would help me to assess the appropriateness of the proposed why statement. Along
with this, evaluation would also bring to the forefront the disproportionate why statement for the
audience. Emerging successful in this assessment proves helpful for me in terms of upgrading
my image in the society in terms of using polished language while communicating.
Attending spoken English classes would also be helpful in terms of selecting the
appropriate channel for altering my personality. Even here, “why statement” is important in
terms of measuring the importance of taking Spoken English classes. This assessment is crucial
for getting an answer for all the activities, which I perform for fulfilling the necessities. When I
am communicating in public, then also “why statement” would help me to assess its feasibility in
terms of my communication development. I think control of emotions, thoughts and feelings
would help me to improve my public communication skills. This control would upgrade my
position within the neighbors.