The average reading skill in Malaysia bothers me. We have been told about critical thinking skills, managerial skills, public speaking skills, but hardly do we consider reading skills.

I’ve got to repeat myself when writing to locals, each repetition simpler than before, until it becomes a one-sentence summary devoid of any in-depth explanations. This occurs to me now that I rely heavily on written communication.

My writing takes shape according to books I read, that range from science and psychology texts, political news and texts, and the writings of legal professionals. I tend to speak when I read, my lips, tongue, and vocal chords move silently. It would be interesting to conduct an fMRI of my brain when I read, to find both my Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas activated simultaneously.

This is one of the blessings being deaf or hard-of-hearing. The way others talk would not be much influence when you are determined to improve your language skills.

When I first read Poh Si’s writings three years ago, I could not piece those information spread out in each article to form a whole mental representation. John had to spell out everything from A/z to get me understand things. Now I’m more critical. I saw Poh Si’s blog again today, and reading was easier than before. Now when I write to any Malaysian community, I must be sure the idea can be easily understood, and be careful not to cloud or dilute it with too much words. There has to be a hierarchical sequence, as if I am telling a story instead of arguing a point outright. One to two points are often hard for others to understand, any more is confusing.

Maybe it’s my lack of writing mastery. Maybe it’s the reading skills of people. But one thing for sure. I once could not read between the lines or see the whole picture of an exhaustive article as well. Foreign news articles with their structural styles of professional journalism did not make sense to me. I had to be told from A to Z.

Posted in Feature Writing, General Psychology |