Let’s begin this serious discussion with two extremely serious incidents, both tragic in their own way. A Sardarjee, celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, took his highly educated and poetic wife to a posh candlelight dinner. As the evening unfolded with elegance, the wife leaned over and said with poetic grace, “Please pass on the wine, my divine.” Sardarjee, feeling inspired, replied with what he thought was an equally poetic response: “Please pass that roti, my moti.” Moments later, he was found in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages, surrounded by journalists. When asked what went wrong, he sighed and said, “My wife misunderstood me. By moti, I meant pearl, not her waistline.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the literal cost of miscommunication.
In another equally dramatic case of linguistic gymnastics, I called an old engineer friend living in London. Curious about his work, I asked what he was doing. In a deep, intellectual tone, he said, “I’m currently engaged in aqua treatment of steel, melamine, and ceramics under a constrained environment.” I almost nominated him for a Nobel Prize until, after much probing, I discovered that he was doing the dishes under the close surveillance of his wife. Communication, clearly, is less about what you say and more about how impressively you say absolutely nothing.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Jokes aside, the power of communication is no laughing matter. I recently started working on a podcast series titled YAP – Yet Another Podcast, which aims to help young people navigate career choices. We spoke to industry experts, CEOs, HR heads, entrepreneurs and despite their different backgrounds, one message kept repeating like a broken record: communication is not just a skill; it’s the skill. It can get you the job, save your relationship, earn you a promotion, or, if misused, land you in a hospital bed.
Globally, surveys agree. A LinkedIn report listed communication as the most in-demand soft skill among employers. McKinsey found that companies with good communication practices are 25 percent more productive. Closer to home, a BDJobs survey showed that over 65 percent of hiring managers reject candidates not because they lack technical skills, but because they fail to communicate with them effectively. Sadly, Gen Z, despite being masters of Instagram captions and viral TikToks, often struggles to string together a coherent sentence in a job interview. Emojis don’t translate well in PowerPoint presentations or interview sessions.
The truth is, our education system trains us to recite, not to express. So, we graduate with degrees but not with voices. And in a professional world where clarity trumps complexity, this becomes a fatal flaw. In many Bangladeshi boardrooms today, a diploma holder who speaks clearly often outshines an MBA who speaks in riddles. Presentation matters. And so does punctuation, as anyone who has accidentally texted “Let’s eat, grandma” without the comma. Similar incidents have happened to me, just like many of you.
Improving communication doesn’t require magic; it just requires consistent effort, along with a dash of self-awareness. Start by telling stories; people remember narratives far more than they recall jargon. Read widely, from books and articles to cereal boxes, to expand your vocabulary beyond WhatsApp replies. Practice speaking, even if it’s just to your bathroom mirror. If it starts, you are likely to be improving. Listen actively, because accurate communication includes what’s left unsaid. And always seek feedback, if people nod too quickly, they are either lost or too polite to say so. Communication is clarity, not cleverness. And when in doubt, remember the golden rule: never try poetry with roti, unless your health insurance is up to date.
Jobs are scarce, misunderstandings are not. In our part of the world, good communication can unlock careers, resolve conflicts, and even save marriages. So choose your words wisely, because not every poetic line lands as intended.
The author is the president of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh and founder of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd
