How many times have we expressed how rude young people are for texting while having a conversation? They try to fix eyes on their smart phone screen while nodding. What goes through your mind is “how rude they are!”

Have we forgotten some of the old school manners that our parents, grandparents and teachers taught us—manners that have nothing to do with a mobile device or iPad, but everything to do with long-forgotten Golden Rules we were raised with?

When I was growing up, there was etiquette to coughing. When coughing, we were told to turn our head away and block off our mouth. This might sound amusing to many young people. But if we didn’t follow these etiquettes, we would get a quick reminder to the back of our head. When we were given something and forgot to say “thank you”, elders would seriously remind us, “Aren’t you forgetting to say something”, which was immediately followed by a “thank you”.

Maybe technology is a factor that has affected our brains so much that we can never go back to those golden days we like. It seems as if we have thrown out manners and etiquette with the bathwater. Simple etiquette is missing in society. Thank-you notes for gifts you have received all fall into the same box of manners. To me, people are cold these days mostly due to the fact that we are on the run every day in the world.

In the work environment have you ever come across a sign “Your mother doesn’t work here, clean up by yourself”? We often hear people say, the younger generation have no manners. I think many people have lost their manners. We’ve allowed bad manners to go unchecked. We simply stand bad behavior.

In a world of more good manners, more “thank you” or “please” exchanged, our younger generation will have an improved quality of life.

Miscommunications can sometimes be funny, however, most of time you will feel frustrated or upset. Put some efforts into your conversations, and you can lower your risk of miscommunicating.

【小题1】 Thinking about your words allows you to organize your thoughts and prepare to say something meaningful. Especially if you’re about to have an important conversation, make sure your words are organized so that you can say what you mean.

Get people’s attention. It means making sure they are listening to and understanding the words you say. Make eye contact and check to make sure they are listening. If the other person is distracted or in the middle of doing something else, say that you’ll talk later when he or she is more available. 【小题2】

Listen closely. 【小题3】 Instead of trying to think about what they will say next, just stay engaged with the person who is speaking. 【小题4】 One of the best ways to do this is through actively listening. Turn your body toward them and lean in. Don’t turn to distractions, like cell phones.

Avoid interrupting. If someone else is speaking, do your best not to interrupt them. 【小题5】This shows that you’re listening and you care about what they are saying. If you tend to interrupt people often, they may feel frustrated in talking to you and may not communicate all they wish to say.

Good relationships are definitely good sources of happiness in life. We all want happy relationships but if we do not keep that relationship alive, it can also be one of the most upsetting things in life. There are no hard and fast rules in making good relationships, as each of us has different preferences and points of view as to what a great relationship is. The following are some key points in making relationships work.

It is often said that building good relationships is all about communication. Good communication indeed governs a good relationship — knowing the right thing to say, when to say it, how to say it, and accepting that some things are better left unsaid. I personally think communication must be broadened because relationships involve more decisions to make. From study to work, from money to entertainment and even things about yourself or about your friend that you do not know, communication is essential in these aspects of the relationships.

Of course, being with someone is not saying that you totally agree with him all the time. You and your friend come from different family backgrounds, raised in different environments so there may be disagreements here and there. However, it is important to express disagreements without pushing the relationship to an end. Again, good communication and learning to compromise at times are necessary.

As the relationship lasts longer, you may also discover things about you and your friend that you may not have known before. Therefore, supporting each other on both your “hidden selves” can also make a good relationship.

Love is an important aspect of building relationships and for me, I always believe that love needs open communication, respect, support and understanding in making relationships work.