Era Civilization vs Gap Generation by Erwin Parengkuan

Before we knew written language that was understood by a nation, civilization began from the Pre-Script period or what is often called the Pre-Historic period.The Pre-Literate Age in Indonesia lasted until the 3rd century AD.In the Pre-Literate era, humans still communicated in a limited way.Communication at this time only used symbols and hand signals to convey and receive messages.Then at the beginning of the 4th century AD, humans began to know and recognize letters in communicating.Over time, communication has developed and become more perfect.However, the meaning of communication in previous conditions can be understood.

Times have changed and now all nations have become universal, global citizens, the cool language.As a unifier, English is the superior language to be the winner, I will not highlight the origins of English.That nowadays it is very easy for us to communicate using language as a unifying global citizen also because technology is what makes it global.

Ada yang menarik ketika zaman terus berganti dan generasi demi generasi lahir. Pada era tahun 80-an hanya ada generasi Baby Boomers. Baby Boomer merupakan individu-individu yang lahir sekitar tahun 1945 sampai 1964. Dan anak-anak mereka yaitu Generasi X (lahir tahun 1965-1980). Dimana dua generasi ini, misalnya ayah saya yang Baby Boomers dan saya yang generasi X, harus tunduk dengan aturan dan kedisiplinan serta nilai luhur. Interaksi-interaksi tidak banyak bersinggungan diantaranya karena belum kontras ditambah dunia digital masih merangkak pada saat itu.
Times are changing, now there is another generation being born, popularly called Millennials or Generation Y who were born from 1981 to 1997. The Millennial Generation are individuals aged 18 to 34 years in 2015. They were born in an era of fast-paced technology that has made the world global.In the past, when I needed news from abroad, I had to wait the next day or several days to get the news, unlike now which is very “real-time.”What happens in any part of the world, we can immediately access it.

What about the world of communication this century?Now the three generations live and intersect with each other.Likewise in the world of work, even when in the office there is interaction between generations.This becomes complex, when the senior generation (baby boomers) still hold power in their divisions, or in companies that have to deal with the millennial generation who have spontaneous characteristics and focus on results.Different perspectives and different ways of communicating create a large gap between one generation and another.
In the many in-house training courses that we carry out at TALKINC with many companies, requests for training for "Generation Gap" training are increasing, especially for large companies and governments. The essence of each generation is that, like us as humans, we want to be understood, to be understood. So communicating with respect must be carried out by everyone, without exception. The Baby Boomers generation must open themselves to changing times, while the Millennial Generation must maintain politeness by greeting and caring about the world around them.

Let's return to the fundamental value of communication, communicators and communicants should always be able to carry out their interactions with mutual respect for each other.It's not as difficult as in the pre-literate era, where communication was only done using signs and symbols.So take the time to understand each other.

The authors are:
Praktisi Komunikasi dan Personal Branding Specialist
Managing Director Talkinc
School for Public Speaking and MC/TV Presenter
www.talk-incorporation.com