This Could Change Your Life . . .

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” ~ George Bernard Shaw 

Hi Friends,

We’ve all stumbled across this quote by the famous playwright Shaw at some point in time, but have we ever stopped to think about how powerful its message is in terms of how lacking professional and personal relationships are when it comes to our (in)ability to communicate? Here’s my take on how to combat this, in 3 easy steps . . .

i. STEP 1 – BE A BOOMARANG: There is a belief that when one side communicates, the communication has been completed. This is not true, because until the other side responds, communication hasn’t actually taken place. Look at it like a boomerang, where a release is always followed by a return. Many people make the common mistake of thinking that communication is a one-sided construct and this is one of the biggest and most costliest mistakes people make in all relationships in their lives. We forget that the word ‘commune’ and ‘community’ make up the word ‘communicate’, so in order for communications to have taken place, there needs to have been more than one person involved in the process (a 2 or multi-way process.) 

ii. STEP 2 – CONFIRM THAT YOUR MESSAGE WAS RECEIVED: There is an idea that just because one side has put out a message, that the other side has gotten it (heard it or received it). Then add to this the fact that most of us assume that the person on the other end has understood the message as we have intended it to have been understood, not thinking that there could be more than one interpretation of what was communicated. In order to mitigate a misunderstanding between the parties, touching base to receive confirmation of alignment is of paramount importance, in terms of needing to be a necessary step in the process of effective communications..  

iii. STEP 3 –COMMUNICATE WITH A PURPOSE: There is this notion that everyone communicates with intention, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  According to a report compiled by Project.co, 96% of people think the businesses that they deal with could improve when it comes to their ability to communication cohesively. If this is to be believed, then only 4% of people are assumed to know how to communicate effectively. That’s a shockingly low number and one that I’m on a mission to change, especially in my experience of working with clients in leadership positions, more often than not, because they are so focused on goals and deadlines, they take shortcuts when communicating what they want done, which results in incomplete messaging, which in turn elicits any number of misinterpretations by the person/people on the receiving end. This is easily remedied if we took a few seconds to determine what the purpose of the communications is before communications begins, because this will allow for more specific framing by the sender and far clearer understanding by the receiver. 

To support this, here are some more stats: 

• Employee productivity increases by 20 to 25% in organizations where employees are connected. (Inc)

• Organizations with effective change and communication programs are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers. (ThinkTalent) To further that, because I firmly believe in the power of holistic leadership, I align my belief with this quote by Dave Ulrich (university professor, author, speaker, management coach & consultant), who says: 

“Companies have no choice but to try to engage not only the body but the mind and soul of every employee.” ~ Dave Ulrich

If effective communications is something that you are challenged with or something that you hadn’t thought about until you read my missives here, but now feel like you’d like to know more about how I can help you level up in this regard, send me an email to set up a free, no obligation call and let’s explore how I can assist: [email protected]. 

Words to ponder . . .

“My goal is to build leaders not followers. I focus on quality over quantity. I work with companies, brands, and individuals who want to build authentic authority, real credibility, & advocacy culture for themselves, their employees, their clients, and communities they work and live in.” ~ Raj Girn 

Until next time.