How Using Precise Communication Can Boost All Aspects Of Your Progress
Advanced Communication Transcends Chatting
Communication is something that we learn from birth and we’re all brilliant at it. The real issue is making sure people know what you want to say and how you want them to respond. Content and context are defined in the word choice and manner of saying them. We’re so used to listening to each other and reading about each other in books and magazines, that we can sometimes forget to listen or to communicate properly. We think we know what they mean and we think they know what we mean because we have all manner of cultural bridges in our mind that lead the way. Unless the other person has the same bridges, we need more than the landing spot to get the point across. New concepts and original ideas, therefore, require an entirely new style of communication.
Talking About Your New Idea Or Service
Sales conversations are very difficult because people the world over are bombarded with adverts that they’re attuned to ignore. We can be another one of those pesky ads when we try to communicate what we consider vital information. When our lives and business or other leadership activity are intertwined, it's impossible to draw a line between them. You get both, so communicating can become a real challenge. When people associate you with advertising and marketing, nothing you say will be seen without some kind of background.
Have you ever enjoyed a film and recommended it and then that person watched it? What about some music? Did you ever let the person know about the gardener who could cut their hedge? These are sales conversations that went well. What was the difference? The communication was good. The recipient of your message wanted to hear it, they were interested in what you had to say. You offered a solution to something that was a true issue for them. You didn’t get in a suit and start explaining in a theatrical voice all the benefits of the service, you simply spoke about it. It wasn’t an advert to be glossed over by the majority.
The Dynamics Of Communication
It’s a miracle of biological engineering. A mind with a collection of thoughts is able to convey these with words to another, placing one idea into two minds or more. What is an idea? Strip away the words and we’re left with an abstraction, a concept, a sensibility. Images and feelings, associative groupings, and all kinds of other linguistic devices come into action to identify with an array of sweeping mixtures of idea and truth. Putting this strange and mentally stimulating energy into words and then allowing another to gain the same complex picture is a phenomenal feat of humanity.
Communication involves the exchange of ideas between a sender and a receiver. The sender is the one who has new information and wants to pass it on. The receiver is the one who is being given the information. When we communicate, we have to think consciously of what it is we want to say. We choose the best words to point to the exact concept we are thinking of and then fill it out with the descriptors that help to clarify the vision. The receiver then makes sense of what they’re given to the best of their ability, they perceive our message in the way that is available to them, understand what we are trying to say, and then respond with what they consider is an appropriate reaction. Any one of these steps has the potential for errors. Some are in our control and some are not. We need to be able to tackle this in a way that gives room for refocusing and re-framing when the need arises.
Working With Individual Perspectives
People have significantly different attitudes to one another, and they tend to share these among various social groupings. When an individual has a certain attitude towards an aspect of the world, when we communicate on this subject we have to keep in mind the way the individual sees it. When at a football match with a fan of the blue team, we don’t point out the brilliance of the red team to get their attention. Not the attention we want, anyway. This principle extends into every aspect of our lives. Being able to let go of the personal feeling about taste and necessity, when we communicate with people we need to explain our ideas and concepts in a picture that suits their personality. Being able to discriminate between what is a matter of taste and a matter of morals is another aspect that good leaders are able to do. It’s not immoral to cheer the other team but it would be immoral to promote the work of a criminal. When it’s no longer about you but what you can do, you’ll find communication becomes a lot more fluid.
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