Communication – A Skill that can be Learned
It’s a fact that communication forms a fundamental part of every day of our lives. Whether that is buying a train ticket, talking to loved ones about what’s for dinner or pitching an idea to a potential client. Our days are filled with messages that we can choose what we do with them.
Communication is, without a doubt, a two way process that when both sides understand the part they play, it has effective consequences. When one side speaks, the other listens – well in theory anyway. Listening is an amazing skill to possess, especially when you are listening with an empty mind, without judgement and without trying to butt in at every given moment to force your own opinion in to the equation.
Is communication a skill that can be learned?
Yes, I believe it is. The more focussed attention we give to something the better we become at it. We all learned to communicate when we were infants, our hunger needs were met, our affection needs were met and if we played the game the right way, we never went without anything. It’s the same later in the world of business. When we learn to communicate in the way that people are familiar with and can relate to we can influence the way the engagement goes.
In the basic communication model that I was taught when working through the Management Programme with McDonalds when I was at University.
Sender → Receiver → Message → Feedback
This has stuck with me throughout my corporate life and since I set up my own businesses. The simplicity is obvious yet the deeper meaning is one that has helped me start my deeper relationship with communication as a whole.
Every communication, whether written, verbal or non-verbal, has consequences to both the sender and the receiver. If the message isn’t clear the feedback becomes clouded in judgement. Communication is a cross between an art and a science, that when combined is an extremely powerful voice. Judgement on the other hand can be dangerous. When what you mean to say is received in a different way the interaction becomes futile and can even damage the relationship.
I have managed to become competent in three foreign languages, two because I lived in the countries and immersed myself in the culture and the third from a basic understanding from school to which I added the principles learned from learning the other two. It’s one thing to be able to order a beer in another language, it’s another to be able to communicate on a deeper level with language natives. These principles can also be applied to the way we communicate in our mother tongue and it is these principles that I will be exploring over a mini-series language and communication course – COMING SOON!
