“Our problem is very basic – our teams lack communication skills. There is either no communication happening or communication failure.”
This was the summary of my conversation with a business leader, when we were having a discussion around how to build teams.
This got me thinking- several programs/workshops around effective communication take place across industries and levels. Communication undoubtedly is a base of any healthy relationship and thus rightly so, never fails to get that attention from decision makers.
But what are our expectations really when we say effective/impactful communication?
It’s not the upgrade of the spoken language we are expecting here. People speaking the most impeccable English can also be poor communicators. We are not (always) wanting to teach them how to make presentations. Then what is it?
Probing further it was evident that the need was “To develop the ability to deliver the required message to the respective stakeholder, ensuring that the desired outcome is met.”
This indeed is the base of any communication, irrespective of the mode, nature or parties involved in it.
Interestingly, were we all not born with the ability to communicate with impact? Think about it- No one ever taught a new-born, how to communicate, yet with her/his unique ways she/he is able to communicate what they need- play, cradle, food, sleep, change etc. It’s amazing to see even with the tone of crying sometimes, mothers can understand what the child is wanting.
“ Crying of a baby is the earliest communication that ever happened”
We are born with this ability to communicate, our attempt with various interventions is to revisit some key concepts, that we may have lost touch with while growing up.
- Being fully present–
Have you ever tried telling something to a child, when he/she is occupied somewhere else? It just leaves us frustrated, like most of our conversations today do. But try telling a story to the same child and see the magic unfold.
For any effective communication its important both parties are fully present to eachother.
- Active listening– Not just keeping our attention to what is being said, rather practicing deeper listening – tone, facial expression, body posture. Focusing on what the other person wants and not what you have to offer or know.
- Empathy-
Understand the other perspective and engaging at that very level. It’s not about changing what we have to say but how we say.
This is the crux of any communication workshop.
It is a creative process, where both parties are willing to engage with each other from a space of genuinely understanding rather than just saying.