“The single biggest PROBLEM with COMMUNICATION is the ILLUSION that it has TAKEN PLACE.”
You need to get your point across, and you have little time to do it. Information comes at lightning speed, which means you have a nanosecond to get people’s attention and only seconds to keep it. Can you do it?
Most people answer, “Of course, I communicate all the time!” Do you? How many times has your intended message been misunderstood or just missed the mark leaving you frustrated or worse, without a client, job, partner, or employee?
Like George Bernard Shaw said, we are often living under the illusion that communication has taken place.
Why?
We’ve given the speech, and they clapped.
We’ve met with the team, and they said they were on board.
We’ve sent the email, and the person responded.
We’ve told them what we think, and they said: “understood.”
Did they lie? No, you transferred information, and they got it, they might have even understood it. But if nothing transformed and changed because of it, you only shared information.
True communication results in transformation. It changes everything.
Real communication occurs when:
You understand your audience – What makes them tick? What ticks them off?
You understand your strengths – Who are you?
You understand their problem – What hurts? How does it make them feel?
You provide a solution – What’s the plan?
You help them transform – How will they change?