31 Jul Clarity in Communication
Everyone communicates. We communicate even when, maybe especially when, we aren’t thinking about it. The way we walk into a room; the way we sit in a meeting; perhaps even where we sit in the meeting all contribute to the message we’re sending. Before we even open our mouths, at which point we think we’re beginning our communication, we’ve sent out some advance information.
During the speaking part we have several elements with which to contend, altho frequently we think about only one – our words. Meanwhile, messages are blasting forth as quickly, and with as much, often more, strength as those words. Where are those messages coming from? They come from our voice: the tone, the intensity, the volume, the pitch; the weight we give to particular words; the actions of our eyes, our eyebrows, our arms; the tilt of our heads. What level of formality have we chosen, to whom are we directing our remarks, where are we looking or not looking, at what point in the meeting have we decided to speak? Are we wiggling or twitching, or tapping our pencils? Messages.
Now, back to those words- the part of our message that we think is our whole message. Do the words we’ve chosen match our intended message? Are they free of provocative distractors? Are they packaged in an order that others can follow? And, did we in fact choose those words, or did they just pop out? Often we jump quickly into open air space and begin speaking – without rehearsal or even much thought. The words that we rely on to carry our message may not be doing their job.
The most effective communication would be the one in which the many messages we send are the same. We can check that all of our channels are operating on the same frequency. Clarity in communication is consistency.