Communication Makes the World Go ‘Round
Communication can be as big as the world or as small as yourself. It’s not a tangible skill but if get good at it, it can strengthen your relationships with your family, neighbors, and community. All these lead to a better life and who doesn’t want a better life?
Something I’ve been thinking about over the past few weeks is communication. It makes the world go ‘round. It makes your world and my world go ‘round. If we all communicated a little better right?
Someone recently asked me what I majored in in college. That’s an odd question to me. It’s such a “in the box” way of thinking to me. Maybe like it’s too simple to judge a person on. It sounds like something built for a resume. I haven’t created a resume in like five or six years. I never do anything thinking “This will look good on my resume.” Never. But the answer is communication. Well technically I double majored in Media & Cinema Studies and Advertising & Public Relations and minored in Applied Psychology but that’s a mouthful. Right?
I remember back in school, people would joke about communication majors. That’s the easy one. Everyone asking you about your post-grad plans and communication seems like most abstract without a clear route to attaining a job. It’s too broad. What does that mean? Now I often hear people complain that they never use their major. That’s remarkable to me. What were you doing then? You probably weren’t thinking about the future. You probably only thought of right now.
People like tangible things. Or things they view as tangible. It’s challenging for people to wrap their heads around something abstract. Communication is used every day. Verbally and nonverbally. Our presidential election was decided by how the candidates communicated their messages. Whoever communicates better will win the election. Here’s the caveat though. You can’t communicate just one way. Everyone is different, so you need to communicate in a way that will resonate with each person. That’s a trait of leadership: the willingness to be flexible and consider how other people learn and will be effective for them. We talked about Phil Jackson recently and how he communicated his philosophy with players to build a sense of oneness on the team. What’s this player’s personality like? What’s their background like? What’re their values? Are they a visual learner or an audio learner? There are so many things to consider.
As an example, last week Thursday I popped over to my friend’s house to watch the Packer game. It was then that Jason got me up to speed on the election. Since the Packers were blowing out the 49ers, we watched more of CNN. We even dropped in on Fox News. Asked him why he preferred watching CNN instead of the many other choices. He answered, “They have the best graphics and statistics. It’s not just people talking.” As a Healthcare Analyst, his mind works in numbers and logic. Other people’s minds work differently.
Communication can be applied as big as the world or as small as your individual self and how you talk to yourself to make sense of life around you and the purpose of your existence. I’m sure no one will disagree with me that communication plays an enormous role in relationships, especially with partners. Most conflicts come from misunderstanding or misinterpretation. The quicker you figure out the best way to communicate with someone, the more success you’ll have together.
Isn’t that what we want more of: to be listened to and to be living harmoniously with our families, neighbors, and the rest of the world. Pay attention to how people communicate. Think about what’s the best way to communicate with you. Life will be better.