The Importance of Good Communication

I like to use my own experience as a way to explain events in my life and in my organization. Many times, I use examples that hit close to home, that are too recent or that are perhaps a bit offensive to some. In one way or another this all has to do with communication and how we understand each other.

In a perfect world, there would be no arguments, no disagreements and no wars; however, the truth is that without them there would not be peace. So, we must use communication to get our message across regardless of how we feel or think. This seems like a very difficult phrase to understand, but it is simple.

When we approach people, we have an agenda in our mind as to what we expect, what they will say and how we will react to their comments and conversation, regardless of the topic. This blog does not have anything to do with being professional, or mature or experienced, it has to do with how we communicate with other people and understanding what they mean while at the same time understanding what we try to convey.

Sometimes, we see things from one and only one perspective, maybe we are in a rush, or we are stressed, and we do not get to the bottom of a conversation, we do not understand the words of the person we are talking to. We do not pay attention to the environment or the place where we are having the conversation and our words come across as rude, bland or simply careless.

Communicating properly means leaving aside our personal engraved judgements and listening. We can listen and understand what others say at which point we can agree, disagree or comment. But without understanding that communication requires really hearing the other person's message, it is impossible to understand each other and get along.

Oftentimes, I have met people who I assume will understand what I am saying or who will agree with me, and I leave conversations with a bitter taste because I did not truly listen or because I assumed that they would agree with my message or understand it. On the other hand, sometimes we are left with a taste of knowledge and satisfaction when we encounter someone who understands our message and our words.

So, it's simple, it is like playing with strings phones when we were children, sometimes the string breaks and we cannot hear each other, it could be because of events in our community, or situations that we encounter or simply because we don't want to communicate. And here I end, I leave my message: communicating properly matters and active listening is important for organizations, communities and governments to succeed.