Long before human communication turned into a science, it was an art. Eons earlier.
As with all arts, communication is full of nuances. The line between being effective in communication and enraging people is thin indeed. Once breached, the message sender loses something valuable- trust, respect. And once lost, they are seldom salvaged.
In my experiments for the last 21 years, I have learnt the following painful lessons out of erring constantly:
As with all arts, communication is full of nuances. The line between being effective in communication and enraging people is thin indeed. Once breached, the message sender loses something valuable- trust, respect. And once lost, they are seldom salvaged.
In my experiments for the last 21 years, I have learnt the following painful lessons out of erring constantly:
- Whether the receiver is known or unknown to me, I need to show respect in all forms of communication-written, spoken, non-verbal
- If I want to be heard, I don't need to yell, I can be soft...yet assertive
- My point-of-view is of less value compared to the feedback I get
- In all transactions, I should aim to build trust and lasting relationships
- Humor is powerful. It melts the hardest of hearts. But if misused or over-used, it's dangerous
- Thumb rule for criticism: blame the System, not individuals
- Never ask a question or pose a problem without a basic solution for it in my mind
- Never should I show-off my literary prowess in messages. People are quite aware these days..everybody is good in English, Kannada, Hindi
- I need to be appropriate in presentation. Propriety is everything
- Credibility is like virginity. Once lost, it's never regained
- My tone and tenor should be humble, requesting. No one likes to be ordered around. 'Please' is the most powerful word in English
- I need to listen lots more. Through empathetic listening I communicate 1000 times better than talking non-stop.
