It’s no secret that communication is a crucial component of daily interactions, healthy relationships, and successful careers. Communicating your ideas, perspectives, and knowledge can be the deciding factor in landing your next job or promotion. Why, then, do we not focus more effort and attention on the way we communicate with others? Tackling the issue of communication requires a breakdown of the components that comprise effective communication. To communicate means to share thoughts or ideas, be it verbally (speaking/writing) or nonverbally (gestures/body language). These thoughts or ideas contain explicit and implicit meanings. Also, add the fact that communication is a two-way street and involves the input of information as well as its appropriate reception. Each of these factors complicates the transfer of information coming from one individual to one or more others.
I enjoy using my person-to-dog analogy for communication when explaining to friends and family members why their approaches might be falling short. When training a new golden retriever to perform a behavior such as sitting, we have to overcome the language barrier. While you might be clearly expressing the word “sit” to your dog, she tilts her head and looks at you with her clueless, friendly face. Now, while you are concise and to the point, the dog does not speak your language and thus cannot understand what you are trying to convey. Luckily, we tend to speak the same verbal language as our human peers. Similar to the dog, though, how every individual interprets language is not the same. So, while on the surface we might speak the same language, individuals comprehend messages in their own unique ways.
The person-to-dog analogy is a key insight for leaders to grasp regarding effective communication. Given this insight, what are some ways we can maintain effective communication despite potential barriers? Here are a few tips:
1) Keep it short and succinct. Communicating effectively does not require endless elaboration upon the message you are attempting to convey. In fact, expert communicators are often able to get their point across in brief, simple statements that powerfully sum up their message.
2) Be aware of implicit communication. One might casually assume that verbal communication is responsible for most of a communicated message, but nonverbal gestures and body language have been proven to indicate much more. If I were to tell you “Great job!” with a flat face and angry tone, you would be more inclined to trust my nonverbal indicators than the actual spoken words. Here is a great article that further breaks down the role of body language and facial expressions in communication: https://www.verywellmind.com/understand-body-language-and-facial-expressions-4147228
3) Listen to others and enlist their feedback. As I mentioned earlier, communication is a two-way street. You might be a great speaker, but if you are unable to listen to others, they will not afford you the same privilege of an open ear. A great way to comprehend the effectiveness of your communication is to regularly ask for feedback. If a member of your team can accurately reiterate a message you conveyed to them, then you are on the right track. If you offered directions on a project and your team member cannot repeat those instructions back to you, then your communication approach likely needs some tweaking.
President Abraham Lincoln was an exceptional model of these communication principles. Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address speech lasted two minutes, yet is recognized as one of the most powerful speeches in American history. Lincoln knew how to deliver his speeches in a concise manner that was still able to effectively demonstrate his message. He also understood the impact of implicit communication in his messages. Lincoln was known for his ability to tastefully respond to concerns and criticisms with words that might not explicitly express his intention, but could still be understood through implied meaning. In addition, President Lincoln is still known today for his high level of critical thinking. He was wise enough to know that in order to unify the country, he would have to listen to the feedback and criticism that others afforded him. Each of these principles applied by President Lincoln are surely difficult to learn, but anyone can improve upon them with practice.
I have one last piece of wisdom to offer. No matter how effective a communicator you may become, there will always be those who will not agree with you or subscribe to your mission. There is always at least a degree of truth in those who disagree with you, but you cannot let it deter you from your primary goal. If you find yourself positively impacting a majority of the people you communicate with, I believe you are on the right track in your leadership journey.
